2025 fees Hawaii Secretary of State Rank #8 of 51

LLC Costs in Hawaii (HI)

$190 all-in for your first year - $50 to file, $15 annual report, plus a registered agent. Hawaii is $193 (50%) cheaper than the national average for first-year LLC costs.

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Very low annual report fee of $15. Hawaii has a general excise tax (GET) that applies to most business activities, budget 4% on gross receipts. Hawaii General Excise Tax is a key business consideration.

Updated 2025 · Source: Hawaii Secretary of State

Lower Articles filing fee

Lower Articles filing fee. $50 one-time SOS filing sits in the bottom third of Articles/formation fees nationwide. Hawaii's $50 Articles filing fee sets the tone for a $190 first-year total, ranking #8 of 51. Fees are those published by the Hawaii Secretary of State; registered agent is a $125/yr market-rate line, not a vendor quote.

According to the Hawaii Secretary of State fee schedule; registered agent normalized at $125/yr. See methodology. How we calculate →

$50
One-time filing fee
$15 /yr
Annual report
$190
First-year total
#8 of 51
Cost rank (1 = cheapest)

Secretary of State fee strip

Fee strip HI · Hawaii SOS FY 2026 · rank #8

Hawaii · FY 2026 · 5-7 business days · no pub

  • SCHEDULE Online filing
  • REPORT cca.hawaii.gov/breg
  • RANK 5-7 business days
  • AGENT +$25 expedite
  • PROC near Colorado
  • VS-AVG 50% below avg

Cheap-third stack: stamps derive from this state's Secretary of State fee schedule, not a recommendation of where to form. Read with where this cheap-third stack ranks → · All 51 SOS fee rows →

1. Kentucky$1802. Montana$1803. Colorado$1854. Hawaii$1905. Utah$1976. Michigan$200
1. Kentucky$1802. Montana$1803. Colorado$1854. Hawaii$1905. Utah$1976. Michigan$200
First-year SOS-fee total for Hawaii and nearest-cost peers. Source: each Secretary of State + 51-row aggregate.

Cost vs. speed: where Hawaii sits among all 51 filing offices

Hawaii delivers both: below-average cost and a 6-business-day turnaround faster than the national median. 2×2 strategic matrix plotting 30 entities by First-year cost ($) (X) and Processing time (business days) (Y), with a crosshair dividing the plot into four quadrants. Slow & expensiveCheap but slowFast but priceyFast & cheap $0$500$1,000$1,500 0d10d20d30d First-year cost ($) Processing time (business days) Cost vs. speed: where Hawaii sits among all 51 filing offices
Hawaii delivers both: below-average cost and a 6-business-day turnaround faster than the national median.
Hawaii delivers both: below-average cost and a 6-business-day turnaround faster than the national median. National median processing time: 6 business days; national average first-year cost: $383. Source: each state's Secretary of State published processing-time guidance + the 51-row SOS fee aggregate.

How the cheap-third $190 stack breaks down

How your $190 first-year total breaks down Registered agent is still the largest piece (66%) even though Hawaii sits in the cheaper third overall.
  • State filing fee $50
  • Annual Report (yr 1) $15
  • Registered agent $125
Cost Item Amount
State Filing Fee $50
Annual Report $15
Registered Agent $125/yr
Expedited Filing (optional) $25
Total, First Year $190

Ongoing tax burden after formation

Hawaii's effective property tax rate of 0.27% ranks among the lowest nationally (#1 of 51 lowest), a bigger long-run factor than the $190 formation cost above for any LLC that owns real estate.

Corporate income tax
6.4%
6.4% corporate tax rate, #28 of 51 lowest nationally
Effective property tax rate
0.27%
Of assessed property value, per year

Sources: Tax Foundation state corporate tax rates, Census ACS effective property tax rates.

Fee check: Verify current LLC fees with the Hawaii Secretary of State at https://cca.hawaii.gov/breg/. Not legal or tax advice.

Hawaii LLC quick facts (cheap third)

Filing Fee $50
Annual Report $15 /yr
Processing Time 5-7 business days
Expedited $25 → 1-2 business days
Online Filing Available
First-Year Total $190
File with Hawaii SOS

Similar Cost States

Arizona $175 Mississippi $175 Missouri $175 New Mexico $175

Still-cheaper peers

A handful of states file even lighter than bottom-third HI:

Kentucky $180 Montana $180 Colorado $185

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified. Report a data error on this page.

Sources used on this page
  • Hawaii Secretary of State - LLC filing fee, annual-report requirement, and processing time. cca.hawaii.gov/breg/
  • Federation of Tax Administrators - cross-check of state fee and tax figures. taxadmin.org
LLC fees and requirements sourced from the Hawaii Secretary of State. See our methodology for details.

Verify with the Hawaii Secretary of State →