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16 permits · verified 2026-09-11

What permits do you need to open a contractor or trade in Maui County?

In short

A contractor or trade in Maui County, HI has 3 permits that apply to every business of this type, plus 13 more that depend on your premises, signage or how you are set up. County of Maui, Department of Planning charges $4,206 one-time, per application for the county special use permit / special permit (state land use agricultural and rural districts). 5 of the 16 are charged as a range or formula rather than a flat fee. Verified 2026-09-11 against the issuing agencies’ published fee schedules.

Permits particular to a contractor or trade in Maui County

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
County Special Use Permit / Special Permit (State Land Use Agricultural and Rural Districts)only if it applies to youCounty of Maui, Department of Planning$4,206 one-time, per applicationone-time, per application2026-09-11
County Contractor License (not found beyond the building permit process)only if it applies to youCounty of Maui, Department of Public Works, Development Services AdministrationNo feenot applicable2026-09-11
Conditional Permitonly if it applies to youCounty of Maui, Department of Planning$3,970 one-time, per applicationlimited period of time, per the permit's own terms2026-09-11
Individual Electrician or Plumber Licenseonly if it applies to youHawaii DCCA, Professional and Vocational Licensing Division$40 application fee, plus a $95 examination fee3 years2026-09-04
Contractor Licenseonly if it applies to youHawaii DCCA, Professional and Vocational Licensing Division$338 biennial renewal for an entity or sole proprietor; a responsible managing employee license is $208biennial — every license renews by 30 September of even-numbered years2026-09-04

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

Local permits that apply to every type of business in Maui County

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
Fire Plan Review Feeonly if it applies to youCounty of Maui, Department of Fire and Public Safety, Fire Prevention BureauVaries — formula on the Maui County pageone-time, per project2026-09-11
General Business License — Maui County positiononly if it applies to youCounty of Maui, Department of Finance, Division of Motor Vehicles and LicensingNo feenot applicable2026-09-11
Certificate of OccupancyCounty of Maui, Department of Public Works, Development Services Administration$50 one-time, per certificateone-time, no expiration once issued2026-09-11
Commercial Building PermitCounty of Maui, Department of Public Works, Development Services AdministrationVaries — formula on the Maui County pageone-time, per project — the permit itself expires 5 years after issuance if work is not completed2026-09-11
Building Plan Review FeeCounty of Maui, Department of Public Works, Development Services AdministrationVaries — formula on the Maui County pageone-time, per project2026-09-11
Special Management Area (SMA) Permitonly if it applies to youCounty of Maui, Department of PlanningVaries — formula on the Maui County pageone-time, per project2026-09-11
Use Determination (Zoning Verification)only if it applies to youCounty of Maui, Department of PlanningVaries — formula on the Maui County pageone-time, per request2026-09-11

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

HI registrations that apply to every type of business

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
General Business License — Hawaii positiononly 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
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
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

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 contractor or trade in Maui County?

There is no single figure, and any site quoting one is rounding away the part that matters. Of the 16 records listed for a contractor or trade in Maui County, HI, 3 apply to every business of this type and 13 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 3 that always apply, 1 carry a flat fee, coming to $50.00. That is a floor, not a total. 5 of the 16 are charged as a range or a formula set by the issuing agency, and 3 have no fee published at all.

The other 5 variable fees belong to permits that apply to every type of business here; their formulas are set out on the Maui County permits page and the HI state page.

Which offices issue these permits in Maui County?

Permits for a contractor or trade in Maui County, HI come from 6 separate offices: County of Maui, Department of Fire and Public Safety, Fire Prevention Bureau, County of Maui, Department of Planning, County of Maui, Department of Public Works, Development Services Administration, County of Maui, Department of Finance, Division of Motor Vehicles and Licensing, Hawaii DCCA, Professional and Vocational Licensing Division, Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Business Registration Division. No single office issues them all, which is why an opening means filing in several places rather than one.

What does a contractor or trade need in Maui County that other businesses do not?

3 of the 5 permits particular to a contractor or trade here apply to no other business type we cover in Maui County: County Contractor License (not found beyond the building permit process), Individual Electrician or Plumber License and Contractor License.

County Special Use Permit / Special Permit (State Land Use Agricultural and Rural Districts)

The current Appendix B fee ordinance prices both the general County Special Use Permit (MCC 19.510.010) and its parallel Special Permit for land in the State Land Use Agricultural or Rural district (HRS 205-6(a)) identically at $4,206, confirmed directly. This is the same product and fee the County's own Food Truck FAQs guide names as the pathway a food truck or trailer on agricultural land must use once it exceeds 1,000 square feet, sits within the Molokai community plan area, or is the 26th or later mobile food truck registered within the Hāna community plan area — disclosed here as background context rather than given a duplicate line.

County Contractor License (not found beyond the building permit process)

No fee applies. The Development Services Administration's own current 'PS-FORM D' — the Contractor's Statement or Owner Builder Disclosure Statement filed with every applicable building permit application, read directly — requires the applicant to certify either that they are 'a bona fide contractor in the State of Hawaii' (naming a state license number) or that they are proceeding under the state's own owner-builder exemption at HRS §444-2.5, with no mention anywhere of a separate county contractor registration or credential. The Department verifies an applicant's state contractor licensing status as part of ordinary permit review rather than issuing an additional credential of its own. A Maui County contractor's local obligations are otherwise the same Commercial Building Permit, Plan Review, and Fire Plan Review fees recorded elsewhere in this file.

Conditional Permit

The Department of Planning's own current page describes this as available 'for proposed uses that are similar or related to those uses permitted within the given use zone' and 'for a limited period of time' — Maui County's general conditional-use pathway, processed through the applicable Planning Commission. Whether a specific business needs it depends on the exact use and zoning district. A childcare facility whose proposed location is not a permitted use outright would use this same pathway, or the Special Use Permit recorded below, layered on top of, not instead of, Hawaii's own state Child Care License recorded at the state layer.

Individual Electrician or Plumber License

This is Hawaii's second, genuinely separate layer for these two trades. Where the contractor license above covers the business that contracts for electrical or plumbing work, this license covers the individual doing the hands-on work, issued by an entirely different board on a three-year cycle rather than the contractor board's two-year one. A business needs the first; the qualifying tradesperson it employs needs the second — holding one does not substitute for the other.

Contractor License

A license is required once a project's combined cost of labour, materials and taxes exceeds $1,000 — a strikingly low threshold compared with most states — unless the work needs no building permit and stands alone rather than as part of a larger project. General engineering, general building and specialty work each fall under this same board and this same fee, $338 to renew an entity or sole proprietor license and $208 for a responsible managing employee, on a shared biennial cycle ending 30 September of even years regardless of when the license first issued. Electrical and plumbing contracting sit inside this same system as specialty classifications rather than under a separate contractor board — but the individual electrician or plumber doing the work needs a further, separate license from an entirely different board; see that record.

The other 7 local permits in the tables apply to every type of business in Maui County, HI; what each one involves is set out on the Maui County permits page. The 4 state-level registrations apply to every type of business across HI and are covered on the HI state page.

How does a contractor or trade compare with other businesses in Maui County?

The closest match is a childcare centre, which shares 2 of these permits. A contractor or trade also needs County Contractor License (not found beyond the building permit process), Individual Electrician or Plumber License and Contractor License. A childcare centre needs County Childcare Facility Permit (not found beyond the zoning and building process) and Child Care License, which a contractor or trade does not.

Permits particular to each business type in Maui County, HI, compared with a contractor or trade
BusinessIts own permitsShared with a contractor or tradeOnly a contractor or trade needsOnly it needs
Childcare centres4232
Retail stores4232
Fitness studios5233
Salons and barbers5233
Veterinary clinics5233
Auto repair shops6234
Coffee shops4054
Food trucks4054
Restaurants5055

Sources

Every figure for the permits explained on this page was read from one of these government pages on the date shown. Sources for the permits that apply to every type of business are listed on the Maui County permits page and the HI state page. Confirmed by Editorial Team.

  1. County of Maui Revenues - Fees, Rates, Assessments and Taxes, Appendix B, Fiscal Year July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027 — the currently-effective annual fee ordinance, itemizing every business license, building/electrical/plumbing permit fee, Department of Planning fee, and Fire Department fee cited for Maui CountyCounty of Maui · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-11
  2. Food Truck FAQs — Maui County (published July 23, 2026) — the Department of Planning's own current comprehensive guide covering vending location rules, the Agricultural District Commercial Agricultural Structure registration and Special Use Permit triggers, the vendor's license, the State MFE permit, and the Food Truck/Trailer Wastewater Discharge LicenseCounty of Maui, Department of Planning · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-11
  3. PS-FORM D — Contractor's Statement or Owner Builder Disclosure Statement — the Development Services Administration's own current building-permit form requiring the applicant to certify state contractor licensure or the HRS §444-2.5 owner-builder exemption, with no separate county contractor credential named anywhereCounty of Maui, Department of Public Works, Development Services Administration · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-11
  4. Conditional Permit — the Department of Planning's own current page describing this permit as available 'for proposed uses that are similar or related to those uses permitted within the given use zone'County of Maui, Department of Planning · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-11
  5. Hawaii Board of Electricians and Plumbers — individual trade licensing, separate from contractor licensingHawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
  6. Hawaii Contractors License Board — license fees and the biennial renewal cycleHawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
  7. Hawaii Revised Statutes chapter 444 — contractor licensing, classifications and the $1,000 exemptionState of Hawaii · 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.