How Much Does an LLC Cost in Hawaii (All the Fees Revealed)

Published by Jon Morgan | Co-Founder & Chief Editor

Last updated: August 19, 2026

FACT CHECKED by Lou Viveros, Growth & Transition Advisor

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Forming an LLC in Hawaii costs $51. It's paid to the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA), Business Registration Division (BREG). The full fee breakdown is below.

DCCA moved to a new registration system and online portal in July 2026. Filing fees didn't change. Expedited review is temporarily unavailable during the transition, though standard filings still go through.

After formation, Hawaii LLCs face a handful of recurring costs. The annual report is the big one, due every year in the calendar quarter tied to your original registration date. Here's every cost you'll run into, from formation through the years after, plus what's optional along the way.

Quick Summary

Cost to Start an LLC in Hawaii

There's one mandatory fee to form a Hawaii LLC, plus two optional filings worth knowing about. It's a similar lineup to LLC costs in every other state. Hawaii just has its own numbers attached.

1. LLC Formation Filing Fee ($51 - Required)

The Articles of Organization (Form LLC-1) is the document that legally creates your Hawaii LLC. You file it with the DCCA Business Registration Division. It costs $50, plus a required $1 State Archives fee. That's $51 total [1].

When you file, you'll list your LLC's name, registered agent, and management structure. All of it becomes public record. You can file online, by mail, email, or fax.

Expedited review normally adds $25 for faster handling. That service is on pause while DCCA runs its new system, live since July 2026.

No current DCCA page publishes a fixed business-day estimate for standard processing. Check the live portal for the current turnaround before you file. The full walkthrough lives in how to start an LLC in Hawaii.

2. Registered Agent Service Fee ($80-$300 Annually - Optional)

Every Hawaii LLC needs a registered agent to receive legal documents and state correspondence. You can act as your own agent at no cost. Or hire a registered agent service in Hawaii instead.

Your registered agent must keep a physical Hawaii street address, not a P.O. box. They also need to be there during normal work hours to accept legal papers. Paid registered agent services typically run $80 to $300 a year, depending on the provider.

3. Name Reservation Fee ($10 - Optional)

A $10 fee reserves your LLC name with DCCA for 120 days, useful if you're not ready to file yet. Your name needs to include "Limited Liability Company," "LLC," or "L.L.C." It can't imply a government affiliation. It also can't use restricted words like "bank" without the right license.

Run a Hawaii LLC business search before you file to confirm the name is available. An existing LLC that wants a different name goes through a separate state name-change process instead.

Expenses After Your LLC Is Approved

Once DCCA approves your filing, a few recurring costs follow every year. Here's the license requirement first, since it applies to nearly every Hawaii LLC.

1. Business License ($20 - Mandatory for Most Businesses)

Hawaii requires nearly every LLC to register for a General Excise Tax license. It's a one-time $20 fee, paid to the Department of Taxation. It's not a traditional license. It's what lets the state collect GET on your gross receipts.

Some industries need additional, separate licenses on top of the GET registration. Restaurants, contractors, and healthcare providers are common examples. Check with the specific licensing board for your line of work before you open.

2. Annual Report ($12.50-$15 - Mandatory)

Every Hawaii LLC must file an annual report to stay in good standing. Filed online through Hawaii Business Express, it costs $12.50 for an LLC. Filed by mail or in person, the DCCA fee schedule lists it at $15.00 [2].

Your report is due during the calendar quarter that contains your LLC's original registration date. There's no fixed statewide date. Register in February, for example, and your report is due by March 31 every year. That's because February falls in the January-March quarter.

Miss the deadline and DCCA adds a $10 late fee per year delinquent. Two consecutive missed years puts your LLC at risk of involuntary dissolution.

Filing online through Hawaii Business Express gets you email reminders before your deadline. The portal accepts credit card, eCheck, or payment through an eHawaii.gov subscriber account.

3. Taxes (Depending on Income and Activity - Mandatory)

Hawaii LLCs run into a few different state tax obligations [3]:

• State income tax: Owed on income you pay yourself from the LLC. Hawaii's rates run from 1.4% to 11.00% across twelve brackets, based on your taxable income.
• General Excise Tax (GET): Hawaii doesn't have a traditional sales tax. Instead, GET applies to the business's gross receipts at a 4.0% statewide rate.
• County surcharge: Most counties add a 0.5% surcharge on top. That pushes the effective max rate to about 4.712% in Honolulu, Kauai, Maui, and Hawaii counties.
• Self-employment tax: LLC members pay the standard federal self-employment tax on profits they take from the company. That rate is 15.3%.
• Payroll withholding: Employers withhold state income tax per the Department of Taxation's withholding tables. They also withhold federal FICA tax at 7.65%, for Social Security and Medicare.

Optional Costs Worth Knowing About

A few more costs come up only in specific situations. Last on the list is the one that should never cost you anything.

1. Operating Agreement ($0 Template / $100 to $1,000+ Attorney)

Hawaii doesn't require you to file an operating agreement with the state. Skip one, though, and Hawaii's default LLC rules govern your company automatically. That rarely matches what multi-member owners actually want.

A free template costs nothing to fill out. Hiring a lawyer to draft a custom agreement runs $100 to $1,000 or more, and the final price depends on how much detail it needs.

That expense is worth it once an LLC has more than one owner. It heads off disputes over management and profit splits later.

2. DBA Name ($50 - Optional)

A DBA, or trade name, lets your LLC operate under a different public name. That name can differ from the one on its Articles of Organization. Registering one with DCCA (Form T-1) costs $50 [4].

Registration is voluntary. You can operate under your LLC's legal name without ever filing one. Most banks still ask for a registered DBA, though. They want one on file before they'll open an account under a different name.

3. Certificate of Good Standing ($5 - Optional)

Some banks, investors, and other states' filing offices want proof your Hawaii LLC is current on its filings. They ask for it before they'll work with you. A Certificate of Good Standing from DCCA's Business Registration Division costs $5.

4. Certified Document Copies ($10 - Optional)

A certified copy is a file-stamped duplicate of your formation paperwork, verified against DCCA's records. It costs $10, plus $0.25 per page. You can request one online through Hawaii Business Express, by mail, or in person.

5. Federal Tax ID/EIN ($0 - Optional, but Recommended)

An Employer Identification Number is the nine-digit code the IRS assigns to identify your LLC. You'll need one to open a bank account, hire staff, or apply for a loan.

The IRS issues an EIN online for $0. Some formation services charge $50 to $100 to file this step for you. It's a simple form, though, and you can complete it yourself in a few minutes.

FAQs

References:

1. https://cca.hawaii.gov/breg/registration/dllc/
2. https://cca.hawaii.gov/breg/registration/dllc/fees/
3. https://tax.hawaii.gov/tax-year-information/
4. https://cca.hawaii.gov/breg/registration/trade/fees/