18 published records
Business licences and permits in Hawaii County, Hawaii
Hawaii County (the Big Island) has no general municipal business license, confirmed directly from the Vehicle Registration & Licensing Division's own complete, named list of the only business/occupation licenses it issues (Auctioneer, Bicycle Tours, Firearms to Sell, Electric Guns, Purchasing/Wrecking/Rebuilding Cars, Pawnbroker, Scrap Dealer, Second Hand Dealer) — none of this project's ten industries, and notably no peddler or itinerant-vendor category at all, unlike Honolulu. The closest confirmed local analog to a food-truck permit is the Department of Public Works Engineering Division's Special Activity Permit ($50 flat fee, capped at one year) for temporary commercial activity within County streets. Hawai'i County Code Chapter 5's own Article 7 publishes a genuine, complete, valuation-based Building Permit fee table (from $10 up to $355 plus $3 per additional $1,000) and a 20%-of-permit-fee Plan Review formula (minimum $50) — both directly confirmed, unlike Honolulu's unpublished equivalent. Three separate Planning Commission products — the Use Permit, the Special Permit (for Agricultural/Rural-zoned land), and the Special Management Area Use Permit (Major) — each carry an identical, confirmed $500 EPIC filing fee; a separate Plan Approval site-plan review carries no stated fee. The Hawai'i Fire Department's own current fee pages price a Places of Assembly permit at $200/year, a commercial-kitchen fire-suppression acceptance test at no charge initially ($100 for reinspection), and a Flammable Finishes Spray Booth permit (relevant to auto-body paint booths) at $200/year. Hawaii's Department of Health, not a county health department, is the real food-permitting authority and is recorded once at the state layer rather than duplicated here. No additional county license exists for auto repair, veterinary practices, fitness studios, or salons, and no separate county contractor or childcare credential exists beyond the building-permit process and the general zoning-permit pathway recorded below.
What are you opening in Hawaii County?
- RestaurantsFull-service restaurants carry the densest permit load of any small business: food, fire, occupancy, waste, and usually alcohol.See the full permit list
- Coffee shopsCafés are permitted as food service establishments even where no cooking happens, and the plan review step catches most operators by surprise.See the full permit list
- Retail storesRetail is the lightest common permit load, but the sales tax permit and the certificate of occupancy are non-negotiable in every jurisdiction.See the full permit list
- Salons and barbersPersonal care is licensed at state board level as well as locally, so the shop licence and the practitioner licences are separate obligations.See the full permit list
- Food trucksMobile food is the one category with no certificate of occupancy — but it gains a commissary agreement, and the unit itself is inspected rather than the premises.See the full permit list
- Fitness studiosPrepaid memberships trigger state registration and often a surety bond, which catches operators who budgeted only for the fit-out.See the full permit list
- Childcare centresThe heaviest permit load of any small business: state agency licensing, per-person background checks, and a stricter fire standard than ordinary commercial use.See the full permit list
- Contractors and tradesLicensed at state board level rather than locally, and the only common category with no premises permits at all — the bond is usually the long pole.See the full permit list
- Auto repair shopsOrdinary commercial permitting plus an environmental layer: waste oil, solvents and stormwater are each registered separately.See the full permit list
- Veterinary clinicsA state facility permit, controlled substances registration at both state and federal level, and a medical waste manifest — none of which a general business licence covers.See the full permit list
Who issues business permits in Hawaii County?
Permitting in Hawaii County is split across 5 agencies we hold records for, with tax registration handled at state level. No single office issues everything, which is why an opening usually means filing in several places rather than one.
Hawaii County issuing agencies
- County of Hawai'i, Department of Finance, Vehicle Registration & Licensing DivisionAuctioneer, pawnbroker, scrap dealer, secondhand dealer, and other individually named trade business licenses5 permits
- County of Hawai'i, Department of Public Works, Building DivisionBuilding permits, plan review, and certificates of occupancy (including temporary certificates of occupancy) · Sign permits5 permits
- County of Hawai'i Planning Department (and Planning Commission)Use Permits and Special Permits (non-agricultural use of land not permitted outright) · Special Management Area (SMA) Use Permits · Plan Approval (site-plan and zoning-compliance review)4 permits
- Hawai'i Fire Department, Fire Prevention BranchPlaces of Assembly, tank, market, and tent permits · Commercial cooking equipment and flammable-finishes (spray booth) fire-suppression permits3 permits
- County of Hawai'i, Department of Public Works, Engineering DivisionSpecial Activity Permits for temporary commercial activity within County streets (including mobile food vending)1 permit
Other Hawaii jurisdictions we cover
Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.