DBA · Hawaii

How to File a Trade Name for an LLC in Hawaii

By Edmond Hui · Last updated October 6, 2026

Short answer

Hawaii does not require an LLC to register a trade name; registering is optional. An LLC files the Application for Registration of a Trade Name in Hawaii with the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Business Registration Division. We found no publication step for an LLC's trade name filing in Hawaii.

Hawaii Trade Name at a Glance

Requirement: Optional
Where to file: Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Business Registration Division
Fee: See Cost and renewal
How long it lasts: 5 years
Newspaper notice: None found
File online: Yes

How an LLC Files

An LLC files the Application for Registration of a Trade Name in Hawaii with the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Business Registration Division.

You can file online.

Open the filing office's site · Open the filing page

Cost and Renewal

The filing fee is $50.00. The $50 filing fee is set by statute, and the division adds a $1 State Archives fee. Expedited review costs $20 more.

The registration has a 5-year term.

The registration lasts five years from the date of registration while the name stays in actual use in Hawaii. It can be renewed for further five year periods within the six months before it expires.

Renewal costs $50.00.

Publication

We found no publication step for an LLC's trade name filing in Hawaii.

Does it protect the name?

Registering gives public notice of your claim to the name but not ownership of it.

Sole proprietors

Hawaii does not require a sole proprietor to register a trade name; registering is optional.

A sole proprietor files the Application for Registration of a Trade Name in Hawaii with the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Business Registration Division.

The filing fee is $50.00. The $50 filing fee is set by statute, and the division adds a $1 State Archives fee. Expedited review costs $20 more.

The registration has a 5-year term.

The registration lasts five years from the date of registration while the name stays in actual use in Hawaii. It can be renewed for further five year periods within the six months before it expires.

Renewal costs $50.00.

We found no publication step for a sole proprietor's trade name filing in Hawaii.

Requirement	Optional
Where to file	Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Business Registration Division
Fee	See Cost and renewal
How long it lasts	5 years
Newspaper notice	None found
File online	Yes

Next steps

Frequently Asked Questions

: Hawaii does not require an LLC to register a trade name; registering is optional.
: An LLC files the Application for Registration of a Trade Name in Hawaii with the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Business Registration Division.
: The filing fee is $50.00. The $50 filing fee is set by statute, and the division adds a $1 State Archives fee. Expedited review costs $20 more.
: The registration has a 5-year term. The registration lasts five years from the date of registration while the name stays in actual use in Hawaii. It can be renewed for further five year periods within the six months before it expires. Renewal costs $50.00.
: We found no publication step for an LLC's trade name filing in Hawaii.
: Registering gives public notice of your claim to the name but not ownership of it.
: Hawaii does not require a sole proprietor to register a trade name; registering is optional. A sole proprietor files the Application for Registration of a Trade Name in Hawaii with the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Business Registration Division.

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 filing office publishes about registering a business name, with the sources this page cites. A filing here does not register a federal trademark, and fees and forms change between our reviews. Confirm with the office named on this page before you file.

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/Vol11_Ch0476-0490/HRS0482/HRS_0482-0002.htmHawaii Revised Statutes 482-2, Certificate (trade names)
capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol11_Ch0476-0490/HRS0482/HRS_0482-0003.htmHawaii Revised Statutes 482-3, Record, issuance and effect of certificate
cca.hawaii.gov/breg/faqs/Hawaii DCCA Business Registration Division, Frequently Asked Questions
cca.hawaii.gov/breg/registration/trade/Hawaii DCCA Business Registration Division, Trade Name, Trademark, or Service Mark
cca.hawaii.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/T-1-APPLICATION-FOR-REGISTRATION-OF-TRADE-NAME-11-2025.pdfHawaii Form T-1, Application for Registration of a Trade Name in Hawaii (11/2025)
cca.hawaii.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/T-1-INSTR-11-2025-1.pdfHawaii Form T-1-INSTR, Instructions for an Application for Registration of a Trade Name (11/2025)

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.