About this list
- Agency
- Departamento de Salud de Puerto Rico - División de Salud Ambiental, Sección de Agua Potable (laboratory certification)
- Format
- PDF list (1 page, Spanish): lab, address, phone and the groups each lab is certified for (Bacteriología, Químicos, Radiológicos; 'Reciprocidad' for out-of-island labs); no analytes, certificate numbers or expiry dates
- Homeowner flag
- Not stated in the list. The Sección de Agua Potable's list does not say which labs take samples from private well owners or the public.
Old list. This list is the Puerto Rico Department of Health's 'Laboratorios y parámetros certificados', marked 'Revisado agosto 2025'. Labs may have been added, dropped or changed since then.
Departamento de Salud de Puerto Rico, Sección de Agua Potable - Laboratorios y Parámetros Certificados. Fetched 2026-11-07 (UTC).
Official sourceTesting your well in Puerto Rico
How often to test
We have not found a Puerto Rico recommendation yet. EPA's advice applies: test every year for coliform bacteria, nitrate, total dissolved solids and pH.
Free testing
We found no statewide free testing program in Puerto Rico. Ask your county health department whether it runs one.
Testing programs and help
- The Puerto Rico Department of Health's Drinking Water Section mainly oversees public water systems. Among its duties, it lists handling complaints of possible chemical or bacteriological contamination. [1]
State lab and rules
- The Department of Health's lab certification area evaluates labs that process drinking water samples for chemical, microbiological and radiological analysis and recommends their certification status. It also certifies water sample collectors, through a lecture and an exam. [2]
- The Drinking Water Section publishes a list of certified labs and the parameters each is certified for (revised August 2025). It includes the Department of Health's own Instituto de Laboratorios, certified only for bacteriology and some chemicals. [3]
- Departamento de Salud de Puerto Rico, Programa de Supervisión de Sistemas Públicos de Agua Potable (8 de octubre de 2026)
- Departamento de Salud de Puerto Rico, Área Certificación Laboratorios Higiene (18 de febrero de 2026)
- Departamento de Salud de Puerto Rico, Sección de Agua Potable, Laboratorios y parámetros certificados (revisado agosto 2025)
Loan test (FHA, VA, USDA) in Puerto Rico
- VA. Test results are valid for 90 days from the date the local health authority certifies them, unless the local authority says otherwise. VA’s chapter names no list of contaminants: the water must meet the local health authority’s requirements, or EPA guidelines where it has none. Your lender may ask for specific tests.
- FHA. A well test is required in the situations FHA’s handbook lists, among others, and the report may not be more than 180 days old at disbursement.
- USDA. Guaranteed loans need a water quality test for a private well, done by the local health authority or a state-certified lab, and no more than 180 days old at closing.
Lenders can ask for more (extra tests, a particular lab, who takes the sample): ask your lender before you book. Federal rules as read on Nov 3, 2026 source 1 source 2 source 3. Full comparison: VA, FHA and USDA well water test requirements. Loan test kits sold by mail, with price and days to results: kits compared.
What Puerto Rico labs say on their own websites
State lists say what a lab is certified for, not whether it takes your sample or what it costs. We read each lab’s own site; a second reader re-checked every fact below. 3 labs on this list are on our register so far; 0 say they take homeowner samples and 0 print a price.
Prices exactly as each lab prints them, read 15 Nov 2026; re-checked every 90 days. Labs not shown have not been read yet or print nothing for homeowners. Confirm price and turnaround with the lab.
Labs by contaminant
Labs on the Puerto Rico list for one test, with homeowner-accepting labs first.
Well water by county
Private-well population (USGS, 2015), arsenic estimate, radon zone and nearby labs for each county with at least 1,000 people on private wells, largest first.