Commercial Compliance Hub
Check requirements

Honolulu County

City and County of Honolulu, Department of Planning and Permitting

In short

City and County of Honolulu, Department of Planning and Permitting issues 10 permits we publish for Honolulu 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

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
Building Plan Review Feeonly if it applies to youCity and County of Honolulu, Department of Planning and Permitting20% of the tentative Building Permit fee (calculated from ROH Table No. 18-A on a preliminary estimated project valuation), capped at $25,000, due upon submission of plans and specifications for review, per ROH 18-6.1(a).one-time, per project2026-09-11
Commercial Building Permit & Certificate of OccupancyCity and County of Honolulu, Department of Planning and PermittingROH Table No. 18-A (Fees for Permits), by total estimated valuation of work: $20 from $0.01 to $500; $8 plus $2.50 per $100 from $500.01 to $1,000; $12 plus $2.20 per $100 from $1,000.01 to $20,000; $82 plus $18 per $1,000 from $20,000.01 to $50,000; $286 plus $14 per $1,000 from $50,000.01 to $100,000; $700 plus $10 per $1,000 from $100,000.01 to $500,000; $3,200 plus $5 per $1,000 from $500,000.01 to $2,000,000; and $4,300 plus $4.50 per $1,000 above $2,000,000 (each 'per $100' or 'per $1,000' or fraction thereof of the total estimated valuation). The same table lists a temporary certificate of occupancy at $200 and plan review of revisions at $200 or 10% of the original building permit fee, whichever is greater.one-time, per project2026-09-11
Sign Permitonly if it applies to youCity and County of Honolulu, Department of Planning and Permitting$18–$70 one-time, by estimated value of the sign work — $18.00 ($.01-$500.00), $35.00 ($500.01-$1,000.00), $70.00 ($1,000.01 and above)one-time, per sign2026-09-11
Conditional Use Permit (Minor) — Generalonly if it applies to youCity and County of Honolulu, Department of Planning and Permitting$600 one-time — $200 non-refundable Initial Review fee plus a $400 Processing feeone-time, per application2026-09-11
Conditional Use Permit (Major)only if it applies to youCity and County of Honolulu, Department of Planning and Permitting$400 non-refundable Initial Review fee, plus a Processing fee of $800 plus $300 per acre (or major fraction, .5 or greater) of the project site, capped at $15,000, per the Department's own current Conditional Use Permit (Major) application instructions.one-time, per application2026-09-11
Special Management Area (SMA) Permit Determinationonly if it applies to youCity and County of Honolulu, Department of Planning and Permitting$150 one-time, per tax map key (TMK) parcelone-time, per property2026-09-11
Zoning Verificationonly if it applies to youCity and County of Honolulu, Department of Planning and PermittingNo feeone-time, per request2026-09-11
Zoning Varianceonly if it applies to youCity and County of Honolulu, Department of Planning and Permitting$2,400 one-time — $400 non-refundable Initial Review fee plus a $2,000 Processing feeone-time, per application2026-09-11
County Contractor License (not found beyond the building permit process)only if it applies to youCity and County of Honolulu, Department of Planning and PermittingNo feenot applicable2026-09-11
Conditional Use Permit (Minor) — Child or Adult Daycareonly if it applies to youCity and County of Honolulu, Department of Planning and Permitting$400 non-refundable Initial Review fee, plus a Processing fee of $800 plus $300 per acre (or major fraction, .5 or greater) of the project site, capped at $15,000, per the Department's own current application instructions for this specific Minor CUP category (Communication Tower in the P-2/AG-1/AG-2 Districts, Small Meeting Facility, Child or Adult Daycare, PreK-12 School, and minor hotels up to 180 units in the BMX-3 District).one-time, per application2026-09-11

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

Building Plan Review Fee

Required whenever a plan or other data must be submitted for review under ROH § 18-4.2; § 18-6.1(b) exempts building permit applications for fences, retaining walls, swimming pools, driveways, or work performed for any city agency. This fee is in addition to, not instead of, the Building Permit fee itself recorded above, and is distinct from the Honolulu Fire Department's own separate 10%-of-building-permit-fee Fire Plans Review recorded below.

Commercial Building Permit & Certificate of Occupancy

ROH § 18-6.2 requires a fee for each building permit and 'other fees associated with the administration of the building codes' as set forth in 'Table No. 18-A, set out at the end of this chapter.' Table No. 18-A, as published in the Revised Ordinances of Honolulu, prices the building permit by the total estimated valuation of work, from $20 for work up to $500 through $4,300 plus $4.50 per $1,000 above $2,000,000, and lists a temporary certificate of occupancy at $200. Two enforcement provisions apply: § 18-6.2(d) triples the fee for work started before a permit is obtained, and § 18-6.2(e) allows the fee to be doubled for an applicant with a history of false statements. The Department's own online Fee Calculator computes the permit fee from the same table. The Plan Review Fee and Fire Plans Review fee layered on top of this base figure are listed as their own lines below.

Sign Permit

The fee document itself is dated 07/01/03 on its own face, and it remains the sign-permit fee schedule linked from the Department's live Building Permits Forms page, so it is treated here as the current figure. The fee is set by the estimated value of the sign work: $18.00 up to $500, $35.00 from $500.01 to $1,000 and $70.00 above $1,000.

Conditional Use Permit (Minor) — General

Required only when a proposed use is not permitted outright in its zoning district but qualifies for Minor Conditional Use approval under the Land Use Ordinance's own Master Use Table; whether a specific business needs it depends on the exact use and zoning district in the Master Use Table. Doubled if the applicant is cited for taking action without first obtaining approval. This is the general packet covering every Minor CUP use except Communication Towers, Small Meeting Facilities, Child or Adult Daycare, PreK-12 Schools, and certain BMX-3 hotels, which instead follow the separate, differently priced packet recorded below.

Conditional Use Permit (Major)

Reserved for uses requiring more extensive Major CUP review under the Land Use Ordinance's Master Use Table than the Minor CUP process above — typically larger-scale commercial or industrial projects. Shares the identical acreage-scaled fee structure as the specifically named Minor CUP packet (Communication Tower, Daycare, Schools, BMX-3 hotels) listed above, as both current instruction packets state.

Special Management Area (SMA) Permit Determination

Applies only to a proposed project on a property within the coastal Special Management Area, not islandwide — the Department's own current SMA Permit Determination form states directly 'There is a standard fee of $150 per tax map key' to determine whether Chapter 25's own Minor or Major SMA permitting requirements apply at all before any permits issue. The Department's own current pages for the two permit types that determination can lead to price them directly: an SMA Minor Permit carries a $200 non-refundable review fee plus a $1,200 processing fee (refundable only if the application is incomplete), and an SMA Major Permit carries a $400 non-refundable review fee plus a processing fee of $2,400 plus $600 per acre (or major fraction) of the project site, capped at $30,000 — both doubled if the applicant is cited for acting before obtaining approval, the same enforcement pattern as DPP's other zoning permits. Neither is recorded as its own line here since which permit type applies, if either, depends on this same threshold determination and on the project's own valuation and acreage.

Zoning Verification

No fee applies here — none is published. The Department's own current Zoning Permits page describes this product only as a request for property zoning designations, flood zones, development standards, and use legality, 'submit request through New Zoning Permit on HNL Build' — an online portal that requires a user account to file a request. Unlike every other zoning permit type on the same page — Conditional Use Permit (Minor/Major) and Zoning Variance, each of which links its own priced instruction PDF — Zoning Verification links no instruction PDF, application form, or fee schedule anywhere on the Department's site, and HNL Build's own public-facing landing page (honolulu.my.site.com/s/) publishes no fee schedule either.

Zoning Variance

Provides forgiveness from zoning rules where there is hardship, per Charter § 6-1517, confirmed directly on the Department's own current Zoning Permits page. Doubled if the applicant is cited for taking action without first obtaining approval, the same enforcement pattern as the Department's other zoning applications.

County Contractor License (not found beyond the building permit process)

No fee applies. The Department's own current Building Permits FAQ discusses Hawaii Revised Statutes Chapter 444 (the state Contractors License Board, recorded at the state layer) and the owner-builder exemption directly, with no mention anywhere of a separate county contractor registration or credential. DPP verifies an applicant's state contractor licensing status as part of ordinary permit review rather than issuing an additional credential of its own. A Honolulu contractor's local obligations are otherwise the same Commercial Building Permit, Plan Review, and Fire Plans Review fees recorded elsewhere in this file.

Conditional Use Permit (Minor) — Child or Adult Daycare

This is a genuine, specifically named, and currently priced local zoning pathway for a Honolulu childcare facility, layered on top of, not instead of, Hawaii's own state Child Care License (Department of Human Services) recorded at the state layer. It applies where 'Child or Adult Daycare' is not a permitted use outright in the property's zoning district and instead requires this Minor Conditional Use Permit; a Presentation to the neighborhood board or community association is also required before submitting the application. A public hearing may be required at the Director's discretion, which extends the review timeframe from 45 to 90 calendar days.

Contact

Jurisdiction
Honolulu County
Phone
(808) 768-8000

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.

  1. Building Permit Fee Calculator — the Department's own current page stating the Plan Review Fee is 20% of the tentative Building Permit Fee (capped at $25,000) per ROH 18-6.1(a), both fees based on project valuation from Table No. 18-ACity and County of Honolulu, Department of Planning and Permitting · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-11
  2. Building Permits — the Department of Planning and Permitting's own current overview and portal page for commercial building permitsCity and County of Honolulu, Department of Planning and Permitting · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-11
  3. Building Permits Frequently Asked Questions — discusses Hawaii Revised Statutes Chapter 444 (state contractor licensing) and the owner-builder exemption directly, with no mention of any separate county contractor credentialCity and County of Honolulu, Department of Planning and Permitting · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-11
  4. Conditional Use Permit (Major), Application Instructions — $400 non-refundable Initial Review fee plus a Processing fee of $800 plus $300/acre (or major fraction), capped at $15,000City and County of Honolulu, Department of Planning and Permitting · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-11
  5. Conditional Use Permit (Minor) — Communication Tower (P-2/AG-1/AG-2), Small Meeting Facility, Child or Adult Daycare, PreK-12 School, and minor BMX-3 hotels, Application Instructions — $400 non-refundable Initial Review fee plus a Processing fee of $800 plus $300/acre (or major fraction), capped at $15,000City and County of Honolulu, Department of Planning and Permitting · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-11
  6. Conditional Use Permit (Minor), Application Instructions (for all Minor CUP uses except Communication Towers, Small Meeting Facilities, Child or Adult Daycare, PreK-12 Schools, and BMX-3 hotels) — $200 non-refundable Initial Review fee plus $400 Processing feeCity and County of Honolulu, Department of Planning and Permitting · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-11
  7. Revised Ordinances of Honolulu § 18-6.1, Plan review fees — the plan review fee (20% of the tentative building permit fee from Table No. 18-A, capped at $25,000) and its exemptions for fences, retaining walls, swimming pools, and drivewaysCity and County of Honolulu, republished by American Legal Publishing · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-08
  8. Revised Ordinances of Honolulu § 18-6.2, Building permit fees — the fee is set by Table No. 18-A; unpermitted work triples the fee, and a history of false statements can double itCity and County of Honolulu, republished by American Legal Publishing · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-08
  9. Revised Ordinances of Honolulu, Article 3: Permits (ROH Chapter 18) — the code's table of contents lists the current chapters, including Chapter 11 (Child Care), Chapter 20 (Fire Code), Chapter 21 (Land Use Ordinance), Chapter 25 (Special Management Areas), and Chapter 34 (Regulation of Businesses)City and County of Honolulu, republished by American Legal Publishing · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-08
  10. Sign Permits fee schedule (dated 07/01/03 on its own face, still the current document linked from DPP's live Building Permits Forms page) — $18.00 ($.01-$500), $35.00 ($500.01-$1,000), $70.00 ($1,000.01+), by estimated value of workCity and County of Honolulu, Department of Planning and Permitting · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-11
  11. SMA Major — the Department's own current page for the Special Management Area Major Permit, stating a $400 non-refundable review fee plus a processing fee of $2,400 plus $600 per acre (or major fraction) of the project site, capped at $30,000, doubled if the applicant is cited for acting before obtaining approvalCity and County of Honolulu, Department of Planning and Permitting · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-18
  12. SMA Minor — the Department's own current page for the Special Management Area Minor Permit, stating a $200 non-refundable review fee plus a $1,200 processing fee (refundable only if the application is incomplete), doubled if the applicant is cited for acting before obtaining approvalCity and County of Honolulu, Department of Planning and Permitting · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-18
  13. Special Management Area Permit Determination form — states directly 'There is a standard fee of $150 per tax map key' to determine whether ROH Chapter 25 (Special Management Area) permitting applies to a proposed projectCity and County of Honolulu, Department of Planning and Permitting · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-11
  14. Zoning Permits — the Department's own current page listing Zoning Verification, Conditional Use Permit (Minor and Major), Zoning Variance, and Zoning Adjustment, with ordinance cross-references and links to each product's current instruction packetCity and County of Honolulu, Department of Planning and Permitting · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-11
  15. Zoning Variance, Application Instructions — $400 non-refundable Initial Review fee plus $2,000 Processing feeCity and County of Honolulu, Department of Planning and Permitting · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-11

Other offices serving Honolulu County

The full permit list for this jurisdiction

Industry permit lists that include this agency

Hawaii jurisdictions

Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.