Documents to Ship Cargo to Honduras: Requirements & Process

Quick Answer: Commercial cargo from the USA to Honduras needs five core documents: commercial invoice, packing list, Bill of Lading or Air Waybill, certificate of origin for CAFTA-DR, and the DUCA import declaration filed by a licensed Honduran customs agent. With AB Group Shipping, a 20' container to Puerto Cortes starts at $864 from Houston (September 2026 quote).

Most shipments that sit at Puerto Cortes are not stuck because of the ocean. They are stuck because one document contradicts another, and the customs agent cannot file until the numbers match.

What documents do I need to send cargo to Honduras?

Quick Answer: Honduran customs requires the import declaration (DUCA), the House Bill of Lading, the commercial invoice, the packing list, and a certificate of origin when claiming CAFTA-DR preference. Air shipments swap the Bill of Lading for an Air Waybill. Courier parcels use a simplified set built on the same invoice data.

That master list comes straight from the Honduras - Import Requirements and Documentation guide published by the International Trade Administration, checked October 2026. Everything else is built on top of those five.

The documentos para enviar carga a Honduras do not change much by mode. What changes is who issues the transport document and how the cargo is handled at destination.

• Commercial invoice (factura comercial) — the value, parties and Incoterm your declaration is built on.
• Packing list (lista de empaque) — pieces, weights and volume, line for line with the invoice.
• House Bill of Lading or Air Waybill — the transport contract and, on ocean, the title document.
• Certificate of origin — required when you claim CAFTA-DR preferential duty.
• DUCA import declaration — usually filed through a licensed Honduran customs agent.

Documents required by shipping mode

Choosing between the two is mostly a volume question. Our guide on USA-Latin America FCL vs LCL: The 10 CBM Breakpoint walks through where the math flips.

Small parcels run on a simplified clearance built on the invoice. If you ship boxes rather than pallets, the Courier Calculator Honduras: Instant Rates (2026) page prices that lane directly.

Anything beyond this verified list — extra forms, agency certificates, category approvals — should be confirmed with AB Group Shipping or a licensed Honduran customs agent before you buy or ship.

Commercial invoice, packing list and Bill of Lading: field by field

Quick Answer: The commercial invoice carries the buyer, seller, Incoterm, HS code, unit values and currency. The packing list mirrors it with pieces, weights and dimensions. The Bill of Lading moves title and must match both exactly. Mismatched totals between the three documents are the number one cause of rejections.

Factura comercial: the fields that matter

Your invoice is the document the declaration is written from. Treat it as a customs form, not a sales receipt. A clean factura comercial Honduras aduana carries every field below.

• Exporter and importer full legal names and addresses
• Importer tax identification as registered in Honduras
• Invoice number and date
• HS/HTS code on every line, not just a total
• Quantity, unit price, line total and currency
• Incoterms 2020 term with the named place (for example, FOB Houston)
• Country of origin per line
• Signature of an authorized person

Many Honduran agents ask for a Spanish or bilingual invoice. Confirm the language requirement with your agent before printing final copies.

Lista de empaque: reconcile it line for line

The lista de empaque exportación Honduras is what an inspector physically counts. It needs piece count, gross and net weight, dimensions, total CBM, marks and numbers, and a carton or pallet breakdown.

Every invoice line should map to a packing list line. If the invoice shows 40 units and the packing list shows 4 cartons of 10, the inspector can follow it. If it shows "1 pallet, assorted," the inspection stops.

Bill of Lading: master, house and telex release

The bill of lading Honduras is the contract of carriage and, on a negotiable BL, the title to the cargo. The carrier issues the Master BL. The forwarder or NVOCC issues the House BL to you.

A straight (non-negotiable) BL names a consignee who takes delivery on identification. A negotiable BL requires surrendering originals. If the buyer has already paid, holding originals in a drawer in Texas only delays the release in Honduras.

Telex release or express release solves that. The origin office surrenders the originals electronically and destination releases against identity. Decide this at booking, not when the vessel berths.

Documents by cargo type

For personal effects, the general regional rules ask for a detailed list with estimated values — quantity and unit values for used goods, invoices for new ones — plus the transport document (RECAUCA arts. 584 and 586). Vehicles and the machinery, equipment and tools of offices, laboratories, factories or workshops cannot travel as menaje de casa (RECAUCA art. 585).

What is the DUCA-D and who files it in Honduras?

Quick Answer: The DUCA is the Declaracion Unica Centroamericana, the single regional customs declaration used in Honduras. It is usually filed through a licensed Honduran customs agent using your invoice, packing list, transport document and certificate of origin. After filing, the shipment runs through selectivity, and a red channel result triggers physical inspection.

The DUCA is the single Central American declaration used across the region. For a Honduran import, it is the declaration your agent transmits to the Administración Aduanera de Honduras, the agency that has run customs since 2020.

The regional customs regulation (RECAUCA art. 87) lists the limited cases where a customs agent is not needed, so most importers file through a licensed agente aduanero. Ask the agent what authorization they need from you. Confirm your specific case with a licensed Honduran customs agent before shipping.

How selectivity works in plain language

Once the declaration is accepted, the system assigns a channel. A red channel result triggers physical inspection of the cargo (Administración Aduanera de Honduras, Procedimiento para Menaje de Casa, 2018). Green moves toward release.

Red is not a penalty. It is a verification. The container is opened and checked against your packing list. If the counts match, it moves on. If they do not, the file reopens.

The document checkpoints, step by step

1. Quote and book the sailing with your gateway and container size confirmed.
2. Issue the commercial invoice and packing list with matching totals.
3. Deliver cargo to the origin terminal before the port cut-off.
4. Obtain the Bill of Lading or Air Waybill after loading.
5. Send the full document set to your Honduran customs agent.
6. File the DUCA electronically through the agent.
7. Receive the selectivity channel assignment.
8. Clear inspection if the channel is red.
9. Pay duty and taxes as assessed.
10. Release and arrange delivery from the port.

Importer registration, customs value and power of attorney

Quick Answer: Honduran importers normally clear commercial cargo under a registered tax identification and a written power of attorney naming their licensed customs agent, with the declared customs value supported by the commercial invoice and freight charges. Registration details change, so confirm your exact profile with a licensed Honduran customs agent before your first shipment.

The importer of record must be identifiable to customs through tax registration, and the agent needs written authority to act on your behalf. We were unable to verify specific registration form numbers or processing rules in an official source as of October 2026. Confirm your exact requirements with us or with a licensed Honduran customs agent.

How the customs value is built

The declared value starts with the invoice price and adds the freight and insurance elements implied by your Incoterm. The term on your invoice decides what is already inside the number.

• EXW invoice: origin handling, export charges and ocean freight still have to be added at destination.
• FOB invoice: the goods are on board; ocean freight and insurance are added.
• CIF invoice: freight and insurance are already inside the declared value.

Get this wrong and the agent either under-declares or double-counts. Both create corrections, and corrections create time at the port.

Why the consignee field decides everything

The name on the Bill of Lading, the invoice and the declaration must be the same legal entity. If the BL says one company and the registration says another, the agent cannot file. Not "will not" — cannot.

First-time importers should budget time for agent onboarding before the first booking, not after the vessel sails. With thousands of shipments processed across the USA–Latin America corridor, we see the same pattern: the paperwork gap, not the ocean, delays first shipments.

How does a CAFTA-DR certificate of origin lower your duty?

Quick Answer: A CAFTA-DR certificate of origin is the document that proves your goods qualify as U.S.-originating under the agreement's rules of origin. Honduras grants preferential duty treatment only when that certificate is presented and the rules of origin are met; without it, the general tariff rate applies to your shipment.

The CAFTA-DR certification of origin is a written claim by the exporter, producer or importer. No government office issues a numbered form for you. The claim travels with your commercial documents.

The rule is published plainly: CAFTA-DR preferential duty in Honduras requires a certificate of origin and meeting the rules of origin; otherwise the general rate applies (International Trade Administration, trade.gov, 2024-01-25).

The mistake that costs importers thousands

Goods bought in the USA are not automatically of U.S. origin. Chinese-made goods transiting a Miami or Houston warehouse do not qualify. Origin follows manufacture and the product-specific rule, not the shipping point.

Mixed-origin shipments are where this gets technical fast. Our breakdown of Importing Auto Parts from USA to Guatemala: Full Guide works through origin claims on parts from several countries in one container.

What your certification must contain

• A goods description that matches the commercial invoice word for word
• The HS classification at the level the rule requires
• The origin criterion being claimed
• The blanket period, if you cover repeat shipments
• The name, title and signature of an authorized person

Ask your supplier for the certification at purchase-order stage. Chasing it after the container sails is how a preferential-duty shipment becomes a full-rate one.

Which products need permits, and what Honduras will not let in

Quick Answer: Honduras restricts unlicensed firearms and ammunition, toxic waste and chemicals, pornographic material and narcotics. Plants may enter with the appropriate phytosanitary certificates. Food, cosmetics, medicines and other regulated categories need category-specific approvals, so confirm your product with a licensed Honduran customs agent before you buy.

The restricted and prohibited list, as published in the U.S. Country Commercial Guide for Honduras ('Prohibited & Restricted Imports', 2024-01-25), covers unlicensed firearms and ammunition, toxic waste and chemicals, pornographic material and narcotics. Plants may be brought in with the appropriate phytosanitary certificates.

Regulated categories such as food, cosmetics and medicines go through the relevant Honduran health or agriculture regulator. We are not naming specific agencies or processing times here, because those details were not verified against an official source. Your licensed customs agent will confirm which approval your HS code needs.

What happens when a permit is missing

Cargo that needs an approval it does not have sits under customs control while the importer chases it. Meanwhile the clock runs. On FCL, the carrier charges detention on its own box while storage accrues at the terminal.

Run the permit question before you issue the purchase order. The description and HS code your supplier writes on the invoice is exactly what the regulator reads. Change it after shipment and you are amending documents mid-clearance.

The general guidance on obtaining an import license or permit is a useful starting point, but country-specific approvals are confirmed locally.

Which U.S. export documents do you file before the cargo leaves?

Quick Answer: U.S. export shipments to Honduras are reported through the Electronic Export Information filing in AES, subject to the regulation's exceptions, supported by a Shipper's Letter of Instruction to your forwarder. The Importer Security Filing does not apply: ISF covers only import cargo arriving in the United States by vessel.

Let's kill the most common myth first. The ISF ("10+2") is an inbound U.S. filing for cargo arriving by vessel, not an export requirement for Honduras-bound freight (CBP, "Importer Security Filing"). Household goods leaving the country are reported with the EEI, subject to the regulation's exceptions (15 CFR 30.38).

EEI / AES filing

The USPPI or an authorized forwarder files the Electronic Export Information in AES. The filing carries the Schedule B or HTS number, declared value, the ECCN or EAR99 designation, and the parties to the transaction.

The system returns an Internal Transaction Number (ITN). That ITN has to appear on the transport document before the carrier will load.

Shipper's Letter of Instruction

The SLI is the one document that tells your forwarder how to route the shipment, how to describe the cargo, and who to bill. It travels with a power of attorney that lets us file the AES entry on your behalf.

Three clocks, not one

The documentation cut-off, the port cut-off and the vessel ETD are three different deadlines. Documentation usually closes first. Missing it rolls your container to the next sailing even though the box is already sitting at the terminal.

What documents are required to ship a car to Honduras?

Quick Answer: A vehicle shipment needs the original title, the bill of sale or commercial invoice, the Bill of Lading, and the owner's or importer's identification, plus the U.S. export filing before loading. Honduras prohibits vehicles that have or had right-hand drive, with limited exceptions for donated ambulances and rescue vehicles.

Start with the prohibition, because it voids everything else. Honduras prohibits importing vehicles that have or had right-hand drive, except donated ambulances and rescue vehicles (Secretaría de Finanzas de Honduras, La Gaceta, Decreto No. 17-2010, 22 April 2010). A converted RHD vehicle is still barred.

The document package

• Original title, clear of liens
• Bill of sale or commercial invoice matching the title
• Bill of Lading showing the VIN
• Photo ID or company registration of the importer
• U.S. export filing with the VIN presented to CBP before loading

Vehicle tax and age rules in Honduras changed through 2026, and the applicable text was not fully verifiable as of October 2026. We are not publishing age limits, flat payments or combined tax percentages here. Confirm the current terms with AB Group Shipping or a licensed Honduran customs agent before you buy the vehicle, not after.

Units that do not fit a container

RVs and motorhomes, semi-trucks, heavy machinery and aircraft do not fit in a container. They move on a flat rack or a RoRo vessel, and a specialist quotes them after your request comes through the form on this page.

General-cargo container rates on this page do not price vehicles. A single car uses the vehicle line. Cars sharing a 40' use the shared-container approximation per car, always written "approx." Send us the VIN and origin city through the calculator for a real number.

How much are import duties and taxes in Honduras?

Quick Answer: Honduras applies tariffs within the zero to 15 percent range on most goods from outside the region, plus a general 15% sales tax; alcohol and tobacco pay 18%, and some non-essential products carry a 15% selective consumption tax. Freight is separate and depends on your U.S. gateway and container size.

The published rates come from the U.S. Country Commercial Guide for Honduras ('Import Tariffs', 2024-01-25):

• Duty: 0 to 15 percent on most goods from outside the region
• Impuesto Sobre Ventas: 15 percent general sales tax
• Alcohol and tobacco: 18 percent
• Selective consumption tax: 15 percent on some non-essential products

No official source publishes a single combined "percentage of CIF." Treat any blog that gives you one number as a guess.

A worked example (arithmetic, not a quote)

Take a CIF value of $20,000 with a 10% duty line. Duty: $2,000. Under the Ley de Impuesto Sobre Ventas (art. 3 b), the sales tax base is CIF plus duty, selective consumption tax, specific taxes and other import charges; with none of those extras on this line, the base is $22,000, and 15% of it is $3,300. Total: $5,300.

Now run the same shipment with a valid CAFTA-DR claim. The duty line falls to whatever preferential rate Honduras' schedule sets for that HS code, and the 15% sales tax still applies to the resulting base. Confirm the preferential rate for your code with a licensed Honduran customs agent before you count the saving. This is arithmetic from published rates, not an official assessment.

Freight: what we actually charge

Our own numbers, port to port to Puerto Cortes, from September 2026 quotes: a 20' general-cargo container from $864 from Houston and from $1,674 from Miami. Prices move monthly — the price table under the opening answer updates itself, and the calculator prices your exact origin.

FCL 20'

HoustonUSHOU

→

Puerto CortesHNPCR

from · Sep 2026 USD$864 Quote this route →

FCL 20'

MiamiUSMIA

→

Puerto CortesHNPCR

from · Sep 2026 USD$1,674 Quote this route →

FCL 40'HC

New JerseyUSNYC

→

Puerto CortesHNPCR

from · Sep 2026 USD$2,311 Quote this route →

Which gateway does your region use?

Your origin decides both price and transit. Florida ships through Miami. Texas and the central states ship through Houston. California and the Southwest go through Los Angeles/Long Beach. The Northeast uses New York/New Jersey. The Southeast routes through Savannah. The Midwest moves by rail via Chicago.

Other U.S. cities use the nearest listed origin's price, written "approx." with the port it leaves from. For example, Dallas cargo prices approx. at the Houston rate, departing Port Houston.

For a sense of how Central American transit windows compare across the region, see Shipping Times USA to El Salvador 2026: 1-25 Days.

Honduran ports and airports

Puerto Cortes handles the container volume on the Caribbean coast and is where almost all U.S. FCL and LCL arrives. Puerto Castilla serves a different stretch of the north coast with a narrower cargo profile. San Lorenzo sits on the Pacific side. Air cargo clears at the national airports.

Destination terminal charges, local agent fees and door delivery inside Honduras are not AB Group Shipping freight. They are billed locally and vary by port and cargo. We quote the ocean leg; your agent quotes the rest.

Getting your documents right the first time

Quick Answer: Build the invoice and packing list first, with matching totals and HS codes on every line. Add the certificate of origin at purchase-order stage, not after loading. Send the full set to your Honduran customs agent while the vessel is still sailing, and book the gateway that matches your origin.

The requisitos aduana Honduras importación reward preparation and punish improvisation. Five documents, consistent across every field, filed by a licensed agent, is the whole system.

Get your freight number first, because it sets your Incoterm, your customs value and your timeline. Use the calculator on this page to price FCL, LCL, air and courier for your exact origin city and cargo — no email required, no follow-up calls. Then send us your document set and we will flag the mismatches before the carrier does.