Hawaii Contractor License Requirements

What the state requires

Licence

Class "B" General Building Contractor

Issued by

Contractors License Board, Professional and Vocational Licensing Division, Department of Commerce and Consumer AffairsHaw. Rev. Stat. ch. 444 (Contractors); Haw. Admin. Rules title 16, ch. 77

Exam

Part I Business and law (building, safety, health, labor and lien laws of the State and basic administrative principles of the contracting business) and Part II Trade, in the classification requestedPrometric

Exam fee

No verified figure$50 non-refundable application fee per application, attached to the application; examination fees are paid separately and directly to Prometric and are not published by the board. Additional fees are assessed only after Board approval and passage of the examination - the application's own fee box shows, for a sole proprietor, licence $260, recovery fund $150, education fund $10, compliance resolution fund $74 or $148, half-renewal $95, and a $25 service charge for a dishonoured payment. Biennial renewal is $338.00 for a contractor entity or sole proprietor on active status, $208.00 for an RME, $160.00 inactive; restoration within 60 days of the deadline is $388.00 / $258.00 / $210.00. Using an interpreter at the exam adds $100 to the examination fee.

Application fee

$50

Initial licence fee

No verified figure

Licence bond

Not requiredA bond is discretionary, not a standing requirement, and this is the single most misreported fact about Hawaii. HRS § 444-16.5 says the board MAY require a licensee or applicant - specialty or general contractor - to put up a bond in the sum of not less than $5,000 from a surety authorised in Hawaii, exercising that discretion by reference to the applicant's financial condition and experience in the field. The board's own requirements sheet for a new sole-proprietor licence does not list a bond among the licence requirements at all. Where a bond IS imposed, coverage must be maintained throughout licensure with evidence on file, failure causes automatic forfeiture of the licence, non-reinstatement within 60 days forces a new application, and the licensee must hold the bond for at least one year before requesting a waiver. The bond form (CT-09) leaves the penal sum blank for the board to set. bond_amount_usd is null because $5,000 is a statutory floor on a discretionary bond, not the amount every licensee posts.

General liability

$100,000Comprehensive bodily injury and property damage liability with minimum limits of $100,000 each person and $300,000 each occurrence for bodily injury, and $50,000 each occurrence for property damage, on a certificate from a carrier authorised in Hawaii. Workers' compensation certificate plus a carrier statement that the Board will be notified of any withdrawal, termination or cancellation; a sole proprietor with no employees may file a board-prescribed form in lieu. Both are licence requirements due only after the exam is passed, not at application.

Workers compensation

Required

Experience

4 yearsNot less than four years of supervisory experience as a foreman, supervising employee or contractor in the particular classification, within the ten years immediately preceding the filing of the application. Backed by at least three notarised experience certificates, no two in the same classification from the same person, plus a chronological Project List. Self-employed or unlicensed experience may be accepted at the board's discretion; technical training may count for no more than one year.

Financial requirement

No fixed figure. The application checklist shows financial statement, tax clearance and credit report as items the board may call for, and a specialty licensee applying up to an "A" or "B" licence may be required to submit a current financial statement and supporting documents.

Continuing education

No continuing education requiredNo continuing education requirement appears in HAR chapter 16-77 or in the board's licence-maintenance instructions.

Renewal

Every 2 years

NASCLA exam

Not acceptedHawaii is not among the agencies on NASCLA's participating state agency list; applicants sit Prometric's Hawaii Part I and Part II examinations.

CLB (DCCA-PVL)