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State guide

Start and run a trucking company in Hawaii

Hawaii splits trucking compliance across five offices, and it sits outside both IFTA and IRP. The Public Utilities Commission licenses for-hire hauling island by island, the DOT Motor Vehicle Safety Office handles USDOT numbers and safety, HDOT district offices issue oversize permits, and the counties register trucks and issue CDLs.

By Haul Handbook editorial team· Updated Oct 5, 2026

The short answer

State authority
Required
State filing fee
From $30
USDOT number
Required first

Issued by Hawaii Public Utilities Commission (motor carrier certificates, permits, tariffs and the gross revenue fee). Safety regulation of motor carriers (USDOT number, vehicle identification cards, annual safety inspection) sits with the Hawaii Department of Transportation, Highways Division, Motor Vehicle Safety Office.

Credential Motor carrier certificate of public convenience and necessity (common carrier) or contract carrier permit, property classification

What these terms cover

State filing fee: The application filing fee is $30, due at filing (HRS 271-36(c) has the PUC set application fees). Every certificated or permitted carrier also pays the PUC an annual gross revenue fee of one-quarter of one percent of the prior calendar year's gross revenue, or $20 if greater (HRS 271-36(a)), filed with the Annual Financial Report due April 30 (PUC FAQ Q25 and Q28). A late financial report can draw a civil penalty of one-sixteenth of one percent of gross revenue per month late, at least $50 (HRS 271-27(i)).

USDOT number: The Motor Vehicle Safety Office states that all motor carriers operating a commercial motor vehicle in interstate or intrastate commerce within Hawaii must have a USDOT number under HAR 19-141-5 and 49 CFR Part 390, and must mark both sides of the vehicle 'USDOT' followed by the number, legible from 50 feet. HAR 19-141-5 applies the adopted federal rules to intrastate as well as interstate operations. The PUC certificate does not require the USDOT number as a filing item.

Every figure above is a sourced agency fact, checked Oct 5, 2026.How we verify

Everything Hawaii requires, in order

Each step is its own page, with the Hawaii figures read from the agency that publishes them.

First, the federal side

Identical in every state, and not part of the Hawaii sequence below: get your own authority, USDOT number, Form 2290, and what it all costs.

Before you file

  1. Start a trucking companyFederal steps plus this state, in order
  2. DOT numberState USDOT triggers and carrier numbers
  3. CDLLicense fees, testing, endorsements

State credentials

  1. Intrastate authorityState operating authority: rule, agency, fee
  2. Insurance requirementsState liability minimums and insurer filings

Plates and fuel tax

  1. IRP registrationApportioned plates and cab cards
  2. IFTAFuel tax license, decals, filing

Permits and state taxes

  1. Trucking permitsEvery state permit a carrier may need
  2. Oversize permitsLegal limits, permit fees, escorts

How Hawaii organizes trucking compliance

Five offices share the work. The Public Utilities Commission issues the for-hire certificate or permit, sets the insurance floor, takes filed tariffs and collects a yearly fee on gross revenue. The HDOT Motor Vehicle Safety Office enforces the safety rules: the USDOT number, a vehicle identification card for every truck and the annual safety inspection.

The HDOT Highways Division district office for each island issues oversize and overweight permits. Each county registers vehicles and runs its own driver licensing, CDLs included. The Department of Taxation collects fuel tax from distributors, so a carrier buying taxed fuel files no fuel return.

What makes Hawaii different

Hawaii and Alaska are the only states in neither IFTA nor IRP, so there are no Hawaii decals, quarterly fuel returns or apportioned plates. Hawaii still licenses for-hire trucking the old way: a PUC certificate names the islands it covers, needs letters from customers on each island and a filed tariff, and takes weeks to issue.

The legal width is wider than the mainland standard, and HDOT is currently waiving oversize permit fees. Each of these facts carries its source on the page that covers it.

Hawaii filing walkthroughs

Step-by-step articles for the recurring Hawaii filings, written against the same sourced records as the pages above.

Free calculators that cover Hawaii

Frequently asked questions

Does Hawaii require its own trucking authority?

Yes, for hire. Hauling property for pay on a Hawaii public highway needs a certificate or permit from the Public Utilities Commission, for each island you serve, unless a listed exemption applies. Hauling your own goods for your own business does not need one.

Does a Hawaii carrier need a USDOT number if it never leaves the islands?

Yes. The HDOT Motor Vehicle Safety Office requires a USDOT number of every motor carrier running a commercial motor vehicle in Hawaii, intrastate included, for private and for-hire carriers alike.

Is Hawaii in IFTA or IRP?

No to both. Hawaii issues no IFTA license or decals and no apportioned plates. Trucks register with their county, and fuel tax is collected from distributors at the wholesale level.

Where do the numbers on these Hawaii pages come from?

Every fee, limit and deadline renders from a data field tied to the statute, rule or agency page it was read from, with a source marker you can open. Where an agency publishes nothing, the page says so instead of guessing.

Sources

The official sources used on this page. Check the current instructions before you file or pay.

  1. HRS §271-8 Certificate or permit required · Hawaii State Legislature (Hawaii Revised Statutes, data.capitol.hawaii.gov)
  2. General Information and Instructions, Application for Motor Carrier Certificate or Permit, Property Classification (rev. 3/11/2025) · State of Hawaii Public Utilities Commission
  3. FAQs - Motor Carriers · State of Hawaii Public Utilities Commission
  4. Motor Vehicle Safety Office (HDOT library page) · Hawaii Department of Transportation, Highways Division
  5. HRS §271-12 Applications for certificates of public convenience and necessity · Hawaii State Legislature (Hawaii Revised Statutes, data.capitol.hawaii.gov)
  6. HRS §271-13 Permits for contract carriers by motor vehicle · Hawaii State Legislature (Hawaii Revised Statutes, data.capitol.hawaii.gov)

Haul Handbook publishes educational information about trucking registration and compliance requirements. This is not legal, financial, or tax advice. Rules, fees, and deadlines change; confirm with the agency before you file or pay.