21 published records
Business licences and permits in Maui County, Hawaii
Maui County (the islands of Maui, Molokai, Lanai, and Kahoolawe) has no general municipal business license, confirmed directly from the Department of Finance's own currently-published annual fee ordinance naming the complete, fixed set of individual business licenses it issues (Peddling Merchandise, Secondhand Dealers, Selling Firearm, Pawn Broker, Auctioneer, Bike Tour, Taxicab, Aquatic Life Operations, Electronic Gun Dealer) — none of this project's ten industries. The closest confirmed local analog to a food-truck permit is a $25 Vendor's License from the Department of Finance's Division of Motor Vehicles and Licensing for vending in County rights-of-way, stated on the County's own current informational page though not itemized in the current annual fee ordinance itself — a discrepancy disclosed rather than resolved by assumption. Maui County is also the only one of the three Hawaii counties this project has covered with a wastewater discharge license named specifically for food trucks and trailers ($10 application plus $120 new/renewal every two years, Department of Environmental Management). The Department of Public Works' own current Appendix B fee ordinance publishes a complete, valuation-based Building Permit fee table (from $30 up to $5,880 plus $10 per additional $1,000) together with a 35%-of-permit-fee Plan Review formula and a flat $50 Certificate of Occupancy fee, while the Department of Fire and Public Safety prices its own Fire Plan Review at 17.5% of the building permit fee and a $100-per-year Assembly Permit for an occupant load of 300 or more. The Department of Planning's own current fee schedule confirms a $3,970 Conditional Permit, a $4,206 County Special Use Permit (identically priced to a parallel Special Permit for State Agricultural/Rural land), a $297-$4,206 Use Determination service, and a tiered Special Management Area permit schedule. 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 and zoning-permit pathways recorded below — though licensed day care centers are confirmed exempt from the County's own miscellaneous building, electrical, and plumbing inspection fees.
What are you opening in Maui 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 Maui County?
Permitting in Maui 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.
Maui County issuing agencies
- County of Maui, Department of Finance, Division of Motor Vehicles and LicensingPeddling Merchandise, Secondhand Dealer, Pawn Broker, Auctioneer, and other individually named trade business licenses · Vendor's License for vending in County rights-of-way6 permits
- County of Maui, Department of PlanningConditional Permits, Special Use Permits, and Use Determinations · Special Management Area (SMA) permits and shoreline setback applications · Sign permits and sign variances · Community Plan and zoning administration (Zoning Administration and Enforcement Division)5 permits
- County of Maui, Department of Public Works, Development Services AdministrationBuilding, electrical, plumbing, driveway, and grading permits · Certificate of Occupancy · Contractor/owner-builder verification during permit review5 permits
- County of Maui, Department of Fire and Public Safety, Fire Prevention BureauFire Protection Permits (sprinkler, standpipe, alarm, and automatic suppression systems) · Assembly Permits · Flammable Finishes/Spray Booth permits · Fire Plan Review4 permits
- County of Maui, Department of Environmental Management, Wastewater Reclamation DivisionWastewater pretreatment and discharge licenses, including the Food Truck/Trailer Wastewater Discharge License1 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.