Staffing agency license in Puerto Rico: a 1947 law that reaches temp firms too

Puerto Rico still licenses employment agencies under a 1947 law, and its definition is wider than most state laws: it covers agencies paid by employers, agencies that charge nothing, and firms that supply workers to work under a client's supervision, which is what a temporary staffing firm does. Act No. 417 of May 14, 1947 requires a one-year license from the Secretary of Labor and Human Resources, with a $25 fee, a bond the Department of Labor and Human Resources (DTRH) currently sets at $3,000, and a fee schedule filed with the department.

This page covers the license, fee and conduct rules, the 1992 temp staffing law, PEOs, health care staffing and employer accounts. For the states, see employment agency license requirements.

Who needs the license

Section 1(d) of Act 417 (29 L.P.R.A. § 564) defines an employment agency as any person or organization that, for a fee or without any payment, regularly:

1. obtains or tries to obtain employees for people who want workers, or jobs for people who want work;
2. supplies workers to perform services under the direct or indirect supervision or direction of people seeking workers;
3. solicits candidates for others through advertising, whoever pays for it (newspapers, radio and television running ads are excluded);
4. refers candidates to employers after interviews, tests or occupational classification, except candidates the employer referred to it directly; or
5. gives information about where workers or jobs can be found while doing any of the above.

The phrase "o sin pago alguno" (or without any payment) means there is no employer-paid exclusion like the one in Kansas. Paragraph (2) describes temporary staffing, and I found no exemption for temp firms anywhere in the act. The one useful carve-out is in paragraph (4): assessing candidates an employer sends you directly is not placement.

Recruiting into or out of Puerto Rico

Section 2 (§ 565) limits a licensee to operating within Puerto Rico. Bringing in workers from outside Puerto Rico, or referring workers to jobs outside it, needs a special permit that the Secretary may grant only in special circumstances. That matters for mainland hospital and travel-nurse recruiting on the island. I found no rule or guidance on firms with no Puerto Rico office that recruit residents remotely; ask the DTRH in writing.

How to apply and renew

Applications go to the DTRH's Bureau of Labor Standards (Negociado de Normas de Trabajo) in San Juan; the department's bulletin on Act 417 gives [email protected] as the contact. Form NNT-APE-1 (revised February 2025) asks for:

• the application, sworn before a notary: owners, partners or officers, resident agent, types of jobs, whether you charge the employer, the worker or both, your advertising plans, your forms, and whether you will place people outside Puerto Rico;
• a $3,000 bond from an insurer authorized in Puerto Rico, or in cash, certified check or a mortgage the Secretary approves, with proof of payment;
• negative criminal record certificates for the incorporators or representatives;
• $25 in internal revenue stamps (sellos de Rentas Internas);
• your fee schedule and a sworn statement under Article 7, Section 2 of the department's regulation;
• Department of State incorporation papers, plus good standing if the company is over a year old; and
• a letter from your bank.

The DTRH then visits the agency. The license covers one named person and address for one year; moving needs the Secretary's written approval. Under Section 3 (§ 566) the Secretary may demand a larger bond, and failing to post it within ten days revokes the license. The renewal form, NNT-APE-2, also asks how many people you placed in Puerto Rico and in the United States, and is due at least 30 days before expiry. The $25 fee is in the statute; the $3,000 figure comes from the DTRH's forms. I could not find the department's Act 417 regulation online, so I cannot say what else it requires.

Fees and prohibited practices

The act sets no dollar cap on fees. Section 5 (§ 568) requires every agency to file the fees it will charge employers and workers, makes any unlisted fee illegal, and lets the Secretary hold a hearing and approve, cut, raise or prohibit fees; an approved amended list takes effect 60 days after filing. Under Section 4 (§ 567) a licensee may not, among other things:

• make applicants subscribe to a publication or service, or pay toward an ad;
• charge for registering applications, or any fee except for jobs or workers obtained directly through its own efforts;
• use any contract or form the Secretary has not approved;
• make false promises, try to get someone fired, or induce an employee to quit to place them elsewhere;
• send anyone to a strike or lockout without written notice, keeping a signed copy for a year; or
• send an applicant anywhere without a job order.

On the text, your candidate agreements and client contracts need the Secretary's approval. Agencies must also keep records for at least a year and post the license, a summary of the act and a fee table. Under Section 11 (§ 574), a violation is a misdemeanor with a fine of $300 to $1,000, 30 to 90 days in jail, or both, rising to $500 to $2,000 or 60 to 180 days for a repeat offense. Anyone harmed can sue on the bond.

Temporary staffing companies: Act 26-1992

Act No. 26 of July 22, 1992 (29 L.P.R.A. §§ 575 to 575e) covers any "compañía de servicios temporeros," meaning anyone dedicated to supplying employees to a client company. Under Article 3:

• for wage and hour claims, the staffing company and the client are joint employers, each liable as if they were one employer;
• for discrimination, sexual harassment and unjust dismissal, whichever company committed the act is responsible;
• the staffing company must hold a temp's job during protected leave, and the client must if it does not; and
• the staffing company pays the Christmas bonus, but if it fails to, the client pays when the temp worked the 700 hours the bonus law requires there.

Article 4 bars using temps to keep out or break unions or strikes, to discriminate, or to evade the unjust dismissal law (Act 80 of 1976). Violations carry a fine of up to $500, up to six months in jail, or both, plus civil liability and attorney's fees. Article 3 also ties temps' vacation and sick leave to a minimum wage decree, which a 1992 DTRH opinion identified as Decree No. 89; the law behind those decrees was replaced in 1998, so ask the DTRH how that rule applies now.

One temp-to-hire rule sits in Act 80. Article 8, as compiled by the DTRH (revised 2018), requires an employer that hires a worker it used through a temporary employment company to credit up to six months of that time toward the probationary period if the duties are the same. I did not trace amendments after that compilation. See temp-to-perm conversion fee for how clients price conversions.

The joint employer rule comes from Act 26-1992, not the 2017 Labor Transformation and Flexibility Act (Act 4-2017), in which I found no provision on temporary staffing companies.

PEOs and health care staffing

I found no Puerto Rico statute that registers or licenses professional employer organizations as of October 2026. Because Act 417 reaches anyone who supplies workers to work under another's direction, a PEO should ask the DTRH whether it needs the employment agency license.

I also found no law or Department of Health rule that registers nurse or health care staffing agencies as such. A health care staffing firm is an employment agency under Act 417 like any other, and the permit for recruiting outside Puerto Rico applies to agencies placing island nurses on the mainland.

Employer accounts every Puerto Rico staffing firm needs

A staffing firm that employs its temps needs:

• Unemployment and disability insurance with the DTRH's Bureau of Employment Security, with quarterly returns.
• Workers' compensation with the State Insurance Fund Corporation (Corporación del Fondo del Seguro del Estado). See staffing agency insurance requirements for what clients add.
• Department of State registration and good standing, which the license also needs, and a federal employer ID.

The full setup order is in how to start a staffing agency. New York also licenses agencies whatever the payer (see staffing agency license in New York), while Florida does not license general employment agencies (see staffing agency license in Florida).

A Puerto Rico checklist

PUERTO RICO CHECK — [date] — owner: [name]

Act 417 license (search, temp, temp-to-hire, any payer):
  [ ] NNT-APE-1 notarized; $25 in stamps
  [ ] $3,000 bond, proof of payment
  [ ] Criminal record certificates; DOS good standing
  [ ] Fee schedule filed; every fee we charge is on it
  [ ] Candidate and client forms approved by the Secretary
  [ ] License, act summary and fee table posted
  [ ] Records kept 1+ year; job order before each referral
  [ ] Renewal (NNT-APE-2) 30+ days before expiry
  [ ] Recruiting into or out of PR: special permit

Temps (Act 26-1992):
  [ ] Client contract allocates joint wage liability
  [ ] Christmas bonus and leave reinstatement covered

Employer accounts:
  DTRH unemployment/disability; CFSE; DOS; EIN          [ ]
Next review: [date]

Re-check if you open a second office, since each license covers one address, or start recruiting Puerto Rico residents for mainland jobs, which needs the Secretary's special permit.