East Honolulu, HI

Under the Revised Ordinances of Honolulu Land Use Ordinance (Section 21-5.50(c)(3), formerly 21-5.350), a home occupation is an accessory use providing a service or product for…

The Revised Ordinances of Honolulu prohibit any exterior sign, display, or advertisement that shows a dwelling is used for a home occupation; under Section 21-5.350(c) there must be no…

Home occupations that depend on client visits, including group instruction, must provide one off-street parking space per five clients on the premises at any one time, in addition to…

A family child care home is a permitted accessory use in East Honolulu under the Land Use Ordinance, allowing care for up to 6 unrelated children at any given time with no exterior…

Hawaii has no cottage food statute. The exemption lives in the Department of Health's Food Safety Code, Hawaii Administrative Rules chapter 11-50, which was amended and compiled on…

Hawaii has no microenterprise home kitchen permit, but it does have a genuine hot-meal carve-out. Hawaii Administrative Rules section 11-50-3(d)(5) exempts a home kitchen operated by a…

In East Honolulu, which is governed by the City and County of Honolulu Land Use Ordinance, walls and fences (other than retaining walls) up to 6 feet may enclose or project into any…

In East Honolulu, retaining walls containing fill within a required yard may not exceed six feet, measured from the lower of existing or finish grade to the top of the wall. Walls…

The Honolulu Land Use Ordinance does not restrict materials for ordinary residential fences, but where a solid wall or fence is required as a buffer between commercial/industrial and…

The City and County of Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting requires a building permit for any fence greater than 6 feet in height and any wall greater than 30 inches in…

Hawaii applies common law tort principles statewide under HRS 663-1, allowing neighbors to sue for spite fences and shared boundary fence cost recovery regardless of which county they…

Under the Revised Ordinances of Honolulu Chapter 12, an animal that makes noise continuously for ten minutes, or intermittently for one-half hour or more, and disturbs anyone is an…

East Honolulu is part of the City and County of Honolulu, where community noise is governed by the State of Hawaii Department of Health under HAR Chapter 11-46. Nighttime runs 10:00…

Under HAR 11-46-7(j), a community noise permit may not authorize construction noise exceeding the limits before 7:00 a.m. or after 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, before 9:00 a.m. or…

Hawaii's state bass-noise statute (HRS 342F-31.5) deems nighttime bass sound over 60 dBC (50 dBC near residential or mixed-use areas) to exceed the maximum permissible nighttime level…

HAR 11-46-6(b) requires on-site vehicles and construction equipment to operate with a functioning, unmodified muffler, and Revised Ordinances of Honolulu 41-6.1 bars operating a…

Any activity in an Oahu public park that produces sound above 80 dBA measured 10 feet from the source for five straight minutes is unlawful unless the city sponsors or permits it.

Federal FAA law preempts state and county regulation of aircraft in flight. Hawaii cannot directly limit helicopter or airplane noise, leaving complaints to the FAA and airport…

Honolulu's Fireworks Control ordinance (ROH Article 6) bans possession or use of consumer fireworks, aerial devices, and display fireworks citywide, with narrow exceptions…

East Honolulu follows the City and County of Honolulu Fire Code: recreational, decorative, or ceremonial open fires (including backyard fire pits and bonfires) require the property…

All open burning in East Honolulu must comply with the Honolulu Fire Code: most categories require a letter to the fire department 14 days in advance and a 15-minute pre-light notice…

When an addition is made to a Group R or I-1 building on Oahu, the existing structure must get single-station smoke alarms under the county's amended Existing Building Code.

Installing, dispensing or maintaining an LP-gas container on Oahu requires a Honolulu Fire Department permit under the city's amended Fire Code § 69.1.2.1, unless the tank is a…

Hawaii's post-Lahaina fire law directs the State Fire Marshal to establish minimum defensible space requirements statewide and maintain a wildfire hazard map showing hazard zones…

In East Honolulu (City and County of Honolulu), a one-story detached storage shed accessory to a home is exempt from a building permit when the aggregate floor area of such structures…

In East Honolulu (City and County of Honolulu), an existing legally established accessory structure such as a detached garage in a residential or country district may be converted into…

East Honolulu (City and County of Honolulu) permits one accessory dwelling unit on residential and country lots of 3,500 square feet or more under the Land Use Ordinance, capping the…

Owners must record a covenant limiting an accessory dwelling unit to long-term residential occupancy: no bed and breakfast or vacation rental use.

Hawaii's Act 39 (2024), codified at HRS §46-4.8, orders every county to allow at least two accessory dwelling units, or the reasonable equivalent, on all residentially zoned urban…

East Honolulu is governed by the City and County of Honolulu, whose Building Code (ROH Chapter 16, Article 6) requires every residential swimming pool to be enclosed by a barrier…

In East Honolulu a building permit is required before constructing a residential swimming pool, spa, or hot tub. The City and County of Honolulu Building Code (ROH Sec. 16, Section…

Honolulu ordinance limits a bed and breakfast home to two guest rooms and four guests at one time, and caps overnight transient occupants at two adults per allowable sleeping room…

East Honolulu is governed by the City and County of Honolulu. Owners of bed and breakfast homes or transient vacation units must register annually with the Department of Planning and…

Honolulu charges its own Land Use Ordinance fee for every bed and breakfast home or transient vacation unit permit, separate from the 3 percent transient accommodations tax owners…

Honolulu requires every bed and breakfast home and transient vacation unit to post house rules imposing quiet hours between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. for overnight guests.

ROH § 21-5.70-3(2)(C)(ix)(aa) lets Honolulu's planning director revoke a bed and breakfast home or transient vacation unit's registration at any time once the owner or operator has…

Renting rooms in an Oahu home for stays under 90 consecutive days is allowed only as a registered bed and breakfast home under ROH § 21-5.70-3, which confines the use to narrow zoning…

Every Honolulu bed and breakfast home or transient vacation unit must keep a scaled parking plan on file identifying available parking stalls for owners, guests, and service providers.

Honolulu's bed and breakfast registration requires the property to carry a real-property-tax home exemption and the applicant to hold at least a 50 percent ownership interest…

Every bed and breakfast home and transient vacation unit on Oahu must carry at least $1,000,000 per occurrence in commercial general liability insurance or homeowner's insurance with…

ROH § 21-2A.40 fines a hosting platform like Airbnb or Vrbo between $1,000 and $10,000 for each day it keeps facilitating bookings for a bed and breakfast home or transient vacation…

ROH § 21-6.50(c) requires every off-street parking space, parking lot, and driveway on Oahu to be maintained with a dust-free, durable, all-weather surface. Only the preservation…

Where signs are posted, Honolulu bars leaving a vehicle in the same spot on a public street longer than 24 hours; a new violation accrues every three hours after the first citation.

Honolulu drivers must park parallel to the curb, headed in the direction of traffic, with wheels within 12 inches of the edge; parking against traffic outside a marked stall violates…

Honolulu bans parking commercial trucks, buses, vans and trailers over 10,000 pounds or 20 feet long on any public street for more than four hours, with narrow exceptions for active…

ROH § 21-6.60 sets two rules for electric vehicle charging stations on Oahu: charging equipment mounted on pedestals, lighting posts, or bollards must not impede pedestrian, bicycle…

Commercial vehicles with a valid decal may load or unload in a marked freight curb loading zone for up to 30 minutes, and never during restricted peak-hour tow-away times.

Leaving a vehicle unattended on an Oahu street or highway for more than 24 hours counts as abandonment, and the city can remove it and bill the owner.

Honolulu's curb loading zones must be painted yellow for freight, red for passenger and bus zones, or alternating yellow-red for combination zones, with signs posted for effective days…

Hawaii caps what a towing company may charge for a nonconsensual tow from private or public property: $75 for a tow, $85 with a dolly, $7.50 per mile and $25 per day storage for the…

You cannot trim, prune, remove or plant a tree in the public right-of-way along an Oahu street on your own say-so. ROH § 10-1.4 puts the Department of Parks and Recreation in charge of…

Honolulu bans removing or destroying any tree the City Council has designated "exceptional" under Chapter 40's tree-protection article; ROH § 40-8.8(a) makes it unlawful without…

Honolulu directs that new or renovated city-funded landscaping, buildings, parks, and housing developed with public money, incorporate indigenous and Polynesian-introduced plants…

Uncultivated, flammable weeds taller than 18 inches within 30 feet of a building in residential and apartment zoning districts are a declared public nuisance under Honolulu's Housing…

Hawaii's Department of Health runs a statewide program under HRS §340E-4.8 that tests residential rainwater catchment water each year for lead and copper for a $25 household fee, and…

Hawaii's State Water Code establishes uniform water use regulation through the Commission on Water Resource Management. Designated water management areas trigger mandatory permits and…

Every cat over four months old on Oahu must wear identification or carry a registered microchip under ROH § 12-6.2(a). Cats picked up without ID sit with the animal control contractor…

Honolulu does not single out any dog breed as inherently dangerous. ROH § 12-7.1 defines a dangerous dog purely by conduct, an unprovoked attack on a person or animal, and states…

Oahu beekeepers may keep up to eight honeybee hives per zoning lot in movable-frame hives, set at least 25 feet from any property line, street, sidewalk, or alley unless screened by a…

A stray dog impounded three or more times in 12 months in Honolulu must be spayed or neutered by animal control before its owner can redeem it.

Farm animals like pigs, cows, goats, sheep, horses, camels and llamas need enclosures set back 300 feet from every property line, ruling out most residential lots.

Hawaii has no comprehensive statewide leash law; dog leash and at-large rules are set by county ordinance. State law (HRS 143-8) authorizes officers to seize unlicensed dogs found…

Hawaii has the strictest exotic pet rules in the United States. HRS Chapter 150A and Department of Agriculture rules prohibit importing or possessing most non-native animals…

Street festivals anywhere on Oahu need a street activity permit, and inside the Waikiki special district the director may approve only two per four-month period each year.

Kailua Beach Park and Kalama Beach Park are closed to commercial activity around the clock, but ROH § 10-1.2(h)(1) carves out one weekend window for commercial filming. Crews with a…

A permit from the director of transportation services is required before any parade, march, or other activity that closes an Oahu street, with limited exceptions for military and…

Honolulu lets restaurants apply for revocable permits to operate outdoor dining on sidewalks, parklets, pedestrian malls, parks, and playgrounds islandwide, with a $50 application…

The City and County of Honolulu requires a Department of Parks and Recreation permit before using any park it controls for picnic groups of 50 or more people, camping, sports…

Throwing, dropping or dumping refuse or bulky waste on any street, alley, highway or public place anywhere on Oahu is banned, with fines up to $2,500 per violation under ROH §§ 42-1.10…

Large restaurants, hotels, food courts, markets, food manufacturers and hospitals across Oahu must separate food waste and deliver it to a recycling facility under Revised Ordinances…

Owners who don't clear bulky waste within 7 days of written notice create a public nuisance, and Honolulu can remove it and bill the cost plus interest under ROH § 42-4.8.

Refuse and recycling carts can go to the curb on or the evening before pickup day, must not block traffic or sidewalks, and must be removed from the street after collection day under…

Everyday household refuse for Honolulu pickup must go in a city-provided cart, or in manual-collection areas a durable 10-35 gallon lidded can under 75 pounds full, per ROH §…

Honolulu's Department of Environmental Services runs a mandatory islandwide curbside recycling program under ROH § 42-1.12, phased in by ordinance deadline starting July 1, 2007, with…

The Refuse Division administers island-wide trash and recycling collection for every building on Oahu under ROH § 42-1.3, unless the owner arranges a licensed private collector or an…

In manual-collection areas of Oahu, tree branches for pickup can't exceed 9 inches in diameter and green waste must be cut to 3-foot lengths in 50-pound bundles under ROH §…

Honolulu bars three-cubic-yard mechanical-handling refuse containers from streets and sidewalks. ROH § 42-1.4(e) requires them on the property they serve, placed where the collection…

Honolulu adopted the Hawai'i State Plumbing Code, based on the 2018 Uniform Plumbing Code, under ROH § 19-1.1. The code makes it unlawful to install, alter, repair, or replace a…

Reroofing on Oahu needs a building permit from Honolulu's Department of Planning and Permitting unless the building is a Group R-3 or U occupancy and the work will not adversely affect…

City and County of Honolulu facilities larger than 5,000 square feet must be designed to LEED Silver, the U.S. Green Building Council's minimum sustainability standard, under Revised…

Honolulu adopts the 2018 International Building Code by reference under ROH § 16-1.1 and rewrites its inspection article to require five checkpoints for any permitted project…

Honolulu adopted the National Electrical Code, NFPA 70, 2017 edition, as the State Electrical Code effective August 21, 2018, under ROH Section 17-1.1, with island-wide amendments to…

New buildings on Oahu must have carbon monoxide detection, and existing dwellings trigger the same requirement once a permitted addition, alteration, or repair crosses the Chapter 18…

New one- and two-family homes on Oahu only need fire sprinklers when fire department access or water supply falls short of code, not as a blanket requirement for every new house.

Honolulu's Fire Code, amended by ROH § 20-1.1, bars hibachis, grills, smokers, and similar cooking devices on balconies, under overhangs, or within 10 feet of any structure at…

Owners of vacant and improved lots across Oahu must keep their property free of weeds, garbage, trash, and waste at all times under ROH § 40-7.3. The Department of Planning and…

Under Revised Ordinances of Honolulu § 16A-10.2, any building on Oahu that the building official determines is substandard, unsafe, or endangers life, health, or safety is…

In the Waikiki special district, no one may sit or lie on a public sidewalk or on bedding, chairs, or other items placed on it, with exceptions for emergencies, disabilities, and free…

The City and County of Honolulu bans storing personal property on public property islandwide, authorizing impoundment of encampment belongings left on sidewalks, medians, or parks…

Honolulu's parks director can designate cultural sites inside Oahu's public parks under ROH § 10-6.2. Anyone may propose a site, and once the director approves, the Department of Parks…

City-installed street lighting fixtures in Honolulu must use full-cutoff or semi-cutoff designs that direct light downward, reducing glare and light pollution across Oahu.

ROH § 21-4.100 requires every commercial and industrial use on Oahu to shield outdoor lighting with full cut-off fixtures so no light spills directly onto an adjoining country…

Honolulu requires a written permit and $200 fee before anyone places walls, fences, or benches in the sidewalk area on Oahu.

Honolulu law bans blocking a public sidewalk between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. islandwide, with exceptions for medical emergencies, permitted events, and people waiting in line who don't…

Any food truck, lunch wagon, or mobile food vendor selling on a public street, sidewalk, or highway anywhere on Oahu needs an annual peddler's license from the city under ROH §…

In Chinatown, College Walk Mall, Sun Yat Sen Mall, and Historic Moiliili, a store's food peddling on the adjoining sidewalk can't include on-site cooking, cutting, or food prep.

Food trucks and lunch wagons selling on Oahu streets must move every 3 hours and can't return within 300 feet for 3 hours after leaving.

Honolulu bans aggressive panhandling within 10 feet of any ATM, ATM facility, or check-cashing business anywhere on Oahu. The ordinance defines six specific behaviors that cross the…

Smoking is banned islandwide in all public parks, recreation areas, and facilities run by the parks or enterprise services departments, plus within 20 feet of any bus stop.

No one may go, remain, loiter, or play games on any public school building or grounds anywhere on Oahu without lawful business or an excuse, under ROH § 41-25.1. A violation is…

No one may possess an open container of intoxicating liquor on any Oahu street or sidewalk, or in any public park, playground, school ground, or public parking lot, under ROH §…

Homes in windborne debris regions on Oahu must have glazed openings protected against flying debris, either with impact-rated glazing or approved wood-panel shutters.

After a hurricane or other disaster on Oahu, ROH § 42-4.7 authorizes Honolulu's environmental services director to waive the refuse collection and disposal charges set by the article…

Honolulu requires an approved erosion and sediment control plan for any land-disturbing activity needing a building, grading, stockpiling, or trenching permit.

Any development in Honolulu's general floodplain zone A needs the director's review and approval before construction begins.

In Oahu's flood fringe zones AE and AH, new residential construction and substantial improvements must have the lowest floor, including basements, elevated to or above the base flood…

Honolulu bans dumping pollutants or unpermitted effluent into drainage facilities and requires a chief engineer permit for any non-stormwater discharge into the city's storm sewer…

Hawaii's Coastal Zone Management law requires Special Management Area permits for development near the shoreline. State sets minimum standards while counties process most permits…

Oahu law caps electric bicycle motors at 750 watts, permits use on streets, highways, alleys, paths, and trails, and requires safe, seated, forward-facing riding at all times.

Shared e-scooters and other shared micromobility vehicles need a city parking permit, and riders may not park them on sidewalks, streets, or blocking traffic, bus stops, or driveways.

Honolulu bars driving, parking, stopping or standing any vehicle other than a bicycle in a marked bicycle lane, with narrow exceptions for emergency and utility vehicles; violators…

Hawaii recognizes exactly one street-legal low-speed class, the neighborhood electric vehicle, and the words golf cart appear nowhere in HRS chapters 249, 286, 291 or 291C. A…

Honolulu exempts political campaign signs from the Land Use Ordinance's sign-permit system entirely: ROH § 21-7.60(b)(10) says no permit is required and district sign regulations don't…

Honolulu's sign code classifies any electronic programmable message sign, digital display, plasma or LED sign, or video/holographic sign as a "flashing sign," and ROH § 21-7.30(e)…

Honolulu doesn't count a store's window display as a regulated "sign" at all, so it skips the Land Use Ordinance's permit and sign-area limits, but ROH § 21-7.20 still confines any…

Oahu law treats any garage-sale sign posted in a street right-of-way, on a medial strip, or on a public mall as an unlawful sign subject to immediate removal by the city.

Honolulu does not issue a dedicated "solicitor permit." ROH § 13-5.1 instead makes it unlawful for a solicitor or canvasser, anyone taking door-to-door orders for future delivery of…

Honolulu requires anyone doing business as a secondhand dealer anywhere on Oahu to hold a license from the director of budget and fiscal services, issued under HRS Chapters 445 and…

Vehicle repair or painting is banned as a home occupation unless it's five or fewer household-owned vehicles per year.

Honolulu requires a city panoram license to run adult peep-show booth businesses and sets a minimum 6-foot aisle so every booth stays visible to staff and inspectors.

Hawaii regulates retail sales of electronic smoking devices and e-liquid under HRS Chapter 245 and 712-1258, requiring retailer permits, age verification, and packaging standards for…

The City and County of Honolulu requires a minimum 10-foot front yard and 5-foot side and rear yards for single-family homes across the R-3.5 through R-20 residential districts, per…

New Oahu dwellings built under permits filed after May 1, 2019 cannot cover more than 75 percent of the zoning lot with impervious surface, on top of the 0.7 floor area ratio cap.

Houses in Honolulu's residential zoning districts, R-3.5 through R-20, must fit inside a building envelope that tops out between 25 and 30 feet, formed by the intersection of two…

Oahu's AG-1 and AG-2 zoning districts exist specifically to conserve farmland and keep incompatible uses off agricultural land.

HRS Chapter 165, Hawaii's Right to Farm Act, bars courts from declaring a farming operation a nuisance if it is conducted consistent with generally accepted agricultural and management…

Honolulu has no standalone data center zoning category: the Land Use Ordinance folds data storage centers into the general office use class islandwide.

In Honolulu's B-2 community business district, ROH § 21-3.110-1(c)(5) lets developers build more floor area than the base zoning allows by dedicating land to public open space or…

New construction and renovation in Honolulu's Hawaii Capital Special District, the downtown civic core around the State Capitol, Iolani Palace and King/Beretania Streets, must follow…

Oahu's public parks close overnight under posted hours, and entering or staying in a park after closing is unlawful citywide, with a narrow exception to reach the shoreline at beach…

Hawaii statute imposes a uniform curfew on minors under 16 statewide between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m. The state-level curfew applies in every county, with limited exceptions for accompanied…

Honolulu requires new homes to be built solar-ready, with an electrical panel sized to accommodate a future rooftop photovoltaic system.

Honolulu must approve or deny rooftop solar permit applications within 14 calendar days, or 28 days for projects over $50,000.

HRS Section 196-7 prohibits any homeowners association, condominium, or planned community from preventing the installation of a solar energy device on a homeowner's roof or property…

Every dwelling unit, lodging house, and congregate residence across Oahu must have a bathroom with a toilet, sink, and tub or shower, plus a kitchen with a sink, under Honolulu's…

Hawaii requires written notice before eviction. For nonpayment of rent, HRS § 521-68 requires a written demand giving the tenant not less than five business days to pay before the…

Under HRS § 521-53, a Hawaii landlord must give the tenant at least two days' notice before entering the dwelling unit and may enter only during reasonable hours, except in an…

Hawaii caps rent late charges by statute. Under HRS § 521-21(f), where the rental agreement provides for a late charge for rent not paid when due, that charge may not exceed eight per…

For a month-to-month tenancy, HRS § 521-71 requires the landlord to give at least 45 days' written notice to terminate and the tenant to give at least 28 days' written notice. Where…

Hawaii has no rent control and sets no cap on the amount of a rent increase, but the Residential Landlord-Tenant Code requires advance written notice. Under HRS § 521-21, rent on a…

Hawaii requires every operator of a transient accommodation, including short-term vacation rentals statewide, to register with the Department of Taxation, obtain a TAT identification…

Under Haw. Rev. Stat. 521-44, a landlord may collect a security deposit of up to one month's rent, plus a separate pet deposit of up to one month's rent. The deposit must be returned…

Hawaii makes adverse possession very hard to claim. HRS § 657-31 bars an action to recover land after twenty years, but HRS § 657-31.5 limits any adverse-possession claim accruing…

Honolulu levies a 3 percent transient accommodations tax on gross rental income from hotels and other transient lodging, collected by the city on top of state taxes.

The Department of Parks and Recreation, not individual property owners, controls Oahu's street trees: ROH § 10-1.4 directs the director to adopt formal rules governing planting…

Residents anywhere on Oahu can report a suspected Housing Code violation by filing a signed, written complaint with the Dept. of Planning and Permitting's building official, who must…

Honolulu's Land Use Ordinance requires any bar, nightclub, minor or major establishment to sit at least 300 feet from the nearest country, residential, apartment, or apartment…

Hawaii Department of Health licenses a fixed number of medical cannabis dispensaries statewide and sets buffer requirements. Counties cannot create additional licenses or override…

Hawaii allows registered medical cannabis patients to grow up to ten plants at one secured location under HRS 329-122. As of December 31, 2024, primary caregivers may no longer…

Hawaii has no general statewide paid sick leave mandate, but HRS Chapter 392 requires employers to provide temporary disability insurance for non-work injuries, and family leave is…

HRS 134-9 governs Hawaii concealed carry licensing. Following the U.S. Supreme Court's Bruen decision, Hawaii revised standards but maintains stringent training, application, and…

Hawaii Revised Statutes Chapter 134 establishes statewide firearms regulations, but unlike many states, Hawaii does not broadly preempt counties from enacting local firearms ordinances…

Hawaii prohibits open carry of firearms in public without a license issued under HRS 134-9. Unlicensed open carry is a felony, making Hawaii one of the most restrictive states for…

Hawaii imposes some of the nation's strictest rules on carrying firearms in vehicles. HRS 134-25 and HRS 134-26 prohibit carrying a loaded or unloaded pistol, revolver, or long gun in…

Hawaii has no charitable-gaming exemption: HRS § 712-1220 defines any paid-entry raffle, bingo game, or drawing as a "lottery," and Chapter 712 excludes only bona fide business…

Hawaii bans nearly all gambling as a misdemeanor under HRS 712-1223, but 712-1231 lets a defendant assert social gambling as an affirmative defense at trial -- requiring equal-terms…

Hawaii outlaws sports betting outright under HRS §712-1223: knowingly participating in any gambling activity, including wagering on a game's outcome, is a misdemeanor. Bookmaking…

Under Haw. Rev. Stat. § 421J-10.5, all unpaid assessments automatically become a lien on the unit that the association may foreclose by court action or by nonjudicial power-of-sale…

Under Haw. Rev. Stat. § 421J-5, all board meetings except executive sessions must be open to members. Section 421J-3.5 requires at least 14 days' written notice of regular, annual, or…

Under Haw. Rev. Stat. § 421J-13, almost any dispute over interpreting or enforcing the association documents must, at any party's request, first go to mediation. Section 421J-10 awards…

Hawaii's right-to-dry statute, HRS section 196-8.5, says no covenant, declaration, bylaw, deed, lease or similar binding agreement may prevent an owner from installing a clothesline on…

Hawaii law says no covenant, declaration, bylaw, deed, lease or similar agreement may stop an owner from installing an electric vehicle charging system on or near the parking stall of…

Hawaii's Planned Community Associations law, Haw. Rev. Stat. Chapter 421J, contains no statute authorizing fines, capping fine amounts, or prescribing notice or hearing procedures…

Hawaii condominiums run on HRS chapter 514B, not on the planned community law in chapter 421J, and section 514B-146 gives the association a broad lien with narrow but real limits. An…

Hawaii's condominium act limits leasing restrictions adopted as board rules, not leasing restrictions written into the governing documents. Under HRS section 514B-105(b), unless the…

Sobriety checkpoints are legal in Hawaii, where the statutes call them intoxicant control roadblocks. HRS §291E-19 lets the police departments of the four counties run them, but only…

Hawaii protects the right to film police, but it never wrote a standalone right-to-record statute. Act 164, Session Laws of Hawaii 2016, instead inserted a matching proviso into the…

Hawaii has no statute that obliges a person to identify themselves to police generally. The duty exists only where a specific chapter creates it. HRS §291C-172 requires anyone detained…

Hawaii has no statute saying that lawful cannabis possession cannot justify a vehicle search. Its medical cannabis law works the other way round: HRS §329-125(a) lets a registered…

Hawaii was the first U.S. state to raise the tobacco purchase age to 21 in 2016. HRS 712-1258 prohibits the sale, furnishing, or purchase of tobacco and electronic smoking devices by…

Hawaii has no statewide ban on flavored tobacco or vape products, but the City and County of Honolulu and other county governments have considered or adopted local restrictions…

Hawaii's toughest lighting rule is about colour, not brightness. HRS §291-31.5 makes it an offense to knowingly operate, affix, display or even possess any lamp, reflector or…

Hawaii does not prohibit mounting a dash camera on the windshield or the dashboard. Three separate closed lists in the statutes could have caught one and none of them does: HRS §286-83…

Lane splitting and lane filtering are both unlawful in Hawaii. HRS section 291C-153(c) says no person shall operate a motorcycle between lanes of traffic or between adjacent lines or…

Since Act 124 took effect on May 29, 2025, Hawaii has one of the bluntest plate-cover rules in the country. HRS section 286-73 prohibits the use of any cover or shield installed over a…

Hawaii does not run a studded-tire season. HRS section 291-33 bans operating any vehicle on a public road whose wheels carry flanges, ribs, clamps, cleats, lugs, chains, spikes or…

Hawaii allows sun screening film on the front side windows and wing vents only if the film and the glass together pass a light transmittance of no less than thirty-five per cent plus…