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Hawaii charges $51 to file Articles of Organization (Form LLC-1): a $50 base fee listed on the DCCA fee schedule plus a mandatory $1 State Archives preservation fee, per the State Archives fee page. The Business Registration Division (BREG) of the Hawaii DCCA handles every LLC filing, and the $51 total is the same whether you file online, by mail, by email, or by fax.
Expedited review carries a $25 surcharge under item (16) of HRS § 428-1301, which would bring the total to $76, but the service is suspended. Per BREG's own transition notice, expedited handling has been unavailable since Monday, July 6, 2026, when the division moved to a new online portal at hbe.dcca.hawaii.gov, with no other changes to filing fees during the transition. Processing timelines should be verified directly with Hawaii's business registration office.
Current Hawaii LLC filing fees
Every filing method costs $51, and the Form Fee Schedule on the DCCA website governs what BREG collects. The BREG homepage says filings by email, mail, and fax will be accepted but may see delayed processing through those methods, and that expedited handling is currently not available.
Filing method | Total fee | Processing time | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
Online (hbe.dcca.hawaii.gov) | $51 | No official DCCA processing window is published; check the portal for current estimates. | Available |
Paper (mail, email, fax) | $51 | No official DCCA window; DCCA says these methods may be delayed. | Available |
Expedited review (+$25) | $76 | Not available. | Suspended since July 6, 2026 |
The $51 covers the $50 base fee and the $1 State Archives fee, with no separate online surcharge listed on DCCA fee pages.
How Hawaii's filing fees compare to other states
Hawaii's statutory LLC formation fee is listed at $100 for articles of organization under HRS § 428-1301, but DCCA's operative fee schedule currently collects $50 (plus the $1 Archives fee), since the legislature has delegated fee-reduction authority to the department. Massachusetts charges $500 to form an LLC and $500 a year for the annual report by mail ($520 online).
Texas charges $300, per the Texas Form 205 instructions. Tennessee's formation and annual report fees scale with membership: $50 per LLC member, with a $300 minimum and a $3,000 maximum, so most single- and few-member LLCs pay the $300 floor. Massachusetts sits at the high end of this comparison, while several states, including Hawaii, charge $50 to $100 to form.
Hawaii's annual report requirement costs $12.50 online and $15 by paper, per the Form Fee Schedule. Under HRS § 428-210(d), the report is due at the end of the quarter in which the LLC registered: March 31, June 30, September 30, or December 31. File late and the DCCA assesses $10 per year delinquent, with the director authorized to assess a forfeiture of up to $100 per offense under HRS § 428-1302. Arizona and Mississippi both charge $50 to form; Arizona requires no annual report, and Mississippi's annual report is free.
Additional filing fees to consider for Hawaii LLCs
Beyond the $51 formation fee, other Hawaii filings carry their own charges, most picking up the $1 State Archives fee too.
Name reservation costs $10 and holds the name for 120 days, per the BREG FAQs.
Trade name (DBA) registration (Form T-1) is $50 plus the $1 archives fee per the DCCA trade name form, and runs five years under HRS § 482-3.
Articles of Amendment (Form LLC-3) cost $25 plus the $1 archives fee, $26 total, listed on the BREG registration page and the foreign LLC fee page.
Certified copies are a $10 certification plus $0.25 per page plus the $1 archives fee, a minimum of $11.25 before page charges; HRS § 428-1301(15) sets the $10 certificate-and-seal fee.
Certificate of Good Standing is $5 for standard processing, plus a $10 special handling fee that produces expedited review; that expedited option is currently suspended along with BREG's other expedited services.
Foreign LLCs pay $50 for the Application for Certificate of Authority (Form FLLC-1) plus the $1 archives fee, the same statute-versus-portal gap that applies to domestic formation: HRS § 428-1301 lists $100, but DCCA's current fee page collects $50. Foreign LLCs must also attach an original home-state certificate of good standing dated no more than 60 days before filing. Every Hawaii LLC must keep a registered agent with a Hawaii business address, and a Statement of Change of registered agent costs $25.
Handle Hawaii LLC filings with Discern
Discern forms Hawaii LLCs for $99 plus the $51 Hawaii state filing fee, files the Application for Certificate of Authority for foreign LLCs at the same rate, and pulls the home-state certificate of good standing automatically, which helps you meet the 60-day recency requirement.
Once the entity exists, Discern's $350-per-state-registration subscription covers registered agent service in Hawaii, auto-created annual reports queued ahead of the quarter-end deadline, and free Change of Agent filings.
For teams running entities in more than one state, the same dashboard tracks good standing, due dates, and payments across all 51+ jurisdictions, with consolidated, automatic billing instead of invoices from multiple providers. Customers with 200+ registrations spend just 5 to 10 minutes annually on compliance across their entire portfolio.
Frequently asked questions about Hawaii LLC filing fees
These answers cover the questions we hear most often from teams filing in Hawaii.
How much does it cost to form an LLC in Hawaii?
$51: the $50 Articles of Organization fee plus a $1 State Archives preservation fee. The amount is identical for online, mail, email, and fax filings.
Can I pay extra for faster processing?
Not right now. The $25 expedited review fee stays on the DCCA schedule, but expedited handling has been unavailable since BREG switched to its new portal on July 6, 2026.
Why does the statute say $100 when DCCA charges $50?
The Hawaii Revised Statutes edition of § 428-1301 lists $100 for articles of organization, while the DCCA's operative fee schedule collects $50. That schedule controls what you pay at filing; check the current DCCA fee schedule before you submit your filing.
What does a Hawaii LLC pay each year after formation?
An annual report at $12.50 online or $15 on paper, due at the close of the quarter in which the LLC first registered. Late filers owe $10 per delinquent year, with a director-assessed maximum of $100 per offense.
Updated on
2026-09-29
