Honduras

Starting a Business in

Honduras

Listed below is a detailed summary of the bureaucratic and legal hurdles an entrepreneur must overcome in order to incorporate and register a new firm, along with their associated time and set-up costs.  It examines the procedures, time and cost involved in launching a commercial or industrial firm with up to 50 employees and start-up capital of 10 times the economy's per-capita gross national income (GNI).

The information appearing on this page was collected as part of the Doing Business project, which measures and compares regulations relevant to the life cycle of a small- to medium-sized domestic business in 183 economies. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2011.

  • Standardized Company

  • Legal Form: Private Limited Company
  • City: Tegucigalpa

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No. Procedure Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 Procure a certificate of deposit at a local bank; pay the registry fee


1 day no charge
2 Constitute the company before a notary public, who is to draw up the instrument of organization

A company may be formed by public subscription or simultaneous foundation. The procedures described here are for simultaneous foundation (fundación simultánea).

The constitution instrument should be written on stamped paper (papel sellado), which costs HNL 10. The notary uses this paper for the protocol (the original signed document in the notary’s custody) and for the first copy (testimonio) of the instrument of organization.
2 days notary fees of 5% until HNL 25,000 and 3% over HNL 25,000 of the capital.
3 Publish the registration notice in “La Gaceta”, the official journal or an ordinary newspaper


1 day USD 35 for one advertisement in “La Gaceta”; USD 15 in a newspaper
4 Purchase the bar stamps from the Banco Atlántida S.A and Banco de Occidente.

Official bar stamps (timbres del Colegio de Abogados), which vary in design and value, can be purchased only from Banco Atlántida S.A. and Banco de Occidente.
1 day included in procedure 5
5 File the articles of incorporation with the Mercantile Registry at the Chamber of Commerce

According to Decree 253-2005, company registration in Tegucigalpa was transferred from the Property Registry (Instituto de Propiedad) to the Chamber of Commerce.
2 days HNL 1.5 for each HNL 1,000 of corporation capital (Derechos de registro/registration fees) + HNL 30 up to HNL 300,000 of the capital and HNL 10 for each HNL 100,000 after HNL 300,000 (Bar stamps/Timbres del Colegio de Abogados).
* 6 Apply for the tax identification code (Registro Tributario Nacional, RTN) at the Dirección Ejecutiva de Ingresos (DEI), Ministry of Finance

All natural or juridical persons must apply for the tax identification code (Registro Tributario Nacional, RTN). To obtain it, the notary public who authorizes an incorporation deed must notify the administrative authority of the incorporation.
1 day (simultaneous with previous procedure) no charge
7 Acquire legal accounting and minutes books

The minute books can now be authorized as separate bound sheets and not necessarily as books.
1 day USD 180
8 Register with local and national chambers of commerce


1 day nominal
9 Apply for an operational permit (Permiso de Operación) from the municipal authorities

To obtain the operational permit, some or all of the following documents must be filed, depending on the type of industrial or commercial activity:
- Personal identity card and municipality tax solvency of the general manager (copies).
- Tax identification code (RTN) (copy).
- Cadastral code (clave cadastral) corresponding to the corporation’s place of business.
- Constitution instrument (escritura de constitución de la compañía) (copy).
- Zoning constancy.
- Tenancy agreement and constancy of income tax solvency corresponding to the owner of the premises in which the company will do business.
- Environmental impact statement.
- Cadastral inspection of the premises in which the corporation will do business.

In addition, the company must pay the following taxes, which vary based on the company’s income: nomenclature tax, zoning tax, inspection tax, code tax, environmental tax, and taxes for fire fighting and waste management services (paid annually to the municipality).

The applicable municipal taxes for obtaining the permit have changed in Tegucigalpa under the 2003 city tax regulation. Taxes now total HNL 1,250 for the various taxes. A company can proceed to the following procedures with an official receipt issued upon submission of the operational permit application.
1 day HNL 1,250
* 10 Register for Sales tax and acquire the authorization of the company books

According to the Tributary Code (Código Tributario), the company is obliged to record the constitution instrument and the operation permit before the Minister of Finance, in order to pay sales tax on the sale of goods or services.
2 days, simultaneous with procedure 9 nominal
* 11 Register at Social Security Institute (Instituto Hondureño de Seguridad Social, IHSS)

Social Security Institute (Instituto Hondureño de Seguridad Social, IHSS) is the national social security hospital and outpatient care institution for workers and their dependants. The company is obliged to contribute 5% of each employee’s salary for illness and maternity (enfermedad y maternidad, EM), plus 2% for disability, old age, and death (invalidez, vejez y muerte, IVM)—a total of 7% up to a maximum of HNL 4,800.
3 days, simultaneous with procedure 9 no charge
* 12 Register at the Hand Labor Training Institute (Instituto Nacional de Formación Profesional, INFOP)

Employers are obliged to contribute 1% of the company’s total payroll to the Hand Labor Training Institute (Instituto Nacional de Formación Profesional, INFOP)
1 day, simultaneous with procedure 9 no charge
* 13 Register at Social Fund for Housing (Régimen de Aportación, (RAP) al Fondo Social de la Vivienda (FOSOVI))

If the company has more than 10 employees, it is obliged to contribute 1.5% of each employee’s salary to the Social Fund for Housing (Régimen de Aportación, RAP, and Fondo Social de la Vivienda, FOSOVI).
1 day, simultaneous with procedure 9 no charge
* Takes place simultaneously with another procedure.
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