What do these permits involve in Kauai County?

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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.

Commercial Building Permit

A complete, valuation-based fee table in the codified Building Code. The 2024 building code ordinance (Bill No. 2926, Draft 1), approved October 10, 2024, moved Kaua'i to the 2018 International Building, Residential, Existing Building and Energy Conservation Codes with local amendments and carried TABLE 1-A forward with the same bands, adding that 'Building permit fees and plan review fees will be double the computed amount for after-the-fact permits.' That ordinance's own cover reads Ordinance No. 1164, while the Building Division's page and ecode360 list it as Ordinance No. 1163; both refer to the same Bill No. 2926. Starting work before a permit issues brings an investigation fee 'equal to the amount of the permit fee fixed by Table 1-A,' and 'there may be a minimum combined amount for investigation and permit fees of two hundred dollars ($200.00).' A reinspection called for incomplete work or uncorrected defects costs $50.00 for each additional inspection. The separate 15% plan review fee and the Planning Department's Zoning Permit are recorded as separate requirements. Ask the Building Division at (808) 241-4854 for the valuation of a specific project.

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Fee

A development fee under Kaua'i County Code Chapter 11A. For a commercial development — the category a restaurant, store, salon, gym, clinic or repair shop falls into — §11A-2.2(f) assesses 'one hundred dollars ($100.00) per the minimum number of parking stalls serving that development as required by the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance,' so the amount scales with the parking the use must provide. A new industrial building pays $0.25 per square foot of gross building area, and each new hotel, motel, multi-family time share unit and multi-family transient vacation rental unit pays $1,000. The fee also reaches an existing building enlarged to add gross building area, or demolished and replaced, for the added area only. Under §11A-1.4 the amount 'shall be determined at the time of the issuance of the building permit,' and the assessments 'shall be collected by the Director of Finance.' This is separate from the zoning and building permit fees recorded separately for Kaua'i County. Confirm the required stall count with the Planning Department at (808) 241-4050.

Sewer Connection Charge and Wastewater Treatment Capacity Assessment

Kaua'i County runs public sewer in six areas — Waimea, Eleele, Hanapepe, Lihue, Hanamaulu, and along Kuhio Highway in the Wailua and Kapaa corridor — with privately operated systems in Puhi, Poipu and Princeville. A business connecting to the County system pays two separate one-time charges, both set by water-meter size in Ordinance No. 1131, effective July 1, 2023. The sewer connection charge under §25-11.1 applies 'If an area to be served has not been previously assessed' and runs from $948 for a 5/8- or 3/4-inch meter to $15,800 for a 4-inch meter; §25-11.3 adds no charge for one connection to an assessed lot whose assessment has been paid. The wastewater treatment capacity assessment under §25-12.1 runs from $3,080 to $51,340 for the same sizes and 'shall be paid in full prior to the issuance of a building permit.' Above a 4-inch meter both are charged per gallon per day of approved sewer flow, at $3.088 and $10.034; the codified Code prints those two rates as '$3,088' and '$10,034', and the figures here are the ordinance's own. A later change of use that intensifies the connection brings additional charges under the same schedules. Monthly sewer user charges are billed separately. The County does not regulate cesspools or septic tanks: outside the sewered areas a business deals with the State Department of Health, Kaua'i District Health Office, 3040 Umi Street, Lihue, (808) 241-3323. Confirm the charges for a specific connection with the Division at (808) 241-4082.

Sign Permit

Kaua'i County Code §15-4.8(a) makes it unlawful to install, erect, alter, relocate or reconstruct a sign 'without first having obtained a permit in writing from the County Engineer, and making payment of the fees required in this Section'; the Building Division of the Department of Public Works issues it, and its Sign Permit Application also carries a Planning Department approval block. The fee is set by §15-4.8(d) on the sign's total estimated valuation of work: $20.00 from $0.01 to $500.00, and above that $20.00 plus $3.00 per $100.00 or fraction thereof. Under §15-4.8(i), sign work commenced without a permit costs 'fifty dollars ($50.00) plus the fee specified in Subsection (d).' The application needs a plan or design showing the sign's weight, dimensions, lighting equipment, material, composition, attachment and position relative to the nearest roadway or walkway, and an illuminated sign's wiring is first reviewed against the Electrical Code. The Outdoor Sign Ordinance prohibits portable and off-premise signs, and aerial, flashing, moving and roof signs, and exempts some signs from the permit requirement, including address signs. Confirm the fee for a specific sign with the Building Division at (808) 241-4854.

General Business License — Kaua'i County Code Position (Kauai County)

Kaua'i County Code §23-4.1 limits the County's business licensing to what Chapter 445 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes requires: 'The Director of Finance shall issue County licenses to businesses as required by Chapter 445, Hawai'i Revised Statutes, except as otherwise provided' by the Code. §23-4.2, 'Elimination of Business Licenses,' then lists businesses that 'are not required to obtain an annual County license or to pay an annual County license fee' — among them 'the manufacture of food products' and 'the keeping of a lodging or tenement house, hotel, boarding house or restaurant.' Under those two sections the County charges no fee for a general license to trade: the business-license list in the County's fiscal year 2024-25 Revenues — Fees, Rates, Assessments and Taxes schedule (Appendix A) — peddling merchandise, secondhand dealers, firearm sales, wrecking salvage, used-parts sales, scrap dealers, pepper spray and pawnbrokers — is made up of trade-specific licenses. A Kaua'i business's universal registration is the state General Excise Tax license, recorded at the state layer, and the County's own Guide to Starting a Business routes other licensing to State of Hawaii agencies. One County license does reach the industries covered here: a restaurant, coffee shop or retail store that sells alcohol needs a license from the County's Liquor Control Commission, recorded separately for Kaua'i County. A business's other county obligations are the zoning, building and fire products recorded separately for Kaua'i County. For a specific trade, ask the Department of Finance at (808) 241-4200.

Certificate of Occupancy

Required before a building or structure may be used or occupied, and again for a change of use: the Building Code provides that a building 'shall not be used or occupied … until the building official has issued a certificate of occupancy therefor.' The County charges nothing to issue it. Its published fee schedule prints 'Certificate of Occupancy Issuance Fee … $0' directly beneath the building permit bands, in its fiscal year 2021-22, 2024-25 and 2025-26 editions, and the Building Code sets no certificate of occupancy fee. The building official may issue a certificate of inspection in its place. Occupying a building without a certificate of occupancy, and changing the use of a building or space without a building permit or certificate of occupancy, are each fined under the Building Code's violations schedule.

Building Plan Review Fee

Charged on every building permit application requiring plan review, in addition to the building permit fee itself. The codified Building Code states: 'The plan review fees shall be fifteen percent (15%) of the building fees established from Table 1-A rounded off to the nearest dollar, based on a preliminary estimated valuation of work. Plan review fees shall be non-refundable.' Like the permit fee, it doubles for an after-the-fact permit. Plans revised or submitted after a permit issues may carry a further plan review fee. A solar energy system permit covering the building, electrical and plumbing requirements is priced separately at a flat $100.00 for one- and two-family dwellings and $500.00 for all other buildings and structures.

Electrical Permit

A separate permit from the building permit, issued by the same Building Division. Kaua'i County Code §13-2.4 sets the 'Application Fee for Issuing Each Permit' at $15.00 and, 'For any transferability of electrical permit,' a transfer fee of $50.00, then adds per-item charges: service equipment from $10.00 not over 100 amperes to $29.00 over 1,200 amperes, $7.00 for each feeder conductor and each branch circuit including spares, and $12.00 to install an illuminated sign or its gas tube lighting. Permit fees for additions, alterations and repairs are the same as for new work. The County's annual Appendix A fee schedule prints a $50 issuing fee and a $25 transfer fee, which the codified schedule does not support; the figures here are the Code's. Electrical work must be done by a contractor licensed under Chapters 448E and 444 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes, as the Building Division's Contractor's Statement states. Confirm the charge for a specific job with the Building Division at (808) 241-4854.

Permit	Issuing agency	Fee	Renews	Last checked
Use Permitonly if it applies to you	County of Kaua'i Planning Department	$300 one-time, per application — doubled for an after-the-fact application	one-time, per application; the permit itself runs subject to the conditions the Planning Commission imposes	2026-09-19
Special Permit (State Land Use Agricultural and Rural Districts)only if it applies to you	County of Kaua'i Planning Department	$150 one-time, per petition (nonrefundable filing and processing fee)	one-time, per petition	2026-09-19
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 application	2026-09-19
Variance Permitonly if it applies to you	County of Kaua'i Planning Department	$300 one-time, per application — doubled for an after-the-fact application	one-time, per application	2026-09-19
Special Management Area (SMA) Permitonly if it applies to you	County of Kaua'i Planning Department	Priced 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 project	2026-09-19
Commercial Building Permit	County of Kaua'i Department of Public Works, Building Division	Valuation-based schedule in Kaua'i County Code Chapter 12, TABLE 1-A: $15.00 for work valued $1 to $500; for $501-$2,000, $15.00 for the first $500.00 plus $2.00 for each additional $100.00 or fraction thereof; for $2,001-$25,000, $45.00 for the first $2,000.00 plus $8.00 for each additional $1,000.00 or fraction thereof; for $25,001-$50,000, $229.00 for the first $25,000.00 plus $7.00 for each additional $1,000.00 or fraction thereof; for $50,001-$100,000, $404.00 for the first $50,000.00 plus $6.00 for each additional $1,000.00 or fraction thereof; for $100,001-$1,000,000, $704.00 for the first $100,000.00 plus $5.00 for each additional $1,000.00 or fraction thereof; for $1,000,001-$25,000,000, $5,204.00 for the first $1,000,000.00 plus $4.00 for each additional $1,000.00 or fraction thereof; for $25,000,001-$50,000,000, $101,204.00 for the first $25,000,000.00 plus $3.00 for each additional $1,000.00 or fraction thereof; for $50,000,000 and up, $176,204 for the first $50,000,000 plus $2.00 for each additional $1,000.00 or fraction thereof. Double the computed amount for after-the-fact permits.	one-time, per project	2026-09-19
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Feeonly if it applies to you	County of Kaua'i Department of Finance	Under Kaua'i County Code §11A-2.2: each new commercial development, $100.00 per parking stall in the minimum number the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance requires to serve it; each new industrial building, $0.25 per square foot of gross building area; each new hotel, motel, multi-family time share unit and multi-family transient vacation rental unit, $1,000.00 per unit.	one-time, per development	2026-09-19
Sewer Connection Charge and Wastewater Treatment Capacity Assessmentonly if it applies to you	County of Kaua'i Department of Public Works, Division of Wastewater Management	Two one-time charges for a new non-residential connection, both by water-meter size (Ordinance No. 1131, effective July 1, 2023). Sewer connection charge (§25-11.1), where the area to be served has not been previously assessed: $948 for a 5/8-inch or 3/4-inch meter, $1,580 for 1-inch, $3,160 for 1½-inch, $5,050 for 2-inch, $9,480 for 3-inch, $15,800 for 4-inch, and $3.088 per gallon per day of approved sewer flow above 4-inch. Wastewater treatment capacity assessment (§25-12.1), paid in full before a building permit issues: $3,080, $5,140, $10,260, $16,420, $30,800 and $51,340 for the same meter sizes, and $10.034 per gallon per day of approved sewer flow above 4-inch.	one-time, per connection; further charges apply if a later change of use intensifies it	2026-09-19
Sign Permitonly if it applies to you	County of Kaua'i Department of Public Works, Building Division	By the sign's total estimated valuation of work (Kaua'i County Code §15-4.8(d)): $20.00 from $0.01 to $500.00; from $500.01 up, $20.00 plus $3.00 per $100.00 or fraction thereof of the total estimated valuation of work. Sign work begun without a permit pays $50.00 plus that fee (§15-4.8(i)). An illuminated sign also needs an electrical permit, which charges $12.00 to install it (§13-2.4).	one-time, per sign	2026-09-19
General Business License — Kaua'i County Code Position (Kauai County)only if it applies to you	County of Kaua'i Department of Finance	No fee	not applicable — under Kaua'i County Code §23-4.1 the County's licenses are only those Hawaii Revised Statutes Chapter 445 requires	2026-09-19
Certificate of Occupancy	County of Kaua'i Department of Public Works, Building Division	No fee — no issuance fee — the County charges nothing to issue a certificate of occupancy	one-time; no expiration once issued	2026-09-19
Building Plan Review Fee	County of Kaua'i Department of Public Works, Building Division	15% of the building permit fee from TABLE 1-A, rounded off to the nearest dollar, based on a preliminary estimated valuation of work; non-refundable, and doubled for after-the-fact permits.	one-time, per project; an application for which plan review fees have been paid and no permit issues within 365 days expires	2026-09-19
Electrical Permitonly if it applies to you	County of Kaua'i Department of Public Works, Building Division	$15.00 application fee to issue each permit, plus per-item charges under Kaua'i County Code §13-2.4: service equipment from $10.00 (not over 100 amperes) to $29.00 (over 1,200 amperes); $7.00 for each feeder conductor; $7.00 for each branch circuit, including spare circuits; $12.00 to install an illuminated sign; and further charges for transformers ($10.00 to $60.00), generators, motors and temporary lighting. Transferring a permit costs $50.00.	one-time, per permit	2026-09-19

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