Commercial Use Authorization

Licensed tour guide talks about the beauties of the castle.

Angel Cuevas NPS

What is a Commercial Use Authorization?

• A Commercial Use Authorization (CUA) is a business permit with the National Park Service that authorizes an individual, group, company, or other for-profit entity to conduct commercial activities and provide specific visitor services within a national park area. The National Park Service will only issue CUA's for commercial activities and visitor services that:

  • Are determined to be an appropriate use in the San Juan National Historic Site.
  • Will have minimal impact on Castillo San Felipe del Morro, Castillo San Cristobal, Fortín San Juan de la Cruz, San Juan Gate, two and half miles of walls and other SAJU Jurisdiction resources while staying consistent with the Parks purpose, management plans, policies, and regulations.

• A CUA is required if you, as an individual, organization, or company, provide any goods, activities, services, agreements, or other function for members, clients, or the public that:
  • Take place at least in part in the San Juan National Historic Site areas,
  • Use park resources, and result in compensation, monetary gain, benefit, or profit.

• Businesses and individuals may not conduct commercial activities in the park without a valid CUA or in a manner inconsistent with the terms of the CUA.

Which are the services provided at the San Juan National Historic Site?

Guided Interpretive Tours: we define Guided Interpretive Tours as a guided tour where the main purpose is transporting clients throughout the park with stops at facilities, services, boardwalks, and developed areas. Here at the San Juan National Historic Site we have tours that provide transportation and walking tours.

Transportation (non-tour): we define Transportation (non-tour) as a service that transports visitors to the parks without providing guided tours inside SAJU NHS jurisdiction.

We're accepting applications!

All commercial use authorizations are received on a rolling-basis; however, all permits expire on December 31st and must be renewed yearly.
Applications are done through the following website: Home - Commercial Use Authorization

Here are the steps:

• To sign in the CUA webpage you must have a Login.gov account.
  • Login.gov is a safe way to sign in to many U.S. government websites using just one account. It helps protect your information by asking you to take extra steps to make sure it’s really you when you log in.
• Go to your profile and add your company.
  • The basic document to be uploaded is your Commercial Liability
• Search for 'San Juan National Historic Site' or 'PR' at the 'Opportunities' tab.
  • Currently, our services are closed. Please contact our office when you are ready to apply in order to display the services.

All service-based CUA activities require a $350 non-refundable application fee to be paid through the cua.nps.gov website.

• All applications are subject to additional Management Fees/Direct Cost Recovery.

 

Park Ranger inspecting a vehicle

Yanira Martinez NPS

What am I responsible for after I get a CUA?

Failure to submit required reports or misrepresentation of reported statistics or earning will result in denial of your next CUA application.

As a condition of the CUA, all CUA holders in the NPS are required to complete the Annual Reports. The form includes questions about visitor use statistics, reportable injury data, and gross receipts earned from operations in the NPS. The information requested and collected by the annual CUA report is Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approved. The annual CUA report is due early in the calendar year for the preceding operating year (e.g., report for 2025 will be due in early 2026). Additionally, the park may require you to submit a Monthly CUA report that includes questions only about visitation statistics and reportable injury data. Currently, these reports are submitted through the Commercial Use Authorization webpage.

All parks use the OMB approved reports but can add information requests specific to that park (e.g., how many times did you access a specific area).

How long does it take to get a CUA?

• The San Juan National Historic Site requires 1-2 business weeks to process a CUA application. Applications are reviewed in the order they are received.
• The application cannot begin processing until the application, any other required documentation and payment are all received.

For questions in regard to permits and commercial use authorizations please contact [phone] ext. 232. or e-mail us