Start a Free LLC in Hawaii

Per the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA), as of September 2026, Hawaii charges $50 to file the Articles of Organization. After that, the Domestic Limited Liability Company Annual Report (Form C5) costs $15 every year. With LLC Register, formation is included in the $99-a-year Hawaii registered agent service, so year one costs $149.

BREG does not publish a standard processing time. Your LLC's registration date is the date the Articles of Organization are filed. Hawaii does not offer paid expedited processing for LLC formations. Your LLC exists once the state accepts your filing.

To start an LLC in Hawaii, choose an available name, appoint a Hawaii registered agent, and file the Articles of Organization with the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA) for $50. Then sign an operating agreement, get a free EIN from the IRS, open a business bank account and register for any state taxes. LLC Register files it for you as part of the $99-a-year registered agent service.

Yes. You can file online through Hawaii Business Express, or on paper by mail. The Articles of Organization costs $50.

In Hawaii you form an LLC by filing the Articles of Organization (Form LLC-1) with the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA). Other states call this document the articles of organization or the certificate of formation. The filing fee is $50.

No. Hawaii does not offer paid expedited processing for LLC formations. BREG does not publish a standard processing time. Your LLC's registration date is the date the Articles of Organization are filed.

Use the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA)'s free online business name search to check whether your LLC name is available. Your Hawaii LLC name must contain "limited liability company" or the abbreviation "L.L.C." or "LLC" ("Limited" may be abbreviated "Ltd." and "company" "Co.").

Your Hawaii LLC name must contain "limited liability company" or the abbreviation "L.L.C." or "LLC" ("Limited" may be abbreviated "Ltd." and "company" "Co."). The rules are set by the Hawaii Uniform Limited Liability Company Act, Hawaii Revised Statutes Chapter 428.

Yes. You can reserve a name for $10 with Form X-1; the reservation lasts 120 days. A reservation is optional; filing the formation document also secures the name.

Yes. Every Hawaii LLC must have a registered agent. Your registered agent must keep a business address in Hawaii and be a Hawaii resident individual, or a domestic or foreign entity authorized to transact business in Hawaii. The LLC itself cannot serve as its own registered agent.

Yes. A member or manager who is a Hawaii resident can serve as the LLC's individual registered agent, as long as they keep a Hawaii business address. The LLC itself cannot be its own agent. Your address becomes public record, and someone must be there during business hours to accept legal papers.

Not as your registered agent's address. Your registered agent must keep a business address in Hawaii and be a Hawaii resident individual, or a domestic or foreign entity authorized to transact business in Hawaii. The LLC itself cannot serve as its own registered agent. A PO box can usually serve as a mailing address, but the registered agent needs a physical address in Hawaii.

File the Statement of Change of Registered Agent by Entity (Form X-7) with the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA). The fee is $25.

Serving as your own Hawaii registered agent is free if you qualify. Commercial registered agents charge a yearly fee. LLC Register's Hawaii registered agent service is $99 a year and includes LLC formation and annual report filing.

Yes. Hawaii LLCs must file the Domestic Limited Liability Company Annual Report (Form C5) every year. The state fee is $15.

The Domestic Limited Liability Company Annual Report (Form C5) is due by the end of the calendar quarter in which your LLC was registered, every year after the year you formed. Your first one is due in the calendar year after formation, by the end of your LLC's registration quarter. It is filed with the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA).

Per the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA), as of September 2026, the Domestic Limited Liability Company Annual Report (Form C5) state fee is $15. It is due by the end of the calendar quarter in which your LLC was registered, every year after the year you formed. LLC Register files it for you at no extra service fee while your registered agent service is active.

Online filers are charged a $10 late fee per year delinquent; by statute the penalty can run up to $100 for each 30-day period of delinquency, and BREG can administratively terminate an LLC that misses two years of annual reports. File as soon as possible to keep your LLC in good standing.

Hawaii has no franchise or privilege tax on LLCs. Every LLC, including a single-member disregarded one, instead holds a General Excise Tax (GET) license and pays GET on its gross business income.

For Hawaii income tax, an LLC with more than one member is treated as a partnership and a single-member LLC as a disregarded entity, so profits pass through to the members' returns; an LLC may instead elect to be taxed as a corporation. Federally, a single-member LLC is taxed like a sole proprietorship and a multi-member LLC like a partnership, unless it elects to be taxed as a corporation.

Hawaii has no sales tax, but every business needs a General Excise Tax (GET) license from the Department of Taxation, a one-time $20 registration on Form BB-1, and pays GET (4% for most activities, plus up to a 0.5% county surcharge) on its gross income.

Before you hire, add withholding to your Hawaii Tax ID with the Department of Taxation on Form BB-1, and register for unemployment insurance with the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. You also need an EIN from the IRS before you run payroll.

It depends on your industry and location: Hawaii regulates some professions and activities through state licenses, and many cities and counties require local business licenses. Start with the Hawaii Business Express.

Hawaii does not require a written operating agreement, and nothing is filed with the state. Its internal workings are governed by an operating agreement that can include almost any provision the members agree on, and a member has the right to a copy of any operating agreement kept in a record. LLC Register includes an operating agreement with every Hawaii LLC it forms.

You need an EIN if your LLC has employees or more than one member, and most banks ask for one to open a business account. A single-member LLC without employees can use the owner's Social Security number for federal taxes, but an EIN keeps it off business paperwork.

Apply for free on the IRS website once the state has approved your LLC; online applicants receive the EIN immediately. Owners without a Social Security number can apply with Form SS-4 by fax or mail.

Yes. You do not have to live in Hawaii or be a U.S. citizen to form a Hawaii LLC. You do need a registered agent with a physical address in Hawaii. Non-U.S. owners without a Social Security number apply for an EIN with IRS Form SS-4.

Yes. Hawaii allows an LLC with a single owner. By default the IRS taxes a single-member LLC like a sole proprietorship, reported on the owner's personal return.

No. Hawaii's LLC Act (HRS chapter 428) has no series LLC provisions.

No. Hawaii has no professional LLC (PLLC) designation. Licensed professionals rendering services within one or more professions instead form a professional corporation under HRS chapter 415A.

No. Hawaii does not require newspaper publication to form an LLC.

Order a Certificate of Good Standing from the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA) for $5. Banks, lenders and other states often ask for one as proof your LLC is current with the state.

An LLC formed in another state registers to do business in Hawaii by filing the Application for Certificate of Authority for Foreign Limited Liability Company (Form FLLC-1) with the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA). The fee is $50, and the LLC needs a Hawaii registered agent.

File the Articles of Amendment of Limited Liability Company (Form LLC-3; Form LLC-2 to change the name) with the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA) for $25. Amend when you change your LLC's name or other information in the formation document.

File the Articles of Termination for a Limited Liability Company (Form LLC-11) with the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA) for $25. Before you file, wind up the business: pay debts, close tax accounts and distribute what is left to the members.

Register a Trade Name (Form T-1) with BREG for $50; it is valid for five years, and BREG sends no reminder to renew. A DBA lets your LLC trade under another name without forming a new company.

Yes. An eligible LLC can elect S corporation tax status by filing IRS Form 2553. The election can reduce self-employment tax once profits are high enough to pay yourself a reasonable salary. For Hawaii income tax, an LLC with more than one member is treated as a partnership and a single-member LLC as a disregarded entity, so profits pass through to the members' returns; an LLC may instead elect to be taxed as a corporation.

An LLC separates your personal assets from business debts and lawsuits, keeps pass-through taxation, and needs less paperwork than a corporation. In Hawaii it costs $50 to form and the Domestic Limited Liability Company Annual Report (Form C5) is $15 every year.

A sole proprietorship costs nothing to start, but you are personally liable for the business's debts. A Hawaii LLC costs $50 to form and protects your personal assets, with the same pass-through taxes by default.

Usually not if your business operates in Hawaii. An out-of-state LLC doing business here must also register as a foreign LLC in Hawaii for $50 and keep a Hawaii registered agent, so you pay two states' fees.

No. Formation is included in the $99-a-year Hawaii registered agent service. The state still charges its $50 filing fee, which we pass through at cost.

For $99 a year plus the $50 state fee: Hawaii LLC formation in year one, a Hawaii registered agent, an operating agreement, and filing of your Domestic Limited Liability Company Annual Report (Form C5) every year. Renewal is $99 a year. State fees are passed through at cost.

No. FinCEN has exempted companies created in the United States from beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting. Only foreign companies registered to do business in a U.S. state still have to report.

The Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA), Business Registration Division (BREG), handles LLC formations, amendments and annual filings. Its office is at 335 Merchant Street, Room 201, Honolulu, HI 96813 (mailing: P.O. Box 40, Honolulu, HI 96810).

Yes, you should. Mixing business and personal money can weaken the liability protection your LLC gives you. Banks usually ask for your filed Articles of Organization, your EIN and your operating agreement.