Contractor licensing · HI

Contractor licensing in Hawaii

The agencies that license the work, set the workers compensation trigger and register the business, with a link to each one.

Checked 2026-07-28

An Arkansas contractor taking work in Hawaii deals with the same four questions everywhere: who licenses the trade, when a licence is actually required, when workers compensation kicks in, and where the business registers. Below is Hawaii's answer to each, with the agency's own link.

Licensing

Contractors License Board, DCCA Professional and Vocational Licensing Division

Contractors License Board license required for nearly all contracting work; exemption only for projects under $1,500 (labor and materials) that need no building permit, and never for electrical or plumbing work.

https://cca.hawaii.gov/pvl/boards/contractor/

Workers compensation

Hawaii Dept. of Labor and Industrial Relations, Disability Compensation Division

Employers with one or more employees, full- or part-time, must provide workers' compensation coverage under HRS chapter 386.

https://labor.hawaii.gov/dcd/

Business registration

Dept. of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Business Registration Division (Hawaii Business Express)

https://hbe.ehawaii.gov/

Tax registration

Hawaii Department of Taxation

General Excise Tax applies to contracting at 4 percent; register for a GET license via Hawaii Tax Online (Form BB-1, $20).

https://hitax.hawaii.gov/

New hire reporting

Most states require newly hired employees to be reported within a short window of their start date.

https://ag.hawaii.gov/csea/employer-information/

Still to confirm. $1,500 handyman exemption verified via the DCCA CLB tip sheet (rev. 01/2026); HRS 444 statute text not fetchable today. BREG is migrating Hawaii Business Express to hbe.dcca.hawaii.gov. County GET surcharge not confirmed today.
These are pointers to each state's own agencies, checked on the date shown, not legal advice and not a substitute for asking the board directly. Rules change and thresholds move. The agency link is always the authority.

Georgia · All fifty states · Idaho

Starting or running the business itself is covered in the contractor business guide. Arkansas licence records for Benton and Washington counties are in the contractor directory.

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