19 published records
Business licences and permits in Honolulu County, Hawaii
The City and County of Honolulu (island of Oahu) has no general municipal business license, confirmed directly from the Department of Customer Services' own complete, named, and individually priced list of the only business licenses it issues (Auctioneer, Peddler, Pawnbroker, Secondhand Dealer, and similar named trades — none of this project's ten industries). The closest local analog to a food-truck permit is that same Peddler licence ($27.50/year), which explicitly reaches 'foodstuffs.' The Department of Planning and Permitting's own building permit fee is set by an unpublished valuation table (Table No. 18-A) this project could not retrieve, but two real percentage-based formulas around it are confirmed: a 20%-of-tentative-permit-fee Plan Review Fee (capped at $25,000) and a separate 10%-of-building-permit-fee Fire Plans Review fee (waived if sprinklered). Sign permits are priced $18-$70 by project value; Conditional Use Permits (Minor/Major) and a Zoning Variance are all confirmed at real, current dollar figures, including a specifically named and priced Minor CUP pathway for 'Child or Adult Daycare.' The Honolulu Fire Department's own current fee page prices a Place of Assembly permit at $200/year and a commercial-kitchen fire-suppression acceptance test at $100. 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 credential exists beyond the building permit process itself.
What are you opening in Honolulu 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 Honolulu County?
Permitting in Honolulu County is split across 3 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.
Honolulu County issuing agencies
- City and County of Honolulu, Department of Planning and PermittingBuilding permits and certificates of occupancy · Zoning permits (zoning verification, conditional use permits, variances) · Sign permits · Special Management Area (SMA) determinations and permits10 permits
- City and County of Honolulu, Department of Customer Services, Business License SectionPeddler, auctioneer, pawnbroker, secondhand dealer, and other individually named trade business licenses6 permits
- Honolulu Fire Department, Fire Prevention BureauPlaces of Assembly, tank, tent, and fire alarm permits · Commercial cooking equipment fire-suppression acceptance tests · Fire Plans Review (a percentage of the building permit fee)3 permits
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.