Credit bureau and wage garnishment in Honduras

Two different things that often get confused: appearing in the central de riesgo is a record of your payment history, and having your wage garnished requires a court order with strict limits. This page covers the second, which almost nobody explains.

How much of your pay can be garnished

This is set by Decreto Ley No. 14, Ley de Embargos, Sueldos y Salarios, in its Article 1:

Source: Article 1 of Decreto Ley No. 14. The maintenance exception applies to the persons named in Article 388 of the Código Civil.

On that exception, the most recent and clearest text is not the 1973 decree but Article 813 of the Código Procesal Civil (Decreto 211-2006): “In maintenance proceedings up to fifty per cent (50%) may be garnished of amounts received as wages, salary, pension, remuneration, employment benefits or equivalents, including the minimum wage.” In other words: the protection of the minimum wage and of employment benefits gives way in a maintenance case, not in an ordinary debt collection.

The same article closes a much-used door: the amounts and percentages declared exempt cannot be affected whatever the number of garnishment orders that have been issued. Multiple creditors do not add up beyond the limit.

The judge must ask your employer first

Under Article 2 of Decreto Ley No. 14, courts may not order a garnishment on wages without first obtaining a statement from the employer on how much you earn and what garnishments already apply to you. It is a prior requirement, not a later formality.

If too much is deducted, your employer is liable

Article 3 requires employers — including the State and its institutions — to refrain from deducting more than the permitted amount. If the court order exceeds that limit, the employer must report it in writing and the court must issue a new ruling. And the part that matters to you: failing that obligation makes the employer personally liable to the affected worker.

They cannot garnish you “just in case”

Article 4 prohibits precautionary garnishments on wages and salaries, except in maintenance cases. A creditor cannot freeze your pay before winning the case.

If the loan is usurious, you only pay what you received

The same decree regulates usurious loans: those in which the lender charges amounts that together exceed the maximum authorised rates (Article 5).

• You can argue that the loan is usurious at any stage of the case, and the judge must decide that first, before anything else (Article 6).
• If it is found usurious, the judge determines how much you actually received and orders you to pay only that amount. Costs fall on the lender (Article 7).
• Lenders must register in the Registro de Prestamistas, and courts will not process collection claims without certification that the lender complied with that obligation (Article 8). Banks and other authorised institutions are outside that register (Article 9).

Credit cards: interest is capped

Decreto Legislativo No. 57-2017, which amends the Ley de Tarjetas de Crédito, sets the rate from the average rate published by the Banco Central de Honduras multiplied by 2.6825633383, and adds an absolute ceiling: interest may never exceed fifty-four per cent (54%). Interest in foreign currency may not exceed that calculated in national currency.

How to check your record at the credit bureau

The Central de Información Crediticia is run by the Comisión Nacional de Bancos y Seguros (CNBS). We do not run searches and have no access to your record — you request it directly from the CNBS, and it is free.

• Only you can request your own record, or a duly authorised legal representative.
• It is requested online: you register an email, fill in your details and attach a photograph of your face.
• The reply arrives in approximately 10 working days.
• The report shows balances and the status of each debt: current, in arrears, overdue, in judicial enforcement or written off.
• Besides the public CNBS bureau there are two private bureaux in the country: TransUnion Honduras and Equifax.