Data protection & privacy law in Honduras (2026)
Data protection in Honduras: sectoral rules.
Honduras has no comprehensive personal data protection law in force. Data protection rests on a constitutional habeas data guarantee (Article 182) and the 2006 Transparency Law (LTAIP), which regulates personal data held by public-sector obligated institutions under IAIP oversight. A draft comprehensive Personal Data Protection Law has been stalled in the National Congress since April 2018 with no final approval as of May 2026.
Legal framework
Constitutional Habeas Data (Article 182, 1982 Constitution rev. 2013) + Law on Transparency and Access to Public Information (LTAIP, Decree 170-2006), supervised by the Instituto de Acceso a la Información Pública (IAIP)
Key points: data & privacy in Honduras
Constitutional Habeas Data
Article 182 of the 1982 Constitution (revised 2013) guarantees all persons the right to access, rectify, update, and suppress personal data held in public or private databases, and to prevent its unauthorized disclosure or transmission.
Transparency Law (LTAIP, Decree 170-2006)
Decree 170-2006 obliges public institutions to protect personal data, prohibits disclosure of data that could cause discrimination or moral/economic harm, defines confidential information categories, and extends the constitutional habeas data right in the public-sector context.
Supervisory Authority: IAIP
The Instituto de Acceso a la Información Pública (IAIP) is an independent public body that supervises compliance by public-sector obligated institutions and operates the Portal Único de Transparencia. No dedicated data protection authority with private-sector jurisdiction exists.
Stalled Comprehensive Draft Law
A draft Personal Data Protection and Habeas Data Law, prepared by the IAIP and submitted to Congress around 2015, advanced through initial parliamentary chapters but has been suspended since April 2018 without final approval, leaving no comprehensive private-sector data protection regime enacted.
Sensitive Data & Consent Rules
The Transparency Law defines sensitive personal data (ethnicity, health status, personal beliefs) and requires explicit consent for its processing, with limited exceptions. These obligations apply primarily to public-sector and LTAIP-obligated entities, not broadly to private controllers.
No Private-Sector Comprehensive Regime
Private-sector data processing is not governed by any dedicated data protection statute. There are no statutory requirements for breach notification, data protection officers, or cross-border transfer rules for private entities; individuals must rely on constitutional habeas data court remedies.
Timeline of decisions
- GuidanceAcademic Comparative Analysis of Honduras Draft Data Protection Law Published
UNAH researchers published a peer-reviewed comparative study of Honduras's pending Personal Data Protection Bill against EU GDPR standards in the CAMJOL law journal, finding broad adherence to GDPR principles but identifying gaps that would need correction before enactment. The study raised the bill's profile and informed Congressional debate.
CAMJOL / Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras
- Law · officialIAIP Formally Presents Draft Personal Data Protection Law to National Congress
The Instituto de Acceso a la Información Pública (IAIP), with technical support from the International Development Law Organization (IDLO), formally presented the draft Personal Data Protection and Habeas Data Law to deputies of the National Congress, framing it as a decisive step for digital rights and rule of law. The bill remained pending legislative approval as of late 2024.
FIAP – Ibero-American Forum on Personal Data Protection
- Guidance · officialIAIP Socialises Draft Personal Data Protection Law with Congress
Honduras's Institute of Access to Public Information (IAIP), with technical support from the International Development Law Organization (IDLO), formally presented a revised draft Personal Data Protection Law to congressional deputies, Honduras still has no enacted data-protection statute, leaving a major cybersecurity gap.
IAIP Honduras (Instituto de Acceso a la Información Pública)
- LawDraft Personal Data Protection Law Socialized with Civil Society and Congress
The IAIP held public socialization sessions on the draft Personal Data Protection Law with Congressional deputies and civil society, explaining how the bill would protect citizens from criminal data theft and align Honduras with regional standards. This was the first formal parliamentary outreach since the bill stalled in 2018.
La Tribuna (Honduras)
- Decision · officialIAIP Information Access Index (IAI) Enters into Force for All Obligated Entities
The IAIP's new Information Access Index became mandatory for all public institutions subject to the Transparency Law, standardising how entities publish and handle personal and confidential data. It reinforced the data-minimisation and confidentiality obligations already embedded in Decree 170-2006.
IAIP – Portal Único de Transparencia (Honduras)
- Law · officialTransparency and Access to Public Information Law (Decree 170-2006) Reformed
The National Congress passed the most recent amendment to the foundational Transparency Law, updating its provisions on confidential personal data and the obligations of public entities to safeguard citizens' information held in state registries.
IAIP – Instituto de Acceso a la Información Pública (Honduras)
- Decision · officialPersonal Data Protection Bill Submitted to Congress by IAIP — Final Vote Suspended Indefinitely
The Instituto de Acceso a la Información Pública (IAIP) submitted a Personal Data Protection and Habeas Data Bill to the National Congress; Congress suspended the final ratification vote in April 2018 and has not resumed it since. Honduras remains one of the few countries in Latin America without a comprehensive data-protection law — a critical gap for any AI regulatory framework.
IAIP — Instituto de Acceso a la Información Pública de Honduras
- LawDraft Personal Data Protection Law Partially Debated in Congress; Progress Stalls
The National Congress debated the 96-article Draft Personal Data Protection Law promoted by the IAIP; roughly 29 articles were approved and the law was expected to come into force in 2019. However, legislative momentum collapsed and the bill remained unapproved for the next six-plus years, leaving Honduras without a comprehensive data protection statute.
El Heraldo (Honduras)
- LawIAIP Prepares Preliminary Draft Personal Data Protection Law
The IAIP formally developed a preliminary draft law on personal data protection, drawing on European and regional models, which introduced GDPR-style rights of access, rectification, cancellation, and opposition (ARCO rights) and proposed designating the IAIP as the national data protection authority.
DataGuidance – OneTrust (Honduras Privacy Overview)
- LawConstitutional Reform Formally Enshrines Habeas Data in Article 182
Legislative Decrees 237-2012 (passed 23 January 2013) and 10-2013 (ratified 30 January 2013) were published in the Official Gazette on 27 March 2013, bringing a strengthened Habeas Data guarantee into force. The reform gave individuals the sole right to access, correct, update, and erase personal data held in any public or private registry, with the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court as the exclusive enforcement body.
Constitute Project – Honduras Constitution (2013 revision)
- Law · officialLaw for Transparency and Access to Public Information (Decree 170-2006) Published
Enacted 27 November 2006 and published in the Official Gazette on 30 December 2006, this law created the IAIP, established the right of public access to government-held information, and introduced the category of 'confidential personal data' in the public sector—prohibiting disclosure that could cause discrimination or economic harm. It remains the primary statutory data-protection instrument for Honduras.
CEPAL/ECLAC – Observatorio de Planificación
- Law · officialLaw of the National Registry of Persons (Decree 62-2004) Enacted
Decree 62-2004 established the Registro Nacional de las Personas (RNP) and introduced the first statutory data-protection obligations for civil registry data, limiting public disclosure of personal information where it could damage honour, privacy, or family life. It defined categories of public versus protected personal data and required technical security measures for archives.
Tribunal Superior de Cuentas – Honduras (official legal text)
- LawLey Especial sobre Intervención de las Comunicaciones (Decree 243-2011 predecessors), Foundational Communications Surveillance Framework
Honduras enacted foundational legislation governing interception of telecommunications (formalised as Decreto 243-2011), establishing judicial-warrant requirements for lawful intercept of electronic communications; this framework remains the baseline legal authority for state access to digital data and is directly relevant to any cybersecurity enforcement action.
IPANDETEC – Análisis Legal Honduras
- Law · officialConstitution of Honduras Enacted – Foundational Privacy Protections
The Political Constitution of the Republic of Honduras (Decree 131-82), adopted on 11 January 1982 and published on 20 January 1982, enshrined inviolability of correspondence, private communications, and personal honour (Articles 76–77) as constitutional rights enforceable against the state and private parties. These provisions formed the legal bedrock on which subsequent Habeas Data protections would be built.
WIPO Lex – Honduras Political Constitution (Decree 131-82)
Sources
- constituteproject.org/constitution/Honduras_2013
- oas.org/es/sla/ddi/docs/H2%20LeyDeTransparencia.pdf
- site.iaip.gob.hn/
- portalunico.iaip.gob.hn/ver_archivo/NjEyMTA2
- dlapiperdataprotection.com/index.html?t=law&c=HN
- dlapiperdataprotection.com/index.html?t=authority&c=HN
- consortiumlegal.com/en/2022/09/06/data-protection-and-privacy-of-information-in-honduras/
- dataguidance.com/notes/honduras-data-protection-overview
- central-law.com/honduras-la-proteccion-de-datos-en-honduras/
- hrlibrary.umn.edu/research/honduras-constitution.html
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