Commercial Compliance Hub

17 permits · verified 2026-09-11

What permits do you need to open a auto repair shop in Hawaii County?

In short

A auto repair shop in Hawaii County, HI has 5 permits that apply to every business of this type, plus 12 more that depend on your premises, signage or how you are set up. Hawai'i Fire Department, Fire Prevention Branch charges $200 annual for the flammable finishes (spray booth) permit. 4 of the 17 are charged as a range or formula rather than a flat fee. Verified 2026-09-11 against the issuing agencies’ published fee schedules.

The permits at a glance

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
General Business License (not required by Hawaii County)only if it applies to youCounty of Hawai'i, Department of Finance, Vehicle Registration & Licensing DivisionNo feenot applicable2026-09-11
Commercial Building PermitCounty of Hawai'i, Department of Public Works, Building DivisionValuation-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
Flammable Finishes (Spray Booth) Permitonly if it applies to youHawai'i Fire Department, Fire Prevention Branch$200 annualannual2026-09-11
Building Plan Review FeeCounty of Hawai'i, Department of Public Works, Building Division20% 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 project2026-09-11
Certificate of OccupancyCounty 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 chargedone-time, no expiration once issued2026-09-11
Sign Permitonly if it applies to youCounty of Hawai'i, Department of Public Works, Building DivisionThe same general-construction valuation-based fee table used for the Building Permit (HCC §5-7-3(b)): $10 for work valued $0-$500, scaling up to $355 plus $3 per additional $1,000 above $50,000 — inferred from the Sign Permit Application's own 'Valuation $ / Fee $' fields, since no separate sign-specific fee schedule could be found anywhere.one-time, per sign2026-09-11
Plan Approvalonly if it applies to youCounty of Hawai'i Planning Department (and Planning Commission)No feeone-time, per project — remains valid so long as the approved plan is followed2026-09-11
Use Permitonly if it applies to youCounty of Hawai'i Planning Department (and Planning Commission)$500 one-time, per application, paid via EPICone-time, per application2026-09-11
Special Permitonly if it applies to youCounty of Hawai'i Planning Department (and Planning Commission)$500 one-time, per application, paid via EPICone-time, per application2026-09-11
Special Management Area (SMA) Use Permit (Major)only if it applies to youCounty of Hawai'i Planning Department (and Planning Commission)$500 one-time, per application, paid via EPICone-time, per project2026-09-11
Auto Repair Shop County License (not found)only if it applies to youCounty of Hawai'i, Department of Finance, Vehicle Registration & Licensing DivisionNo feenot applicable2026-09-11
Articles of Incorporationonly if it applies to youHawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Business Registration Division$51 one-time filing, including the $1 state archives feeperpetual, but an annual report is due every year2026-09-04
General Business Licence (not required by Hawaii)only if it applies to youHawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Business Registration DivisionNo feenot applicable2026-09-04
Articles of Organization (LLC)only if it applies to youHawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Business Registration Division$51 one-time filing, including the $1 state archives feeperpetual, but an annual report is due every year2026-09-04
Annual Reportonly if it applies to youHawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Business Registration Division$15 a year on paper; a $10 late fee applies per year delinquentannual — due at the end of the calendar quarter containing the entity's own original registration date2026-09-04
General Excise Tax LicenceHawaii Department of Taxation$20 one-time registrationno expiration — remains active until closed, surrendered or revoked for abandonment2026-09-04
Motor Vehicle Repair Dealer LicenceHawaii DCCA, Professional and Vocational Licensing Division$224–$368 for a new licence, depending on whether it is issued in an even or odd yearbiennial — every licence renews by 30 June of odd-numbered years regardless of issue date2026-09-04

Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.

How much does it actually cost to permit a auto repair shop in Hawaii County?

There is no single figure, and any site quoting one is rounding away the part that matters. Of the 17 records listed for a auto repair shop in Hawaii County, HI, 5 apply to every business of this type and 12 are conditional. Adding every fee on the page together would overstate what most operators pay, because it would include permits they never need.

Of the 5 that always apply, 2 carry a flat fee, coming to $220.00. That is a floor, not a total. 4 of the 17 are charged as a range or a formula set by the issuing agency, and 4 have no fee published at all. The ones that vary:

Commercial Building Permit: 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.

Building Plan Review Fee: 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.

Sign Permit: The same general-construction valuation-based fee table used for the Building Permit (HCC §5-7-3(b)): $10 for work valued $0-$500, scaling up to $355 plus $3 per additional $1,000 above $50,000 — inferred from the Sign Permit Application's own 'Valuation $ / Fee $' fields, since no separate sign-specific fee schedule could be found anywhere.

Motor Vehicle Repair Dealer Licence: $224–$368 for a new licence, depending on whether it is issued in an even or odd year

Which offices issue these permits in Hawaii County?

Permits for a auto repair shop in Hawaii County, HI come from 7 separate offices: County of Hawai'i, Department of Finance, Vehicle Registration & Licensing Division, County of Hawai'i, Department of Public Works, Building Division, Hawai'i Fire Department, Fire Prevention Branch, County of Hawai'i Planning Department (and Planning Commission), Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Business Registration Division, Hawaii Department of Taxation, Hawaii DCCA, Professional and Vocational Licensing Division. No single office issues them all, which is why an opening means filing in several places rather than one.

  • County of Hawai'i, Department of Finance, Vehicle Registration & Licensing DivisionIssues 2 permits on this page: General Business License (not required by Hawaii County), Auto Repair Shop County License (not found)101 Pauahi Street, Suite 5, Hilo, HI 96720 · (808) 961-8351www.vrl.hawaiicounty.gov/other-services/business-occupation-licensing
  • County of Hawai'i, Department of Public Works, Building DivisionIssues 4 permits on this page: Commercial Building Permit, Building Plan Review Fee, Certificate of Occupancy, Sign Permit101 Pauahi Street, Suite 7, Hilo, HI 96720 · (808) 961-8321www.hawaiicounty.gov/departments/public-works/building
  • Hawai'i Fire Department, Fire Prevention BranchIssues 1 permit on this page: Flammable Finishes (Spray Booth) Permit25 Aupuni Street, Suite 2501, Hilo, HI 96720 · (808) 932-2911www.hawaiicounty.gov/departments/fire/fire-prevention-branch
  • County of Hawai'i Planning Department (and Planning Commission)Issues 4 permits on this page: Plan Approval, Use Permit, Special Permit, Special Management Area (SMA) Use Permit (Major)101 Pauahi Street, Suite 3, Hilo, HI 96720 · (808) 961-8288www.planning.hawaiicounty.gov
  • Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Business Registration DivisionIssues 4 permits on this page: Articles of Incorporation, General Business Licence (not required by Hawaii), Articles of Organization (LLC), Annual Report335 Merchant Street, Room 201, Honolulu, HI 96813 · (808) 586-2727cca.hawaii.gov/breg
  • Hawaii Department of TaxationIssues 1 permit on this page: General Excise Tax Licence830 Punchbowl Street, Honolulu, HI 96813 · (808) 587-4242tax.hawaii.gov/geninfo/licensing
  • Hawaii DCCA, Professional and Vocational Licensing DivisionIssues 1 permit on this page: Motor Vehicle Repair Dealer Licence335 Merchant Street, Room 301, Honolulu, HI 96813 · (808) 586-3000cca.hawaii.gov/pvl

Is anything about these requirements changing?

No fee applies. The Vehicle Registration & Licensing Division's own current Business & Occupation Licensing page names the complete, fixed set of individual licenses Hawaii County issues (Auctioneer, Bicycle Tours, Firearms to Sell, Electric Guns, Purchasing/Wrecking/Rebuilding Cars, Pawnbroker, Scrap Dealer, Second Hand Dealer) — none of them a general, catch-all business license, and none of them specific to any of this project's ten industries. Unlike the City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii County's list also has no peddler or itinerant-vendor category at all; the closest local analog to that kind of permit is the Special Activity Permit recorded elsewhere in this file. Hawaii's General Excise Tax Licence, recorded at the state layer, remains the real universal state-level registration every business needs; this county layer adds no general license on top of it.

This is a genuine, complete, currently-published valuation-based fee table — confirmed directly from Hawai'i County Code §5-7-3(b), read in full — unlike the equivalent unpublished table this project could not retrieve for Honolulu. 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.

Required for the application of flammable or combustible finishes in a spray booth, spray area, or spray room — the situation an auto-body or auto-repair shop with a paint booth would face — confirmed at $200/year directly from both current Fire Department fee pages.

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.

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 this project's ten industries. A separate $200 fee, confirmed directly from §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.

The Sign Permit Application is a Building Division form requiring Engineering, Planning, and Electrical sign-off in addition to Building review, and it carries the identical 'Valuation $ / Fee $' fields used throughout the general construction fee structure. This project could not locate a sign-specific fee schedule anywhere on the County's site, so the same valuation table confirmed for the Building Permit is recorded here — an inference disclosed openly rather than presented as a directly-published separate figure. A separate electrical permit is required for any electrical work related to an illuminated sign, per the application form's own instructions.

No fee applies — none is published anywhere on the Planning Department's own current Application for Plan Approval form. This site-plan and zoning-compliance review requires a scaled site plan, building elevations, a Public-Works-approved drainage plan, and a real-property-tax clearance from the Director of Finance, and is the Planning Department's own product for confirming a proposed commercial use and site layout comply with the Zoning Code before construction proceeds.

Required only when a proposed non-agricultural use is not permitted outright in its zoning district and the property is not zoned Agricultural or Rural (the Special Permit recorded below covers that case instead); whether a specific business needs it depends on the exact use and zoning district. The Planning Commission's own current application form states directly: 'A filing fee of five hundred dollars ($500) to be paid via EPIC.' A childcare facility whose proposed location is not a permitted use outright would use this same pathway, layered on top of, not instead of, Hawaii's own state Child Care Licence recorded at the state layer.

Hawaii County's own current Special Permit Application states directly: 'A filing fee of five hundred dollars ($500) to be paid via EPIC' — the identical figure charged for the Use Permit above, confirmed independently from this separate form. This is the Planning Commission's pathway for an 'unusual and reasonable' non-agricultural use of land zoned Agricultural or Rural — common on the Big Island, where a large share of land carries that zoning — and applies to any of this project's ten industries proposing to operate on such land where the use is not permitted outright.

Applies only to a proposed development on a property within the state-defined coastal Special Management Area, not islandwide. The Planning Commission's own current Major SMA Use Permit application states directly: 'A filing fee of five hundred dollars ($500) to be paid via EPIC.' This project could not confirm a separate, lower fee for a Minor SMA process from any primary government document it could retrieve, so no Minor SMA figure is asserted here; a business should confirm with the Planning Department whether its project qualifies for a Minor rather than Major review.

No fee applies. The Vehicle Registration & Licensing Division's own current, complete list of individually named business licenses (Auctioneer, Bicycle Tours, Firearms to Sell, Electric Guns, Purchasing/Wrecking/Rebuilding Cars, Pawnbroker, Scrap Dealer, Second Hand Dealer) has no general auto-repair category anywhere in it — its 'Purchasing, Wrecking, Rebuilding Cars License' covers used-parts dealers and vehicle wreckers/salvagers specifically, confirmed directly from that license's own description, not repair services for customer vehicles. Hawaii's own state Motor Vehicle Repair Dealer Licence, recorded at the state layer, remains the real trade-specific credential; an auto repair shop's Hawaii-County-specific obligations are otherwise the same Commercial Building Permit and any applicable fire permits (including the Flammable Finishes Spray Booth permit above) recorded elsewhere in this file.

The same $51 as an LLC, once the archives fee is included, and the same $25 expedite option.

No fee, beyond the general excise tax licence every business needs anyway. Hawaii's own business action centre, the state's front door for opening a company, treats general excise tax registration as the universal state requirement rather than pointing to any separate general business licence, and no other state page describes one.

Fifty dollars for the filing itself plus a flat $1 state archives fee tacked onto every DCCA filing, for $51 in practice. Expedited processing adds a further $25. A corporation costs the same $51 to form.

There is no single shared filing date in Hawaii — the due date is set entirely by which calendar quarter an entity originally registered in. Register in February and the report falls due every 31 March afterward; register in August and it falls due every 30 September. This has held since 2003, so it is not a recent quirk. Two figures circulate for the fee itself, $15 on the published paper fee schedule and $12.50 in more recent online-filing guidance — filing online appears to be the cheaper channel, but confirm the exact current figure at checkout before relying on either number precisely. Two straight years of non-filing is grounds for involuntary dissolution.

Twenty dollars, paid once, and this licence functions as Hawaii's substitute for a sales tax permit — the tax itself is levied on the business for the privilege of doing business here, not collected from the customer as a separate purchase tax, even though it behaves similarly at the register. Once issued, the licence and its Hawaii Tax ID stay active indefinitely with no renewal fee or cycle to track.

Hawaii genuinely licenses auto repair shops, under their own board separate from vehicle dealer licensing, and prices the licence per repair facility rather than per business — a company running several shops needs one for each. A new licence issued in an odd year costs $368 in total once the application, licence and compliance resolution fund surcharge are added together, along with a half-cycle renewal fee; issued in an even year it is $224, reflecting the shorter time remaining before the shared 30 June renewal date in the next odd year. Every licence, regardless of when it was issued, renews on that same shared date.

Sources

Every figure above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown. Confirmed by Editorial Team.

  1. Business & Occupation Licensing — the Vehicle Registration & Licensing Division's own current page naming the complete, fixed list of individual business/occupation licenses it issues (Auctioneer $100/yr, Bicycle Tours $500 initial/$250 renewal, Firearms to Sell $10, Electric Guns $50, Purchasing/Wrecking/Rebuilding Cars $10 each, Pawnbroker $100/yr, Scrap Dealer $10/yr, Second Hand Dealer $10/yr) — no general business license and no peddler/vendor category anywhere in itCounty of Hawai'i, Department of Finance, Vehicle Registration & Licensing Division · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-11
  2. 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
  3. Forms and Applications — the Fire Department's own current page pricing each permit application individually and citing the specific fire-code section for each: Places of Assembly $200/yr (20.1.1); LPG/AST/UST tanks $200 one-time (66.1.5); Flammable Finishes Spray Booth $200/yr (43.1.1.4); Fair/Market/Tents $100 bi-annual and $200 per fair (10.15.1); tents/temporary structures over 700 sq ft $50 one-time (25.1.2)Hawai'i Fire Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-11
  4. Fire Prevention Branch — the Hawai'i Fire Department's own current itemized permit fee table under Hawai'i County Code Chapter 17, §1.12.8: Places of Assembly $200/yr (20.1.1.1), Flammable Finishes Spray Booth $200/yr (43.1.1.4), Carnival/Fair $200 (10.14.1), Farmers/Open/Flea Market $100 bi-annual, Flammable/Combustible Liquids Tank $200 one-time, commercial-cooking-equipment and water-based fire-protection acceptance tests at no initial charge with a $100 subsequent-inspection fee, and fireworks feesHawai'i Fire Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-11
  5. 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
  6. Application for Plan Approval, County of Hawai'i Planning Department (Rev. 9/19/2014) — a site-plan and zoning-compliance review under Zoning Code (Hawai'i County Code Chapter 25), Article 2, Divisions 1 and 7; states no dollar fee anywhere on either pageCounty of Hawai'i Planning Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-11
  7. Use Permit Application, County of Hawai'i Planning Commission (Rev. 12/8/2022) — states directly 'A filing fee of five hundred dollars ($500) to be paid via EPIC'County of Hawai'i Planning Commission · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-11
  8. Special Permit Application, County of Hawai'i Planning Commission (Rev. 12/8/2022) — a $500 EPIC filing fee for a non-agricultural, 'unusual and reasonable' use of land zoned Agricultural or Rural, citing chapter 205, HRS directlyCounty of Hawai'i Planning Commission · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-11
  9. Special Management Area (SMA) Use Permit Application (Major), County of Hawai'i Planning Commission (Rev. 12/8/2022) — a $500 EPIC filing fee, citing Hawaii Revised Statutes §§205A-2, 205A-26 and 205A-29 directlyCounty of Hawai'i Planning Commission · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-11
  10. Hawaii DCCA — corporation articles of incorporation fee scheduleHawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
  11. Hawaii Business Action Center — starting a business, centred on general excise tax registrationHawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
  12. Hawaii DCCA — LLC articles of organization fee scheduleHawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
  13. Hawaii DCCA — business registration FAQ, the quarter-based annual report due dateHawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
  14. Hawaii Department of Taxation — general excise tax brochure, the $20 one-time registration feeHawaii Department of Taxation · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
  15. Hawaii Motor Vehicle Repair Industry Board — application requirements and fee scheduleHawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04

Related

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