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Hawaii

Hawaii Business Search

Written byRegistryWise Editorial TeamFact-checked against the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA) · How we research

The short answer

Hawaii businesses are searched for free on the Search & Buy page of Hawaii Business Express, run by the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs' Business Registration Division. Open a record to see what the business has filed, including its officers or members, and buy copies or a Certificate of Good Standing from the "Buy Available Docs" tab.

On this page
  1. LLC lookup, step by step
  2. What the status means
  3. Agent, filings, owners
  4. Your File Number
  5. Is the name available?
  6. DBA and UCC search
  7. Fees and deadlines
  8. Questions
  9. Sources

Hawaii at a glance

Who runs it
Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA), Business Registration Division
Hawaii Business Express (Search & Buy)
Cost to search
Free
Searching is free. A Good Standing Certificate is $5, a copy is $3 and certification adds $10. Entity List Builder lists cost $0.05 per record found.
Account needed
No
Search without signing up
Search by
Business name (Begins with or Contains), Result filters: Record Type, Status and Entity Type
and 2 more

State fees

  • Form an LLC$50Plus a $1 State Archives fee.Articles of Organization (Form LLC-1)Official source
  • Annual Report$12.50Online fee. The paper fee is $15.By the end of the calendar quarter that contains your registration date: March 31, June 30, September 30 or December 31. No report is due in the year you register.Official source
  • Certificate of Good Standing$5$10 more for expedited review.Proof the business is currentOfficial source
  • Change registered agent$25Statement of Change/Resignation of Registered Agent.Every LLC must have oneOfficial source

An LLC lookup in Hawaii is the same search as a business search. The Hawaii Business Express (Search & Buy), kept by the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA), lists LLCs alongside corporations and other registered businesses. You can search by business name, result filters: Record Type, Status and Entity Type, agent Search or entity List Builder. It's free, and you don't need an account.

The Hawaii Business Express (Search & Buy) search page, with the name box marked 1 and the search button marked 2.
The Hawaii Business Express (Search & Buy) as we found it on November 8, 2026. We marked where to type (1) and what to click (2). The state may change its layout.
  1. Open Search & Buy on Hawaii Business Express.
  2. Choose "Begins with" or "Contains", type the business name, and click Search.
  3. Narrow a long list with the "Record Type", "Status" and "Entity Type" filters and click "Apply Filter(s)". Only the first 300 matches are shown.
  4. Click the business name to open its record. The file number is under "General Info".
  5. Use the "Forms" tab to file a change for that business, or the "Buy Available Docs" tab to buy copies or a Certificate of Good Standing.

Good to know in Hawaii: Hawaii's annual report isn't due on one date for everyone. It's due by the end of the calendar quarter that contains the business's registration date (March 31, June 30, September 30 or December 31), and a business registered in the current year skips that year's report. An LLC that goes two years without filing can be terminated administratively.

What the search shows you

  • Name, record type, file number and status in the results list (up to 300 matches shown)
  • File number, under "General Info" on the record
  • Officers, directors, partners, members, managers or registered agent, depending on what the business filed
  • A "Forms" tab with filings for that business
  • A "Buy Available Docs" tab for copies and good standing certificates
  • Expiration dates for trade names and marks

What the status words mean

Hawaii uses its own words for a company's status, and they don't always mean the same thing as in other states. Here's what you'll see on the Hawaii Business Express (Search & Buy), in the state's own wording.

StatusWhat it means
Active (A)The business is registered and active. BREG's help pages don't define the status codes, so check the annual report filings on the record as well.
Adm. Terminated (V)Administratively terminated. Under Hawaii Revised Statutes 428-809, the director may terminate an LLC that fails to pay fees, goes two years without filing its annual report, or doesn't keep a registered agent. A domestic LLC can apply for reinstatement within two years ($25).
Inv. Dissolved (7) or (I)Involuntarily dissolved by decree or order of the DCCA director. BREG's reinstatement form covers entities "involuntarily dissolved/cancelled/revoked", and reinstatement needs the missing annual reports and a tax clearance from the Department of Taxation.
Terminated (T)A status filter on the search. BREG's help pages don't define it. An LLC that closes on its own files Articles of Termination (Form LLC-11), which cost $25.
Delinquent Status 1 (1) and Delinquent Status 2 (2)Status filters on the search. BREG's help pages don't define them, so check which annual reports are missing on the record.
Expired (E)Shown on trade names and marks that weren't renewed. Anyone may register an expired trade name.

For how these compare across states, see what business entity status means.

Finding the registered agent, filing history and owners

Registered Agent

On the business record. A Hawaii LLC must keep a registered agent with a business address in the state. A statement of change of registered agent is $25.

Filing history

Copies of filed documents are sold from the record's "Buy Available Docs" tab: $3 for a regular copy, plus $10 for certification. Documents on record can also be viewed in person at 335 Merchant Street, Room 201, Honolulu.

Owners, managers and officers

Information filed with the division is public. Depending on what the business filed, the record shows its officers and directors, partners, or members and managers. If the state record doesn't name anyone, our guide on how to find the owner of an LLC covers where else to look.

Finding a Hawaii File Number

Hawaii gives every business on its register a File Number. It's the quickest way to pin down the right company when names are alike.

What it looks like
A number followed by a code for the record type. Domestic LLCs end in C5 (for example 365323C5), domestic corporations in D1 (96085D1) and trade names in ZZ (503955ZZ).
Where to find yours
Search the business name on Search & Buy, click the business name, and look under "General Info".
Search by it
No. The Hawaii Business Express (Search & Buy) searches by name, not by this number.

It's easy to mix it up with these, which come from other offices:

  • Hawaii Tax ID (Department of Taxation). The number on your general excise tax license ($20 one-time fee), used to file and pay state taxes. Look it up with "Search Tax Licenses" on Hawaii Tax Online.

Your federal EIN is a different number again. See which business number a form is asking for.

Checking whether a business name is available in Hawaii

  1. Search the name on Search & Buy, but the site warns the results shouldn't be used as a definitive check of name availability.
  2. Names that differ only by a spelled-out number, punctuation, a plural, "of Hawaii" at the end, or the entity ending are "substantially identical" and are rejected.
  3. A name reservation lasts 120 days and costs $10.

A clear result on the state search isn't a trademark clearance. If the name matters to you, also search the USPTO trademark database and check the domain. More in our business name search guide.

DBA and UCC search in Hawaii

DBAs and assumed names

What it's called
Trade Name
Where they're filed
Trade names are registered with the DCCA Business Registration Division (Form T-1) and can be looked up on Hawaii Business Express. Registration is optional and doesn't give you ownership of the name.
State fee
$50. Plus a $1 State Archives fee.
How long it lasts
Five years. Renew in the six months before it expires. The state doesn't send reminders.

UCC liens

Lenders file UCC financing statements with the Bureau of Conveyances (Department of Land and Natural Resources). The online search is free and needs an account. Our Hawaii UCC search guide has the steps and fees.

Hawaii fees and deadlines

These are the state's own fees, before any service charges. Each row links to the official page we took it from.

Form an LLC

$50
  • Articles of Organization (Form LLC-1).
  • Filed online through Hawaii Business Express, or by email, mail or fax.
  • Faster options: $25 extra for expedited review.
File online Fee source

Annual Report

$12.50
  • Due: By the end of the calendar quarter that contains your registration date: March 31, June 30, September 30 or December 31. No report is due in the year you register.
  • If you're late: Filing a delinquent report online adds a $10 late fee for each year. The law allows a penalty of up to $100 for each 30 days a report is late, and an LLC that goes two years without filing can be terminated administratively.
  • Delinquent reports must be filed before the current one. BREG doesn't use any third-party company to collect annual reports, so be wary of mailers that look official.
File the report Fee source

Change your registered agent

$25
  • Every Hawaii LLC must have one.
  • Statement of Change/Resignation of Registered Agent.
Fee source

Certificate of Good Standing

$5
  • Proof the company exists and is current, from the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA).
  • $10 more for expedited review.
Order one Fee source

14,053 new business applications were filed in Hawaii from January to September 2026, down 7.1% on last year, according to the Census Bureau. See every state.

Starting a business in Hawaii?

A lot of people search the Hawaii Business Express (Search & Buy) to see if a name is taken before they file. If that's you, here's the order to do things in.

  1. 1Check the name is free in HawaiiTakes two minutes, steps on this page
  2. 2File your LLC with the stateArticles of Organization, $50 state fee
  3. 3Or let a service file it for youCompared on what you pay in year two

Step 3 goes to our comparison page, which has sponsored links. We earn a commission if you buy, and it doesn't change our rankings. How that works.

Frequently asked questions

How do I look up an LLC in Hawaii?

Search the Hawaii Business Express (Search & Buy), the official database kept by the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA). You can search by business name, result filters: Record Type, Status and Entity Type, agent Search or entity List Builder. It's free, and you don't need an account. Open the matching record to see the LLC's status, registered agent and filing history.

Is the Hawaii business search free?

Yes. Searching Hawaii Business Express is free. A Certificate of Good Standing is $5, and a copy of a filed document is $3 (plus $10 to certify).

Can I find the owners of a Hawaii LLC?

Often. Information filed with the Business Registration Division is public, and the record shows the members or managers when the LLC filed them.

When is the Hawaii annual report due?

By the end of the calendar quarter that contains your registration date. It costs $12.50 online, and late reports add $10 for each year delinquent.

What happens if a Hawaii LLC stops filing annual reports?

After two years without a report, the state can terminate the LLC administratively. It can apply for reinstatement within two years by filing the missing reports, a tax clearance and a $25 application.

Sources

We take every fee, deadline and rule on this page from these pages and nowhere else. Rules change, so open the source before you pay anything.

  1. 1.Hawaii Business Express: Search & BuyChecked November 8, 2026
  2. 2.Hawaii Business Express: helpChecked November 8, 2026
  3. 3.Hawaii Business Express: annual reportChecked November 8, 2026
  4. 4.Hawaii Business Express: Entity List BuilderChecked November 8, 2026
  5. 5.BREG frequently asked questionsChecked November 8, 2026
  6. 6.Domestic limited liability companyChecked November 8, 2026
  7. 7.Fees, Uniform Limited Liability Company Act (Chapter 428)Checked November 8, 2026
  8. 8.Information for Domestic Limited Liability Company (PDF)Checked November 8, 2026
  9. 9.Fourth quarter annual business reports due (October 2026 release)Checked November 8, 2026
  10. 10.Form X-4, Application for Reinstatement (PDF)Checked November 8, 2026
  11. 11.Hawaii Revised Statutes 428-809Checked November 8, 2026
  12. 12.Trade name, trademark or service markChecked November 8, 2026
  13. 13.Bureau of Conveyances: recording feesChecked November 8, 2026
  14. 14.Bureau of Conveyances: FAQsChecked November 8, 2026
  15. 15.Bureau of Conveyances document searchChecked November 8, 2026
  16. 16.Department of Taxation: licensing informationChecked November 8, 2026

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