Form your business in Hawaii
You form a Hawaii LLC by filing Articles of Organization (Form LLC-1) with DCCA's Business Registration Division (BREG). You can file online or send the form by email, mail or fax. The filing fee is $50 as listed by BREG in October 2026, plus a $1 State Archives fee; expedited review costs another $25. Filing fees are not refundable, so check the name with BREG's business name search before you pay.
Ongoing state filings
Every Hawaii LLC files an annual report. BREG's LLC fee schedule lists the annual report at $15 in October 2026, and BREG's 2025 filing notice put the online fee for LLCs at $12.50. Your filing period is tied to your registration date: BREG says the report can be filed any time during the quarter in which it is due, and it posts reminders at the start of each quarter. Missing it puts your good standing at risk.
Using a business name (DBA)
Trade names are registered with BREG on Form T-1. The fee is $50 as listed by BREG in October 2026, $20 more for expedited service, plus the $1 State Archives fee. A registration lasts five years. BREG does not mail renewal reminders, and once a name expires anyone may register it, so put the renewal date on your calendar; you can renew in the six months before it runs out.
Not sure whether you need an LLC at all? Read LLC vs sole proprietor for contractors, then get your free EIN from the IRS.
Licensing for service trades
Hawaii licenses contractors statewide through the Contractors License Board, part of DCCA's Professional and Vocational Licensing division. Hawaii law sorts contractors into three branches: general engineering (A), general building (B) and specialty (C). The exemption most small operators ask about is in Hawaii Revised Statutes 444-2: a job where labor and materials total $1,500 or less does not need a contractor license, but the exemption disappears if the work needs a building permit, is part of a larger project, or is split into small contracts to stay under the line. Individual electricians and plumbers are licensed separately by the Board of Electricians and Plumbers, and structural pest control has its own board. Counties handle building permits, so check with yours before you quote work that touches structure, wiring or plumbing.
- Hawaii Contractors License Board (DCCA): Contractor licenses in A, B and C classifications for entities, responsible managing employees and sole proprietors
- Hawaii Board of Electricians and Plumbers (DCCA): Electrician and plumber licenses
- Hawaii Pest Control Board (DCCA): Structural pest control licensing
Workers' compensation
Per the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (DLIR), any employer with one or more employees, full-time or part-time, permanent or temporary, must provide workers' comp, apart from the exclusions in HRS 386-1. Most employers buy a policy from a carrier authorized to write workers' comp in Hawaii; the alternative is self-insuring with the director's approval and proof of financial solvency. You may not make employees chip in toward the premium. If someone is hurt, the employer files an Employer's Report of Industrial Injury (WC-1) with DLIR's Disability Compensation Division within 7 working days.
More on coverage: business insurance for contractors.
Sales tax on services
Hawaii has no sales tax. It has the general excise tax (GET), which the Department of Taxation says is assessed on all business activities, so mowing, cleaning, washing and repair income are all in scope. The rate is 4% for most activity. On top of that, all four counties have adopted a 0.5% surcharge that runs through December 31, 2030 (Honolulu, Kauai, Hawaii County and Maui County). The tax is on your business, not your customer, but the department says you may visibly pass it on. You need a GET license before you start: register on Hawaii Tax Online or with Form BB-1, for a one-time $20 fee as listed by the Department of Taxation in October 2026.
Recording business calls in Hawaii
Hawaii is one-party consent for calls. HRS 803-42(b)(3)(A) lets a person who is not acting for the government intercept a call they take part in, or one where a participant gave prior consent, unless the purpose is criminal or tortious. Customers calling from all-party states change the picture, which our guide to recording business calls covers.
See our guide to recording business calls before you turn on call recording or an AI receptionist.
How the seasons shape the work
There is no snow season to plan around, so lawn, tree and cleaning work runs all year, with growth heaviest on the wet windward sides of each island. Salt air and humidity corrode metal, fade paint and grow mildew on siding and roofs, which keeps washing, painting and gutter work steady. Hurricane season brings storm prep and cleanup work, and every island is its own market: a crew on Oahu cannot drive to a job on Maui, so price inter-island work with shipping and travel built in.
Temporary disability insurance and prepaid health care
Hawaii's Temporary Disability Insurance law requires employers to provide partial wage replacement when an eligible employee cannot work because of an off-the-job injury or sickness, including pregnancy; you buy it from an authorized carrier or run an approved self-insured plan. Separately, the Prepaid Health Care Act requires employers to provide health coverage to employees who work at least 20 hours a week and earn at least 86.67 times the Hawaii minimum wage in a month, with coverage starting after four consecutive weeks of employment. Both are administered by DLIR's Disability Compensation Division. Price them into your labor cost before you hire.
Small jobs and the $1,500 line
A handyman or painter doing small jobs can stay under the $1,500 contractor exemption, but HRS 444-2 says the exemption does not apply where a building permit is required or where a project is divided into smaller contracts to avoid licensing. Quote the whole job honestly; splitting one bathroom into three invoices does not make it unlicensed work.
Then set up the back end that gets you hired
The paperwork makes you legal. Customers still have to find you, reach you and pay you. Before your first job, set up a business phone number, email on your own domain, a Google Business Profile, a simple website, and a way to send quotes and take card payments. The launch checklist lays out the order.
Hawaii questions
What does a Hawaii LLC cost to set up?
$50 for Articles of Organization (Form LLC-1) as listed by DCCA's Business Registration Division in October 2026, plus a $1 State Archives fee. Expedited review is $25 more.
Does Hawaii charge sales tax on services?
Hawaii has no sales tax. Its general excise tax applies to nearly all business income, including services, at 4% plus a 0.5% county surcharge in all four counties.
Do I need a contractor license for small jobs in Hawaii?
Jobs of $1,500 or less in labor and materials are exempt under HRS 444-2, unless the work needs a building permit or is part of a larger project.
What insurance do I need when I hire my first employee in Hawaii?
Workers' comp from your first employee, plus temporary disability insurance and, for employees working 20 or more hours a week, prepaid health care. DLIR's Disability Compensation Division oversees all three.
How long does a Hawaii trade name registration last?
Five years. BREG does not send a reminder, and an expired name can be registered by someone else.
Official sources
- Hawaii DCCA BREG: Domestic limited liability company
- Hawaii DCCA BREG: LLC fees (Chapter 428)
- Hawaii DCCA BREG: Second quarter annual business reports due (2025)
- Hawaii DCCA BREG: Trade name, trademark and service mark
- Hawaii DCCA BREG: Trade name FAQs
- Hawaii DCCA BREG: State archive preservation fee
- Hawaii Rev. Stat. § 444-2: Contractor license exemptions
- Hawaii Rev. Stat. § 444-7: Contractor classifications
- Hawaii DCCA: Contractors License Board
- Hawaii DLIR: About workers' compensation
- Hawaii DLIR: About temporary disability insurance
- Hawaii DLIR: About prepaid health care
- Hawaii Department of Taxation: General excise tax
- Hawaii Rev. Stat. § 803-42: Interception of communications
General information, not legal or tax advice, checked against the official sources above as of October 6, 2026. Rules and fees change; confirm with the agency before you file.