Hawaii Ordinances (2026)

Act 39 (2024), codified at HRS § 46-4.8, requires every county to amend its zoning to allow at least two accessory dwelling units on residentially zoned lots with adequate water and wastewater infrastructure…

Hawaii prosecutes animal hoarding statewide under HRS 711-1109 and the second-degree cruelty statute when an owner accumulates more animals than they can humanely care for, resulting in suffering or unsanitary…

Hawaii regulates beekeeping statewide through the Department of Agriculture. Under HRS 142-100, beekeepers may register their apiaries, and the department runs an apiary program with inspection and…

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 running at large in public…

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, preempting any county attempt to…

Hawaii prohibits feeding, harassing, or interfering with protected wildlife under HRS Chapter 183D and Chapter 195D, including marine mammals, sea turtles, and monk seals, with strict statewide rules that…

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

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 cultivate. Recreational…

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 minors and emergencies.

Commercial drone use in Hawaii requires FAA Part 107 certification, with state-level operational limits in parks and conservation areas. Local governments cannot impose flight rules that conflict with federal…

Recreational drone operation in Hawaii falls primarily under FAA federal preemption. State law adds restrictions on state park use and surveillance. Counties cannot regulate flight paths or airspace beyond…

Hawaii Revised Statutes Chapter 387 sets the statewide minimum wage and governs employer wage obligations. The statute establishes a uniform statewide floor that scheduled increases apply to all counties…

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 governed by HRS Chapter 398.

Hawaii has not enacted a statewide predictive scheduling or fair workweek law. Wage-and-hour rules under HRS Chapter 387 govern overtime and reporting time, but advance scheduling notice is not generally…

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. Rules apply uniformly to all…

Hawaii regulates shoreline erosion through state Coastal Zone Management law. Statewide setback rules and special management area permits govern coastal construction. Counties implement but must meet state…

Hawaii participates in the National Flood Insurance Program and requires counties to adopt floodplain management ordinances meeting state and federal minimums. Construction in mapped flood hazard areas must…

Hawaii Department of Health administers federal NPDES stormwater permits statewide. Construction sites disturbing one or more acres and certain industrial activities must comply with state-issued permits and…

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 live in.

Hawaii adopts the International Building Code and International Residential Code statewide under HRS 107, requiring residential pool barriers at least 48 inches tall with self-closing, self-latching gates.

Hawaii regulates fireworks under HRS Chapter 132D, requiring state-issued licenses for import, sale, and display, and prohibiting aerial and unauthorized consumer fireworks statewide, while counties may enact…

Hawaii prohibits open burning statewide under HRS Chapter 342B and HAR Title 11 Chapter 60.1 Subchapter 3, with limited exceptions for cooking, fire training, and permitted agricultural burning regulated by…

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 sensitive-place requirements…

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

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 visible firearm carrying.

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 a motor vehicle except…

Hawaii requires every mobile food unit to obtain a Department of Health permit under HRS Chapter 321 and HAR Title 11, Chapter 50, ensuring uniform food safety standards before any county business or vending…

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 Chapter 667. The board…

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 special member meetings…

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 reasonable attorneys'…

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 before a fine. Any fining…

Haw. Rev. Stat. § 196-7 overrides HOA covenants by barring any community, condominium, or homeowners association from preventing a solar energy device, voiding contrary documents and prohibiting fees. Section…

Hawaii lets home cooks sell many low-risk foods without a Department of Health permit under the Homemade Food Products exemption. Producers must complete an approved food-safety course; potentially hazardous…

Hawaii requires state Department of Human Services registration or licensing for home-based child care serving non-relatives. Standards for staff ratios, safety, and inspections apply uniformly across all…

Hawaii does not require private or public employers to use the federal E-Verify system to confirm employee work authorization. Use of E-Verify in Hawaii is voluntary, except where federal contracts…

Hawaii has not enacted a statewide sanctuary law nor a statewide preemption forbidding sanctuary policies. Counties and city governments such as Honolulu have adopted their own policies governing local…

Hawaii law protects endangered and threatened native plants on all lands statewide. Taking, destroying, or possessing listed native species without a permit is prohibited regardless of county or property…

Hawaii's Exceptional Tree Act protects designated exceptional trees statewide. Removing, destroying, or damaging an exceptional tree without county arborist approval is prohibited, regardless of which county…

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 conservation requirements…

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 proprietor noise programs.

Hawaii's Department of Health regulates construction noise statewide under HAR Title 11 Chapter 46, requiring permits when construction exceeds maximum permissible sound levels and applying uniformly across…

Hawaii's Department of Health sets statewide maximum permissible sound levels for industrial and stationary noise sources under HAR 11-46, applying uniformly to pumps, compressors, generators, and similar…

HRS 201-8.5 requires all state agencies to use fully shielded outdoor lighting fixtures emitting more than 3,000 lumens with a correlated color temperature at or below 4,000 Kelvin to protect dark skies.

Hawaii statutorily defines abandoned vehicles and authorizes counties to remove them under uniform standards. State law sets timelines, notice requirements, owner liability, and disposal procedures applicable…

Hawaii state law requires public parking lots with 100 or more spaces to designate at least one stall for electric vehicles, with EV charging infrastructure. The statute applies statewide and standardizes…

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 rental agreement may be…

HRS § 521-42 imposes an implied warranty of habitability. A Hawaii landlord must comply with applicable building and housing laws materially affecting health and safety, make repairs to keep the premises…

Hawaii's Residential Landlord-Tenant Code governs eviction grounds and procedures uniformly statewide. Landlords must follow state notice and court procedures. Counties cannot establish independent eviction…

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 emergency or where notice is…

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 cent of the amount of…

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 termination is for…

Hawaii has no statewide rent control and sets no limit on rent increases. State law neither establishes nor expressly bans local rent control, so it is not addressed by statute, and no Hawaii county has a rent…

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 month-to-month tenancy may…

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 number, and display it in…

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 within 14 days after the…

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 after November 7, 1978 to…

Hawaii uniquely classifies all land statewide into four state land use districts under HRS Chapter 205, with the Agricultural District protecting farmland and limiting non-agricultural uses across the state.

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 practices, and creates a…

Hawaii imposes a statewide Transient Accommodations Tax (TAT) of 10.25% on gross rental proceeds for stays under 180 consecutive days, applying universally to all short-term rental operators in addition to the…

Hawaii's statewide billboard ban under HRS 264-72 prohibits commercial signs visible from state highways, including garage sale signs posted on utility poles, trees, or within highway rights-of-way.

Hawaii's billboard ban (HRS 264-72) does not list political signs among its exemptions. Campaign signs are instead allowed on private property with the owner's consent, but HDOT bars any sign, political…

Hawaii has no statewide plastic bag preemption law, but all four counties have enacted bans on non-recyclable plastic checkout bags, making Hawaii the first U.S. state with a de facto statewide ban on…

Hawaii has no statewide polystyrene ban, but Honolulu, Hawaii County, Maui County, and Kauai County have adopted ordinances prohibiting food vendors from using polystyrene foam containers for prepared foods.

Hawaii does not regulate plastic straws at the state level, but Maui County and other county ordinances restrict food vendors from automatically providing single-use plastic straws and stirrers to customers.

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, with reasonable placement…

Hawaii's State Building Code, adopted under HRS Chapter 107, incorporates International Residential Code pool barrier rules requiring a minimum 48-inch fence and self-closing, self-latching gates around all…

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 anyone under 21.

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, leaving a regulatory patchwork…

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 all vape products sold in…