How to Get a Hawaii Contractor License

HRS 444-9 prohibits acting or advertising as a general engineering, general building or specialty contractor without a license, and the Board's FAQ adds that a license is needed even to bid. HRS 444-2 exempts projects whose aggregate contract price for labor and materials is not more than $1,500, but only when no building permit is required and the job is not part of a larger project split up to dodge the law. Owner-builders, registered architects and engineers acting in their professional capacity, and employees paid only wages are also exempt.

Electrical and plumbing work carries an extra layer. The Board's application warns that performing it requires individual electrician or plumber licenses under HRS Chapter 448E, so a contractor whose RME is not so licensed must employ licensed electricians or plumbers to do the work.

HAR Chapter 16-77 sorts licenses into three groups. The A classification (general engineering) covers fixed works such as highways, bridges, harbors, drainage and water power. The B classification (general building) covers structures involving more than two unrelated building trades. C classifications are specialties, from C-5 cabinet and carpentry remodeling to C-13 electrical, C-37 plumbing, C-42 roofing and C-52 ventilating and air conditioning, with lettered subcategories such as C-31a cement concrete.

You may request more than one classification on an application, but your experience has to support each one, and a general contractor may not do specialty work outside the classifications it holds.

You can apply as a sole proprietor or as an entity such as a corporation, LLC, partnership or joint venture. An entity cannot be licensed without a Responsible Managing Employee (RME), a separately licensed individual who files his or her own application. HAR 16-77-71 requires the principal RME to be responsible for the direct management of the business, to sign or initial all contracts, and to be in residence in Hawaii while the entity's license is in effect or a project is under construction.

The qualifying individual must be at least 18, have a reputation for honesty, truthfulness, financial integrity and fair dealing, and document at least four years of supervisory experience within the ten years before applying. Proof means at least three notarized experience certificates, with at least one per classification and no two in the same classification from the same person, plus a Chronological History of Projects form for each classification. Only on-site supervision of your own crew counts, and approved technical training can count for no more than one year.

An entity's application carries a $50 nonrefundable fee and several financial documents:

The Board meets monthly except in December. Its web page says a complete application must reach the Honolulu office by the first Tuesday of the month two months before the meeting at which you want it reviewed; faxed or emailed copies are refused. Once approved, the qualifying individual gets a letter to register with PSI and must pass within six months. Under HRS 436B-9, an application is abandoned if the licensing process is not completed within a year of filing or the exam is not passed within six months of eligibility, and you must then start over.

After passing, the applicant pays license fees and submits workers' compensation proof (or an approved exclusion form for qualifying owner-only businesses), any bond the Board requires, and liability insurance of at least $100,000 per person and $300,000 per occurrence for bodily injury and $50,000 per occurrence for property damage. The contractor must keep a definite place of business in Hawaii, not a post office box, and display the license there.

Letting liability or workers' compensation coverage lapse causes automatic forfeiture. If the RME leaves an entity, the entity has 60 days to notify the Board and 90 days to qualify a new RME, appoint a licensed one or go inactive.

Every Hawaii contractor license expires on September 30 of each even-numbered year, whatever its issue date, so the current period ends September 30, 2026. Renewal applications are mailed before August 15. Entities and sole proprietors must be current on insurance and any required bond and submit a tax clearance, and every RME must renew before the entity's license can. An unrenewed license is forfeited; it can be restored with a penalty fee within 60 days, through November 30, after which a new application is required.

The Board's FAQ states that Hawaii has no reciprocity agreements, so out-of-state contractors follow the same experience and exam steps. For those exams, ContractorPrepHQ offers practice: original questions written from PSI's Hawaii outlines and reference lists, a diagnostic, topic drills with explanations and timed practice exams with a readiness score. Hawaii Business and Law prep is $99 and trade prep is $149 with Business and Law prep included, a one-time purchase with lifetime access and a 30-day money-back guarantee.