DBA means "Doing Business As".  If you are an Individual Sole Proprietor and want to do business under a name which is different from your legal name then you have to Register a DBA Name with the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs.

If you are a Corporation or LLC and want to do business under a name which is different from the name which is registered with the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs then you have to Register a DBA Name with the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs.

In Hawaii a DBA Name is called a Trade Name.

In Hawaii a DBA Name is called a Trade Name. Other names for a Hawaii Trade Name include:

• Hawaii Alternate Name
• Hawaii Assumed Business Name
• Hawaii Assumed Name
• Hawaii Business Name
• Hawaii Fictitious Name

Yes. You can Register a Trade Name with the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs.

Yes. You can register a Hawaii Trade Name with the HI Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs for a Hawaii Corporation or a Hawaii LLC.

Before a Hawaii Corporation or LLC can register a DBA Name, the HI Corporation or HI LLC must be in good standing with the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs.

Yes. You can register a Hawaii Trade Name even if you have not formed a Hawaii Corporation or LLC. In fact that's what most skilled craftsman and professionals do when they want to use a business name other their own name.

You Register a DBA Name with the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs for an existing Hawaii business.

You Reserve a Company Name with the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs for use with a Hawaii business that will be formed and legally registered with the HI Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs sometime in the future.


When you Register a Corporation or LLC with the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs there are certain tax and administrative obligations which must be met to keep the company in Good Standing.  Failing to keep up with those obligations can result in the administrative dissolution of your Hawaii company by the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs.

The Hawaii state fees for Registering a DBA Name are less than the fees for Registering a Corporation in Hawaii or Forming a LLC in Hawaii and there are no tax or reporting obligation for a Registered Hawaii DBA Name.

No. The Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs will not issue a good standing certificate (Certificate of Existence) for a registered Hawaii Trade Name. Hawaii good standing certificates are issued only for companies which have registered with the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs as a Corporation, LLC or LP.

You can renew the Hawaii Trade Name before the expiration date if you want to retain ownership of the Hawaii Trade Name.