Which license each job needs in Honolulu
| Work | DCCA classification to look for | Oʻahu permits | Firms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Addition, ʻohana unit or ADU, new home, whole remodel | B General Building | additions 979, ADU 297, new homes 1,572 | 314, 139, 197 |
| Electrical, panels, EV chargers | C-13 Electrical | 8,223 | 408 |
| Plumbing, water heaters | C-37 Plumbing | 125 | 69 |
| Solar PV | a C specialty covering the work; the wiring needs C-13 | 16,068 | 110 |
| Solar water heating | a C specialty covering the work; plumbing connections need C-37 | 2,274 | 30 |
| Retaining walls, grading | A General Engineering, or a B or C license covering it | 89 | 65 |
| Fences, small remodels | B, or the matching C specialty | fences 580, remodel 1,048 | 103, 351 |
HRS 444-7 sets three branches: A general engineering, B general building, and C specialty. DPP enforces the classes at the permit: its HNL Build FAQ says contractors listed on a project must hold the classifications the work requires, giving "electrical C-13 or plumbing C-37" as the examples (DPP, read 22 October 2026).
The dollar line is low. DCCA says a license is needed "for any project exceeding $1,500 in labor and material" and "for any project that requires a building, electrical or plumbing permit" (DCCA PVL, read 22 October 2026; HRS 444-2). A quarter of the 250 electrical firms with 3+ permits have a usual job of $1,500 or less, and every one of those jobs still needed a licensee because it needed a permit.
How to run the lookup in five minutes
- Get the CT license number from the quote (it looks like CT-12345-0).
- License: search it on the PVL public license search. Read the status, the classifications and the expiry date. DCCA's phone line for the same check is 844-808-3222.
- Complaints: search the business name, then its responsible managing employee's name, on RICO's Complaints History Search. An active license does not mean a clean history.
- Track record: open the firm on our Oʻahu solar list, addition list or electrical list.
How to search Honolulu permit records
DPP's online system is HNL Build, "the official online interface for DPP". To find permits on a property, log out (a search while logged in only returns your own records) and enter the address or TMK in the search at the top of the home page. A QR code on a posted building permit also links to it. DPP says its previous system, POSSE, stays read-only until historical records move to an archive, after which they will be reachable through HNL Build; for older drawings and files, contact the Data Access and Imaging Branch at dppdaib@honolulu.gov or (808) 768-8277 (HNL Build FAQ; DPP Resources, read 22 October 2026).
HNL Build is organised by permit and property. Ours is organised by firm: each contractor's Oʻahu permits in three years, the share closed and the days it took, on the Honolulu permit statistics page and the compare lists.
What 31,950 Honolulu permits show
| Trade | Permits | Firms | Closed | Usual days to close | Usual filed value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solar | 16,068 | 110 | 83.4% | 102 | $27,500 |
| Electrical | 8,223 | 408 | 77.7% | 155 | $3,000 |
| Solar water heating | 2,274 | 30 | 70.2% | 225 | $4,000 |
| New homes | 1,572 | 197 | 88.0% | 295 | $370,000 |
| Remodel and repair | 1,048 | 351 | 80.4% | 265 | $20,000 |
| Additions | 979 | 314 | 59.3% | 567 | $100,000 |
| ADU and ʻohana | 297 | 139 | 79.6% | 533 | $150,000 |
| Demolition | 554 | 171 | 73.2% | 422 | $5,000 |
"Closed" is the share of permits a year or more old with the status "Permit application closed".
Two trades need a closer look. Electrical: among the 109 electrical firms with 10 or more permits, the 10th-percentile firm closed 51.2% and the 90th 89.7%; 53 were under 70%. Additions: only 59.3% closed, usually after 567 days, and 13 of 16 busy addition firms closed under 70%. Solar is concentrated: the five busiest installers hold 63.0% of permits.
See every Oʻahu addition contractor by closed share →
Red flags on Oʻahu
- A license without the class the job needs, such as a B builder doing its own plumbing with no C-37, or a solar firm with no C-13 on the wiring.
- Complaints on RICO under the business or its responsible managing employee.
- A quote over $1,500, or any permit job, from someone with no CT number. An unlicensed contractor is also generally barred from suing you for payment (HRS 444-22).
- An addition contractor with several old permits still open. The usual addition took 567 days to close; ask about any older than that.
- A big job relying on the Recovery Fund. It pays at most $12,500 per contract (HRS 444-26), against a usual addition of $100,000.
What this lookup does not tell you
The City's permit file we hold stops at 30 June 2025, so a firm's last 15 months are missing; check HNL Build for recent permits. We have not linked DCCA license records, so no Honolulu firm page shows a license status: the CT number on the permit is used only to merge spellings of one firm. A license says the firm may work, not how its last job went. The statewide rules, contract disclosures and penalties are in How to check a contractor's license in Hawaii.
How we know this
Permits are the City and County of Honolulu's public building permit file, permits issued 2022-07 to 2025-06, grouped into the trades above. "Closed" uses permits a year or more old; the percentile figures use firms with 10 or more permits. License status is not linked for Honolulu. Rules are quoted from DCCA's pages, the Hawaii Revised Statutes on data.capitol.hawaii.gov, and DPP's HNL Build pages, read 22 October 2026.
Numbers come from City & County of Honolulu building permits (DPP), data through July 1, 2025. Nobody paid to be on this page and nobody can.
Questions
- Who licenses contractors in Honolulu?
The State. Hawaii's Contractors License Board, through DCCA's Professional and Vocational Licensing Division, licenses every contractor; the City and County of Honolulu's Department of Planning and Permitting (DPP) issues permits and checks that the contractors on a project hold the classifications the work needs.
- When does an Oʻahu job need a licensed contractor?
DCCA says a license is required for any project exceeding $1,500 in labor and material, and for any project that requires a building, electrical or plumbing permit, whatever it costs.
- How do I check a Hawaii contractor's complaint history?
On RICO's Complaints History Search (web2.dcca.hawaii.gov/rico), separate from the license search. Search the business name and the name of its responsible managing employee from the license record.
- Which license does an ʻohana unit or addition need?
A B general building license. The electrical and plumbing work needs C-13 electrical and C-37 plumbing classifications; DPP's HNL Build FAQ uses those two as examples of the classifications contractors on a permit must hold.
- How do I see the permits on an Oʻahu property?
In HNL Build (honolulu.my.site.com/s), DPP's online permitting system. Log out first, then enter the address or TMK in the search at the top of the home page. Older records are being moved over from DPP's previous system; for old drawings, email DPP's Data Access and Imaging Branch at dppdaib@honolulu.gov.
Build your own list
Every firm with that kind of permit on record. Pick what you value. The list moves.
Related guides
- Hire a Licensed Contractor — DCCA Professional and Vocational Licensing (2026-10-22)
- PVL public license search — DCCA (2026-10-22)
- RICO Complaints History Search — DCCA (2026-10-22)
- HRS 444-2 Exemptions (2026-10-22)
- HRS 444-7 Classification (2026-10-22)
- HRS 444-22 Civil action (2026-10-22)
- HRS 444-26 Contractors recovery fund (2026-10-22)
- HNL Build Frequently Asked Questions — Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting (2026-10-22)
- Resources — Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting (2026-10-22)