Yes: in Honduras every invoice must carry a CAI (Clave de Autorización de Impresión, a print authorization key) issued by the SAR, the Honduran tax authority, along with its authorized range and issuing deadline, valid for one year at most. You can issue invoices on forms from a certified printer or from your own registered system. SAR-validated e-invoicing isn't mandatory yet.
The problem? Texas and other US companies opening a branch, a distributor, or a plant in Honduras often assume their existing invoicing or ERP system will work as is. Then they find it doesn't meet what the SAR requires from a self-printing system, or that it can't show the fields a Honduran invoice needs.
This article explains the regulation in force when it was reviewed in October 2026. It isn't tax advice: confirm your situation with a Honduran accountant or with the SAR.
What is the CAI, and how does it work?
Under Honduras's invoicing regulation (Acuerdo 481-2017), the CAI is an alphanumeric code the SAR generates to authenticate a print authorization. In practice:
- It's authorized per issuing point and per document type, with a sequential number range.
- It lasts one year at most (article 62). After the issuing deadline, those invoices can no longer be used.
- You can request the next authorization within the two months before the issuing deadline (article 59).
- The process is electronic, through the channels the SAR provides.
What must a Honduran invoice include?
Article 10 sets the data printed on the invoice format, including:
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Issuer data | RTN (tax ID), legal name, trade name, head office and branch addresses, phone, and email |
| Document name | The word "Factura" |
| CAI | The print authorization key issued by the SAR |
| Issuing deadline | Current |
| Authorized range | Current |
| Copies | Original for the customer, copy for the issuer |
| Sequential number | 16 digits in the format NNN-NNN-NN-NNNNNNNN: branch, issuing point, document type (01 = invoice), and sequence |
When you sell to a business that needs to support tax credits or expenses, article 11 also requires, among other things, the customer's name and RTN, the date, a detailed description, quantities and unit prices, exempt amounts, subtotals and taxes by rate, the currency (lempira or L), and the total in numbers and words.
Printer or self-printer: which mode fits?
| Mode | How it works | Fits when |
|---|---|---|
| Printer | Pre-printed forms from a printer certified in the SAR's printer registry, which handles the authorization | You issue few invoices |
| Self-printer (autoimpresor) | You issue from your own cash registers or computerized systems registered with the SAR | You invoice at volume, from several points, or need invoicing tied to your operations |
If you're a self-printer, the regulation allows backup pre-printed forms for contingencies like a system outage (article 55). Without them, selling without issuing invoices during an outage can be sanctioned.
What does an invoicing system need to qualify as a self-printer?
Article 53 requires a computerized system to:
- Be integrated with at least one accounting or inventory system.
- Have security mechanisms and audit controls.
- Guarantee persistence and immediate availability of current and historical transaction data.
- Optionally support a two-dimensional code.
- Generate text files for transmission to the SAR via web services or protocol exchange.
Article 47 also requires registering each system, the location of its server, and its issuing points, and article 53 requires a sworn declaration that the system meets these requirements before the SAR authorizes it.
One honest caveat: a global ERP that's excellent elsewhere may still need local work to produce compliant Honduran invoices. Check this before you go live, not after the first audit.
Is e-invoicing mandatory in Honduras?
Not as of October 2026. The regulation already defines electronic invoicing, where your system talks to the SAR's systems to obtain a code for each document (the CAEE). But article 57 says the SAR will notify the taxpayers who must adopt it, under a schedule by taxpayer category that the Ministry of Finance will issue.
According to VATupdate's August 2026 country booklet, that schedule hasn't been published and SAR-cleared e-invoicing isn't live. The risk is that a mandate arrives with little lead time, so your system should be able to adapt without a rebuild.
How is this different from invoicing in Texas?
Very different. Texas has no government-issued invoice authorization like the CAI, no authorized number ranges, and no general requirement to issue invoices through a state system. What Texas asks of a seller is a sales tax permit, the correct state and local rate, the tax stated separately on the bill or invoice (or a written statement that the price includes it), and sales records kept for at least four years.
So a system built for Texas can track tax correctly and still be missing what Honduras requires: the CAI, the authorized range and issuing deadline, the 16-digit sequential number, and registration of the system itself with the SAR.
How do we help Texas companies invoice in Honduras?
Our engineering team works from Tegucigalpa and knows the SAR requirements firsthand, and Andes Dev LLC, our sister company in Central Texas, is your US point of contact for contracts and invoicing. We can connect invoicing to your accounting, inventory, and sales channels to avoid entering data twice, and manage the platforms you already use. If you need a system of your own, we design it with your accountant's input from the start. For the broader build-or-buy question, read build or buy software?.
Is your invoicing ready for Honduras?
We'll review how you invoice today, what the SAR requires, and what would need to change if e-invoicing becomes mandatory, together with your accountant. Explore our cloud, security and operations service or custom software development.
Sources
- SAR, consolidated text of the invoicing regulation (Acuerdo 481-2017, amended by Acuerdos 609-2017, 725-2018, and 817-2018), articles 2, 10, 11, 47, 53, 55, 57, 59, and 62: https://www.sar.gob.hn/download/texto-consolidado-reglamento-del-regimen-de-facturacion-otros-documentos-fiscales-y-registro-fiscal-de-imprentas-contenido-en-el-acuerdo-481-2017-segun-acuerdos-609-2017-725-2018-y-817-2018/
- SAR, invoicing: https://www.sar.gob.hn/facturacion/
- VATupdate, Honduras e-invoicing and e-reporting country booklet (August 2026): https://www.vatupdate.com/2026/08/11/honduras-e-invoicing-e-reporting-country-booklet/
- 34 Texas Administrative Code §3.286 (Cornell LII): https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/texas/34-Tex-Admin-Code-SS-3-286
- 34 Texas Administrative Code §3.281, Records Required (Cornell LII): https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/texas/34-Tex-Admin-Code-SS-3-281