Hawaii County
County of Hawai'i, Department of Public Works, Building Division
In short
County of Hawai'i, Department of Public Works, Building Division issues 5 permits we publish for Hawaii County, last verified 2026-09-11. Each carries the fee as the agency publishes it, with a link to the schedule it was read from.
What this agency issues
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial Building Permit | County of Hawai'i, Department of Public Works, Building Division | Valuation-based schedule per HCC §5-7-3(b): $10 for work valued $0-$500; for $501-$2,000, $10 plus $1.50 per additional $100 (or fraction) up to $2,000; for $2,001-$25,000, $32.50 plus $7.50 per additional $1,000 (or fraction) up to $25,000; for $25,001-$50,000, $205 plus $6 per additional $1,000 (or fraction) up to $50,000; for $50,001 and up, $355 plus $3 per additional $1,000 (or fraction). Carports, garages, porches, patios, lanais, and detached U-occupancy accessory structures are billed separately at $10 per 100 sq. ft. (or fraction) regardless of valuation. | one-time, per project — the permit itself expires 6 years after issuance (HCC §5-5-4) | 2026-09-11 |
| Sign Permitonly if it applies to you | County of Hawai'i, Department of Public Works, Building Division | Hawai'i County Code §3-24(a) (Chapter 3, Signs): $25 for each sign for a new sign permit, and $100 for each sign for a permit for a sign erected before a sign permit was obtained. Under §3-24(b) a sign variance is $100 for each sign or 10% of the total value of the sign(s), excluding installation costs, whichever is greater. The fees are nonrefundable. | one-time, per sign | 2026-09-11 |
| Building Plan Review Fee | County of Hawai'i, Department of Public Works, Building Division | 20% of the Building Permit fee, with a $50 minimum, due with the application per HCC §5-7-1(a). No additional fee applies to a second plan submittal; a third submittal is $250, a fourth is $500, and each further submittal is $1,000. | one-time, per project | 2026-09-11 |
| Certificate of Occupancy | County of Hawai'i, Department of Public Works, Building Division | $200 one-time — applies only to a Temporary Certificate of Occupancy authorizing partial occupancy before project completion; the standard Certificate of Occupancy issued at final inspection carries no additional published fee beyond the Building Permit fee already charged | one-time, no expiration once issued | 2026-09-11 |
| County Contractor License (not found beyond the building permit process)only if it applies to you | County of Hawai'i, Department of Public Works, Building Division | No fee | not applicable | 2026-09-11 |
Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.
About each permit
Commercial Building Permit
This valuation-based fee table is published in Hawai'i County Code §5-7-3(b). Starting work before a permit is issued triggers a doubled fee or a flat $1,000 added on top, whichever is greater, per §5-7-3(d); the County and its own contractors, along with Habitat for Humanity (Hilo and Kona) and Hawai'i Community College's Model Home Project, are exempt from the permit fee itself under §5-7-3(g)-(h). A separate Building Plan Review Fee (20% of this permit fee) and a Certificate of Occupancy are recorded as their own lines below.
Sign Permit
Hawai'i County Code contains a dedicated Chapter 3, 'Signs,' separate from Chapter 5 (Construction Administrative Code); the County Clerk's own County Code index page lists 'Chapter 3 Signs (PDF)' as its own entry. Chapter 3, Division 7 (Fees), §3-24, sets the sign permit fee: 'For a new sign permit, $25 for each sign', or $100 for each sign where the sign was erected before a sign permit was obtained, with sign variances at $100 per sign or 10% of the sign's value, whichever is greater (Ord. 04-142). Under §3-25 these fees support administration and enforcement of the County's sign law. A sign permit is therefore priced per sign under Chapter 3, not on Chapter 5's general-construction valuation table. A separate electrical permit is required for any electrical work related to an illuminated sign, per the Sign Permit Application form's own instructions.
Building Plan Review Fee
Charged on every building-permit application under Article 7 of the Construction Administrative Code, in addition to, not instead of, the Building Permit fee itself recorded above. Plan review fees are non-refundable per §5-7-8, even where the underlying permit fee later qualifies for a partial refund.
Certificate of Occupancy
No building or structure may be used or occupied, and no change of occupancy classification may be made, until the Building Division issues a Certificate of Occupancy confirming the work complies with the construction code — mandatory for every commercial occupancy in the ten industries covered here. A separate $200 fee under §5-7-6 applies only if a Temporary Certificate of Occupancy is requested to occupy part of the building before all permitted work is finished.
County Contractor License (not found beyond the building permit process)
No fee applies. Hawai'i County Code §5-6-1, read directly, requires a building-work permit applicant to be either a contractor licensed under Hawaii Revised Statutes chapter 444 (the state Contractors License Board, recorded at the state layer) or an 'owner-builder' under the state's own owner-builder exemption, with no mention anywhere of a separate county contractor registration or credential. The Building Division verifies an applicant's state contractor licensing status as part of ordinary permit review rather than issuing an additional credential of its own. A Hawaii County contractor's local obligations are otherwise the same Commercial Building Permit and Plan Review fees recorded elsewhere in this file.
Contact
- Jurisdiction
- Hawaii County
- Phone
- (808) 961-8321
Contact details are taken from the agency’s own site or its published fee schedule. Where we have not verified a phone number we leave it blank rather than guess.
Sources
Every fee and term above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown.
- Hawai'i County Code — the County Clerk's own current index page, read directly, listing 'Chapter 3 Signs (PDF)' (updated 08/03/26) as its own chapter, separate from 'Chapter 5 Construction Administrative Code (PDF)' (updated 02/05/25); Supplement 20, updated to include ordinances through 26-60 (effective 08/26/26)County of Hawai'i, Office of the County Clerk · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-18
- Hawai'i County Code, Chapter 5 (Construction Administrative Code) — the complete permit-fee schedule at Article 7 (§§5-7-1 through 5-7-8), including the valuation-based Building Permit fee table (§5-7-3(b)), the 20%-of-permit-fee Plan Review fee with a $50 minimum (§5-7-1(a)), the $200 Temporary Certificate of Occupancy fee (§5-7-6), the Certificate of Occupancy requirement and its R-3/U exception (§5-8-22), and the contractor-eligibility provisions relying on state licensure (§5-6-1)County of Hawai'i, Office of the County Clerk / Department of Public Works · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-11
- Sign Permit Application — the Department of Public Works Building Division's own current form, carrying the same 'Valuation $ / Fee $' fields used throughout the general Building Permit fee structure, with no separate sign-specific fee schedule stated anywhereCounty of Hawai'i, Department of Public Works, Building Division · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-11
Other offices serving Hawaii County
The full permit list for this jurisdiction
Industry permit lists that include this agency
Hawaii jurisdictions
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