Everything you need to register a foreign LLC in Hawaii.
State filing fee$51one-time
Registered agent$125/yearbased on Northwest RA
Total, all in$463.50
Hawaii data last reviewed Aug 22, 2026 · cca.hawaii.govTotals include the $51 filing fee once, Northwest RA at $125/year, and Hawaii recurring state costs over the selected period.
Foreign Qualification
Filing fee
$51
Form
Application for Certificate of Authority (Form FLLC-1)
Annual obligation
$12.50/year
Processing time
Hawaii publishes no processing time for this filing: not on the foreign LLC registration page, not in the FLLC-1 instructions, not in the FLLC information sheet and not in the BREG FAQs. What it does publish is that the division moved to a new registration portal on 6 July 2026 and that expedited handling is not available during the transition, so the paid fast route is closed as well.
Expedite
$25 per document, charged in a separate expedited review column rather than as a percentage of the filing fee. SUSPENDED at the moment: the Business Registration Division states that expedited handling is currently not available following its 6 July 2026 move to a new registration portal, so the $25 cannot be bought today at any price.
Hawaii data last reviewed Aug 22, 2026 · cca.hawaii.gov
Formation in Hawaii
Formation fee
$51
Annual cost
$12.50/year
State income tax
Income tax up to 11%
Privacy
Low
What triggers foreign qualification in Hawaii?
Physical office or place of business
Employees working in the state
Important to know
A one-time $20 General Excise Tax licence is required to engage in business in Hawaii, separate from entity registration with the Business Registration Division.
Activities that do NOT require registration in Hawaii
The following activities are explicitly carved out by statute. On their own, they do not require a foreign LLC to register in Hawaii.
Maintaining, defending, or settling a lawsuit or administrative proceeding
Holding meetings of members or managers, or carrying on internal company affairs
Maintaining bank accounts
Maintaining offices or agents to transfer, exchange, or register the company's own securities, or maintaining trustees or depositories for them
Selling through independent contractors
Soliciting or taking orders, if the orders must be accepted outside Hawaii before they become contracts
Creating or acquiring debt, mortgages, or security interests in real or personal property
Securing or collecting debts, enforcing security interests, and holding or maintaining property acquired that way
Conducting an isolated transaction completed within 30 days that is not one of a series of similar transactions
Transacting business in interstate commerce
Under HRS Section 428-1003, 10 items with a 30-day isolated-transaction limit. Hawaii has NO property-ownership safe harbor, and subsection (b) reverses it: owning income-producing real or tangible personal property in Hawaii DOES constitute transacting business. The phrase "of a like manner" is genuine drafting rather than a typo; South Carolina uses it too.
This page provides general information based on publicly available state requirements. It is not legal advice. Verify with the Hawaii DCCA before filing.