Auto Repair Shop Permit Requirements in Honolulu, HI

1. EIN (Employer Identification Number)

   Required if you have employees or operate as an LLC or corporation. Free from the IRS.

   Official government source

   Free·Immediate (online application)

   Free

   Immediate (online application)

1. Hawaii Department of Taxation — General Excise Tax (GET) License

   Hawaii has no sales tax. Instead the state levies a General Excise Tax on the gross income of the business itself, and unlike a sales tax it reaches services, commissions and rent as well as goods. Every business must register for a GET licence with the Department of Taxation on Form BB-1 before doing business. The rate is 4% statewide, rising to 4.5% on Oahu because of the 0.5% county surcharge, and it is owed on gross income whether or not it is passed on to the customer.

   Official government source

   $20 one-time registration fee (Form BB-1)·Hawaii Tax ID issued immediately in person, in about 5–7 days online via Hawaii Tax Online, or 4–6 weeks by mail

   $20 one-time registration fee (Form BB-1)

   Hawaii Tax ID issued immediately in person, in about 5–7 days online via Hawaii Tax Online, or 4–6 weeks by mail

2. Hawaii DOH Solid & Hazardous Waste Branch — Used Oil and Hazardous Waste

   Auto repair shops must comply with the hazardous waste generator and used oil rules enforced by the State Department of Health Solid & Hazardous Waste Branch — not the HEER Office, which handles contaminated sites and spill response. Used oil must be stored in labelled, leak-free containers and sent to a permitted recycler or licensed hauler, with records kept. Shops generating larger volumes of hazardous waste must obtain an EPA identification number.

   Official government source

   No branch fee for ordinary compliance; costs are the licensed hauler's or recycler's charges. An EPA identification number is free.·No waiting period for the compliance obligations; an EPA identification number is issued shortly after notification for shops that need one

   No branch fee for ordinary compliance; costs are the licensed hauler's or recycler's charges. An EPA identification number is free.

   No waiting period for the compliance obligations; an EPA identification number is issued shortly after notification for shops that need one

1. Hawaii General Excise Tax (GET) License

   The City and County of Honolulu Department of Budget and Fiscal Services issues no business licence — its divisions are accounting, real property assessment, treasury, purchasing and the liquor commission, and Honolulu has no general business licence at all, so there is nothing to renew annually or display. What a business does need is the statewide General Excise Tax licence from the Department of Taxation on Form BB-1, plus any activity-specific approvals such as building or zoning permits from the Department of Planning and Permitting.

   Official government source

   $20 one-time registration fee (Form BB-1) — there is no city business license fee·Hawaii Tax ID issued immediately in person, in about 5–7 days online via Hawaii Tax Online, or 4–6 weeks by mail

   $20 one-time registration fee (Form BB-1) — there is no city business license fee

   Hawaii Tax ID issued immediately in person, in about 5–7 days online via Hawaii Tax Online, or 4–6 weeks by mail

2. Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting — Zoning and Certificate of Occupancy

   Auto repair is allowed only in the commercial and industrial districts of Honolulu's Land Use Ordinance, so confirm the district before signing a lease. The Department of Planning and Permitting handles both sides of this: zoning compliance through its zoning permits process and the Certificate of Occupancy through the building permit process. There is no separate "Honolulu County" building department — the City and County of Honolulu is a single consolidated government covering all of Oahu.

   Official government source

   Valuation-based under ROH 18-6.2 — $20 for work valued at $500 or less, rising to roughly $230 on a $10,000 job and about $980 on a $50,000 job; when plans are required, a plan review fee of 20% of the permit fee (capped at $25,000) is added. DPP publishes an online Building Permit Fee Calculator.·Tenant improvement work needing plan review runs longer than simple permits; DPP's instant online permits cover only small-scope work

   Valuation-based under ROH 18-6.2 — $20 for work valued at $500 or less, rising to roughly $230 on a $10,000 job and about $980 on a $50,000 job; when plans are required, a plan review fee of 20% of the permit fee (capped at $25,000) is added. DPP publishes an online Building Permit Fee Calculator.

   Tenant improvement work needing plan review runs longer than simple permits; DPP's instant online permits cover only small-scope work

Official Sources

• City and County of Honolulu Department of Budget and Fiscal Services
• Hawaii Department of Health — Used Oil and Hazardous Waste

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