Business license · Hawaii

Does Your LLC Need a Business License in Hawaii?

The short answer. Hawaii requires businesses that do business in Hawaii to hold Hawaii's General Excise Tax (GET) license, a state tax registration issued by the Hawaii Department of Taxation. Hawaii's General Excise Tax (GET) license costs $20. Your local government may also require a license for certain activities.

Hawaii Business License at a Glance

General state business license	Required
License name	General Excise Tax (GET) license
Issued by	Hawaii Department of Taxation
State license fee	$20
Renewal	No renewal
City or county licenses	Local governments license some activities (see Local licenses)
Trade and professional licenses	Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Professional and Vocational Licensing Division

Read from the government sources listed at the foot of this page, last checked September 30, 2026. See the sources.

Does Hawaii Require a State Business License?

Hawaii requires businesses that do business in Hawaii to hold Hawaii's General Excise Tax (GET) license, a state tax registration issued by the Hawaii Department of Taxation.

You apply for Hawaii's General Excise Tax (GET) license with the Hawaii Department of Taxation. You can apply online or on paper. Go to the application page.

What It Costs and When to Renew

Hawaii's General Excise Tax (GET) license costs $20.

It does not need to be renewed.

City and County Business Licenses

Hawaii's counties issue the county licenses that state law lists for certain businesses, such as auctions, pawnbrokers, peddlers, secondhand dealers and scrap dealers. Each county council decides by ordinance whether to require some of these licenses and sets their annual fees.

Professional and Trade Licenses

Hawaii's Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs licenses regulated professions and vocations through its Professional and Vocational Licensing Division, which oversees 25 boards and commissions and 27 licensing programs. Some businesses, such as real estate agents, construction contractors and travel agents, need one of these licenses to operate. Look up Hawaii license requirements.

Our verified guides for specific trades in this state:

See trade and business license requirements by state for every trade we cover.

Worth Knowing in Hawaii

Hawaii's Department of Taxation says every LLC, including a single-member LLC that is disregarded for income tax, must obtain its own GET license. The license must be displayed at the place of business it names.

Other Hawaii Registrations to Check

Hawaii articles of organization, the filing that creates the LLC itself.
Hawaii resale certificate, to buy inventory for resale without paying tax on it.
How to get an EIN, the federal tax ID most LLCs need to open a bank account or hire.

Frequently Asked Questions

: Hawaii requires businesses that do business in Hawaii to hold Hawaii's General Excise Tax (GET) license, a state tax registration issued by the Hawaii Department of Taxation.
: Hawaii's General Excise Tax (GET) license costs $20. It does not need to be renewed.
: You apply for Hawaii's General Excise Tax (GET) license with the Hawaii Department of Taxation. You can apply online or on paper.
: Hawaii's counties issue the county licenses that state law lists for certain businesses, such as auctions, pawnbrokers, peddlers, secondhand dealers and scrap dealers. Each county council decides by ordinance whether to require some of these licenses and sets their annual fees.
: Hawaii's Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs licenses regulated professions and vocations through its Professional and Vocational Licensing Division, which oversees 25 boards and commissions and 27 licensing programs. Some businesses, such as real estate agents, construction contractors and travel agents, need one of these licenses to operate.

This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. It reports what each state's law and agencies say about a general state business license, with the sources this page cites. It cannot tell you which licenses your own business needs: that turns on what the business does, where it operates, and what its city or county requires, and fees and exemptions change between our reviews. Confirm your own position with the state agency named on this page, the city or county where the business is located, and any state board that licenses your trade before you open.

Sources

Each entry below is a document recorded in our verified Hawaii sources, and each entry says what the document is. Some statutory text is read from an accurate mirror rather than from the state's own host, and those say so.

capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol04_Ch0201-0257/HRS0237/HRS_0237-0009.htmHRS 237-9, Licenses; penalty
tax.hawaii.gov/geninfo/get/Hawaii Department of Taxation, General Excise Tax (GET) Information FAQ
files.hawaii.gov/tax/legal/taxfacts/tf2015-31-1-r23.pdfHawaii Department of Taxation, Tax Facts 31-1, Licensing and Tax Information for New Businesses (rev. September 2023)
capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol10_Ch0436-0474/HRS0445/HRS_0445-0002.htmHRS 445-2, Treasurer to issue
capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol10_Ch0436-0474/HRS0445/HRS_0445-0012.htmHRS 445-12, Business without license forbidden
capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol10_Ch0436-0474/HRS0445/HRS_0445-0015.htmHRS 445-15, Control by ordinance
cca.hawaii.gov/pvl/Hawaii DCCA, Professional and Vocational Licensing Division

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Edmond Hui · Founder, MyStateLLC

Edmond Hui is a software engineer and serial entrepreneur based in New York who has founded multiple online businesses across e-commerce, media, and information publishing. Before transitioning into tech, he spent years as a commercial real estate professional closing deals totaling over 100,000 square feet, giving him firsthand experience with business formation and entity structuring. He built MyStateLLC to provide the free, state-specific LLC guidance he wished existed when forming his own companies.