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Business license · Hawaii

Do you need a business license in Hawaii? Most businesses operating there do.

Anyone earning income from business in Hawaii, including sellers with no presence once they pass the state's threshold. You need one once you have $100,000 of sales or 200 transactions with Hawaii customers in a year, even with no presence there.

Check my companyHawaii in detail

Checked by the BaseAcross team.

Hawaii at a glance

General licence
YesGeneral excise tax (GET) license
Run from abroad
Past a thresholdOnce sales there pass it
Sales tax
NoneNo state sales tax
Federal licence
NoneOnly regulated activities
01 · Hawaii

Business licences in Hawaii

What Hawaii asks of a business, and what that means for one run from abroad.

  • General excise tax (GET) license Anyone earning income from business in Hawaii, including sellers with no presence once they pass the state's threshold. $20, once. Issued by the Hawaii Department of Taxation. The official page.

  • If you run it from abroad. You need one once you have $100,000 of sales or 200 transactions with Hawaii customers in a year, even with no presence there.

  • Sales tax. Hawaii has no sales tax. Its general excise tax is charged to the seller, and the GET licence is the registration.

  • Cities and counties. Cities and counties license businesses located in them. Check the city or county where you'd have an office, shop or staff.

  • Regulated work. Alcohol, food, health, finance, transport and the licensed professions bring their own federal or state licences, wherever you're based. The lookup below lists them.

02 · Check

What does your company need?

Set to a company formed in Hawaii and run from abroad. Change any answer.

1. Where is your company formed?
2. Do you have an office or staff in a US state?

A registered agent's address doesn't count. That's where the state sends mail, not where you work.

3. What does the company do? Pick all that apply.

Regulated work

See what you need ↓

Your answer

Nothing to apply for right now.

Based on your answers, no licence is needed today. Below is what would change that, and what you can stop worrying about.

You'll need later, if this happens· 2

  • General excise tax (GET) license (Hawaii)

    You need one once you have $100,000 of sales or 200 transactions with Hawaii customers in a year, even with no presence there.

    Anyone earning income from business in Hawaii, including sellers with no presence once they pass the state's threshold.

    $20, onceFrom the Hawaii Department of Taxation

  • A licence in a state you sell into a lot

    Only Alaska, Washington, West Virginia reach a seller with no presence. Every other state doesn't.

    Alaska: Alaska expects a licence if any part of your business happens in Alaska, so check before you sell there regularly. Washington: You need one once you have more than $100,000 a year of sales to Washington customers, even with no presence there. West Virginia: You need one once you have to collect West Virginia's sales tax, which for a remote seller starts at its sales threshold.

You don't need· 4

  • A city licence where you have no office

    City and county licences are for businesses located there. A company run from abroad isn't located in a US city.

  • A seller's permit before you have to collect sales tax

    A seller's permit is a sales tax registration, not a licence to sell. You need one in a state once you have to collect its tax.

  • A licence to form your company

    Forming an LLC or corporation is a filing, not a licence. Your EIN is a tax number, not a licence either.

  • A general federal business licence

    There isn't one. The US licenses specific activities, such as alcohol, firearms and broadcasting, not businesses in general.

Want it checked for your exact business?

Customers can order licence research from their Services page. We check every federal, state, county and city licence your activity needs, and send it in writing: $99, in 4 business days.

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03 · Questions

Questions about Hawaii business licences.

If yours is not here, email us at hello@baseacross.com before you order.

Hawaii has a General excise tax (GET) license, from the Hawaii Department of Taxation. Anyone earning income from business in Hawaii, including sellers with no presence once they pass the state's threshold. It costs $20, once.

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