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Kauai County

County of Kaua'i Planning Department

In short

County of Kaua'i Planning Department issues 6 permits we publish for Kauai County, last verified 2026-09-19. 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
Use Permitonly if it applies to youCounty of Kaua'i Planning Department$300 one-time, per application — doubled for an after-the-fact applicationone-time, per application; the permit itself runs subject to the conditions the Planning Commission imposes2026-09-19
Special Permit (State Land Use Agricultural and Rural Districts)only if it applies to youCounty of Kaua'i Planning Department$150 one-time, per petition (nonrefundable filing and processing fee)one-time, per petition2026-09-19
Zoning Permit (Class I, II, III or IV)County of Kaua'i Planning Department$30–$800 one-time, per application — Class I $30, Class II $60, Class III $200, Class IV $800 ($50 where a Class IV permit is needed only because a variance is)one-time, per application2026-09-19
Variance Permitonly if it applies to youCounty of Kaua'i Planning Department$300 one-time, per application — doubled for an after-the-fact applicationone-time, per application2026-09-19
Special Management Area (SMA) Permitonly if it applies to youCounty of Kaua'i Planning DepartmentPriced by product on the Planning Department's fee list updated May 20, 2026: Special Management Area Assessment Application $50.00; Special Management Area Minor Permit $300.00; Special Management Area Use Permit $2,276.46; Shoreline Setback Variance Permit $300.00.one-time, per project2026-09-19
Childcare Facility Licensing — State License Applies (Kauai County)only if it applies to youCounty of Kaua'i Planning DepartmentNo feenot applicable2026-09-19

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

Use Permit

Needed where the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance allows a use in a district only by Use Permit; §8-3.2 states its purpose as assuring 'the proper integration into the community of uses which may be suitable only in specific locations in a district, or only under certain conditions.' Kaua'i County Code §8-3.2(d) sets the fee: 'A non-refundable fee of $300 shall accompany the application for the Use Permit.' The Planning Department's own information sheet adds that an application filed after being cited for acting without the necessary approvals costs double, and its fee list updated May 20, 2026 prints the same $300. A public hearing before the Planning Commission is required, and the Commission may impose conditions on height, size, colour, hours of operation, traffic and off-street parking. The Commission may grant the permit only on finding the use compatible, not detrimental to persons or property in the area, without substantial environmental consequences, and consistent with the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance and General Plan. Whether a specific business needs one depends on its use and district; confirm with the Planning Department at (808) 241-4050.

Special Permit (State Land Use Agricultural and Rural Districts)

The pathway for a business on land in the State Land Use Agricultural or Rural district whose use is not an allowable agricultural or rural use. The Planning Department's own information sheet quotes HRS §205-6(a): 'The county Planning Commission may permit certain unusual and reasonable uses within State Agricultural and Rural land use districts other than those for which the district is classified.' Planning Commission Rules §13-4(1) fixes 'A nonrefundable filing and processing fee of one hundred fifty dollars ($150),' and the Department's fee list updated May 20, 2026 prints the same $150. Copies of the petition go to the State Land Use Commission, the State Office of Planning and the State Department of Agriculture for comment, and a special permit for land greater than fifteen acres, or for lands designated important agricultural lands, also needs State Land Use Commission approval. The petition must address Hawaiian customary and traditional rights under Article XII, Section 7 of the Hawaii State Constitution, and explain why existing properly zoned properties are not suitable for the use.

Zoning Permit (Class I, II, III or IV)

A Zoning Permit comes before a building permit: Kaua'i County Code §8-3.1(a) says no one may carry on a regulated activity or use, or obtain a building permit for one, 'without first obtaining the required Zoning Permit,' and the Building Division's own Building Permit Guide lists the Zoning Permit Application, filed with the Planning Department, as Step 5 of the five steps to a building permit. The non-refundable filing and processing fee is set by class in §8-3.1: Class I $30, Class II $60, Class III $200 and Class IV $800, except that a Class IV permit 'only required because a Variance is necessary' costs $50. Class III and IV applications carry the Planning Department's full General Submittal Requirements package, and the Department's own fee list updated May 20, 2026 prints the same $200 and $800. A permit sought after the work or use has already begun costs more: §8-3.1(h) adds, on top of the regular fee, 'an additional filing, inspection, and processing fee(s) which is double that of the original filing and processing fee(s) or $500, whichever is greater.' Which class applies depends on the use and the zoning district; confirm it with the Planning Department at (808) 241-4050 before filing.

Variance Permit

A Variance allows a departure from a development standard the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance otherwise requires. Kaua'i County Code §8-3.3(d) sets the fee: 'A non-refundable fee of $300 shall accompany the application for the Variance.' The Planning Department's own information sheet adds that an after-the-fact application costs double, and its fee list updated May 20, 2026 prints the same $300. The Planning Commission decides after a public hearing, and §8-3.3(b) allows a variance only where special circumstances of the property — 'size, shape, topography, location or surroundings' — deprive it of privileges other property in the vicinity enjoys, and only as 'the minimum departure from existing regulations necessary.' The Department's sheet states directly that 'Financial hardship to the applicant is not a permissible basis for the granting of a variance.' A Class IV Zoning Permit needed only because of a variance costs $50 rather than $800, as the Zoning Permit record explains.

Special Management Area (SMA) Permit

Applies only to a project on property inside the state-defined coastal Special Management Area, not islandwide. The process runs in stages, each priced separately on the Planning Department's own fee list updated May 20, 2026: a Special Management Area Assessment Application at $50.00 determines which track a project takes; a Special Management Area Minor Permit costs $300.00; a full Special Management Area Use Permit costs $2,276.46; and a Shoreline Setback Variance Permit costs $300.00. The unrounded $2,276.46 is the County's own published figure, reproduced exactly as printed. These fees appear on the Department's fee list rather than in the Kaua'i County Code or the County's Appendix A fee schedule. The Regulatory Permit Division administers them alongside the zoning permits, under the same General Submittal Requirements package. Confirm whether a specific parcel sits within the Special Management Area with the Planning Department at (808) 241-4050.

Childcare Facility Licensing — State License Applies (Kauai County)

The Kaua'i County Code's zoning chapter defines a day care center by reference to state licensing, as 'any facility which complies with the State of Hawai'i licensing requirements' where seven or more children are cared for. The County's Guide to Starting a Business directs childcare applicants to the 'Hawaii Department of Human Services: and PATCH Childcare Licenses,' recorded at the state layer, and lists no County childcare permit, so there is no County childcare license fee. A childcare facility's county layer is the ordinary zoning and building layer: the Zoning Permit and, where the district requires one, the Use Permit or Special Permit, plus the Commercial Building Permit and Certificate of Occupancy, all recorded separately for Kaua'i County. For the zoning treatment of a specific site, ask the Planning Department at (808) 241-4050.

Contact

Jurisdiction
Kauai County
Phone
(808) 241-4050

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 Guide — the Building Division's own five-step guide, whose Step 5 is a Zoning Permit Application filed with the Planning DepartmentCounty of Kaua'i, Department of Public Works · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-27
  2. Business Resources / Guide to Starting a Business — the County's own guide, whose licensing step routes applicants to State of Hawaii agencies (DCCA Professional and Vocational Licensing, Department of Health, Department of Human Services)County of Kaua'i, Office of Economic Development · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-27
  3. General Submittal Requirements (Class III and IV Zoning Permits, Use Permits, Variance Permits, Special Permits and SMA Permits), updated May 20, 2026 — the Planning Department's own current filing-fee listCounty of Kaua'i, Planning Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-27
  4. Kaua'i County Code 1987, as amended — ecode360's own print view of the complete codified Code, with amendments through Ordinance No. 1193County of Kaua'i, via General Code (ecode360) · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-08
  5. Special Permits — the Planning Department's own information sheet (June 2024), reproducing Planning Commission Rules Chapter 13 and its $150 filing and processing fee under HRS §205-6County of Kaua'i, Planning Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-27
  6. Use Permits — the Planning Department's own information sheet (June 18, 2024), stating the $300 fee and that it doubles for an after-the-fact applicationCounty of Kaua'i, Planning Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-27
  7. Variance Permits — the Planning Department's own information sheet, stating the $300 fee, its doubling for an after-the-fact application, and the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance criteriaCounty of Kaua'i, Planning Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-27
  8. Zoning and Land Use Permits — the Planning Department's own current page naming the permit products its Regulatory Permit Division administersCounty of Kaua'i, Planning Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-27

Other offices serving Kauai 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.