Moving back to Puerto Rico: what is open today and what to do when you return

1Exchange your state driver's license (DTOP/CESCO)

• It is called a license by reciprocity (form DTOP-DIS-257). With a valid license from any U.S. state or territory you take no exam: you present the medical certificate and pay the fees. If your license is expired, you take the written and the road test.
• Bring: the valid license; your state's driving record issued no more than 30 days before; the DTOP-DIS-260 medical certificate signed by a physician licensed in Puerto Rico, no more than 6 months old; proof of your Social Security number (unlaminated card, W-2, SSA-1099 or pay stub); a U.S. passport or a current Demographic Registry birth certificate; and a water, power, phone, cell or bank statement in your name no more than 2 months old (if it is not in your name, form DTOP-DIS-156 plus a copy of that person's ID).
• Stamps: $15 in internal revenue stamps plus $1 (anatomical donations) and $2 (Trauma Center); $17 more if you want it Real ID compliant. CESCO keeps your state license when it hands you the Puerto Rico one.

How long the appointment takes and whether your CESCO requires one: confirm with CESCO or at cesco.pr.gov before you go.

Source: DTOP/CESCO, form DTOP-DIS-257, application for a driver's license by reciprocity (rev. Feb 17, 2025)

2Criminal record certificate (Puerto Rico Police)

• Many employers ask for it when hiring. You request it online at pr.gov (the request button; the validate button checks one already issued) with your name, date of birth, Social Security number and a DTOP driver's license or ID card.
• If you do not yet have a DTOP license or ID, the Police say the request is made in person at a police headquarters (form PPR-135.1). That is one reason to exchange your license first.
• When we checked pr.gov on November 8, 2026 the online request showed a maintenance notice; if that happens to you, try again later or go to the headquarters.

The current fee and how long it takes in person: confirm with the Police (787-793-1234).

Source: Puerto Rico Police, services page (criminal record certificate) · PR.gov, criminal record certificate request · Puerto Rico Police, notice on the online certificate (May 13, 2015)

3Register to vote (CEE), if you want to vote here

• Requirements: U.S. citizen, domiciled in Puerto Rico, 18 years old on or before election day, and not judicially incapacitated.
• At a Permanent Registration Board (JIP, Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.): a valid government photo ID and the last four digits of your Social Security number. If you were born in the continental U.S., also your original birth certificate or your passport or Passport Card, even if expired. You may bring your LUMA bill voluntarily.
• Also online through the CEE's electronic voter registry (eRE), uploading proof of identity, address and citizenship; the printed voter card is picked up at the board.

Source: State Elections Commission (CEE), voter FAQ · State Elections Commission (CEE), electronic voter registry (eRE)

4Health coverage: Plan Vital (Puerto Rico Medicaid)

• Anyone may apply voluntarily; the Department of Health's Medicaid office reviews your income and tells you whether you qualify. If you do not qualify, an employer plan or a private plan are the other routes.
• Apply at medicaid.pr.gov, through the call center at 787-641-4224 (Monday to Friday) or in person by appointment at a local office. Bring a photo ID, the Social Security card of everyone in the household, proof of income (pay stubs, Social Security or pension), a water, power or phone bill, and your marriage certificate or proof of divorce if applicable.

Income limits to qualify are not published on those pages: confirm them with the Medicaid office.

Source: Puerto Rico Medicaid Program, how to qualify · Department of Health, Medicaid Program (where to apply and documents) · ASES, Plan Vital beneficiaries

5Hacienda: your tax return for the year you move

• Per Hacienda's instruction booklet, someone who moves their residence to Puerto Rico during the year reports on the Puerto Rico return all income received from the change of residence to year end, plus any Puerto Rico-source income from before. Income from outside Puerto Rico earned while you were not a resident is not taxed here.
• Anyone present in Puerto Rico 183 days in the calendar year is presumed a resident, but residency is decided on the facts of each case. On the return you answer question B with your move-in date and question C with the income earned outside the residency period.
• Every resident with gross income above zero (net of exemptions) files a return, unless all the tax was withheld at source. The 2025 return is filed through SURI by April 15, 2026.

What you must file with the state you are leaving and the federal return for that year: confirm with that state, the IRS or a tax preparer. This page is not tax advice.

Source: Department of the Treasury (Hacienda), 2025 individual return instructions (taxpayer who moved to Puerto Rico during the year) · Department of the Treasury (Hacienda), who must file

6School enrollment with the Department of Education

• Enrollment is requested online at de.pr.gov/matricula; a new student writes to the regional education office for their area (Arecibo, Bayamón, Caguas, Humacao, Mayagüez, Ponce or San Juan). DE phone: 787-759-2000.
• Documents per the DE manual: original birth certificate and original Social Security card (both returned), and the PVAC-3 immunization certificate, the green sheet, which stays at the school. A provider authorized in Puerto Rico transfers your state's vaccines onto the PVAC-3; the principal may enroll provisionally while doses are completed.
• If you come from a U.S. school, bring the transcript; if you do not have it yet, the Credit Equivalency Unit authorizes a provisional enrollment and the principal requests the record from the school there.

Source: Department of Education, online enrollment · Department of Education, procedures manual Series A-200 (A-201 vaccination, enrollment documents) · Department of Education, Credit Equivalency Unit

7Your Social Security card does not change

• Your number and card are the same in Puerto Rico. The Social Security Administration says you do not need to report a change of address for the card; only if you receive Social Security or Medicare benefits do you update the address in your my Social Security account, and for SSI, at the local office.

Source: Social Security Administration, FAQ on changing the address on your Social Security card