Hawaii Business Entity Search
Find a registered business through Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Business Registration Division (BREG). Use the official link below, then check the search options and name rules for Hawaii.
Official website: hbe.ehawaii.gov · Opens in a new tab
Hawaii search options and record coverage
The official BREG search accepts a business, trade name, trademark, or service-mark name and opens the public record, status, forms, and available-document tabs. Filed information can include officers, directors, members, managers, partners, addresses, and registered agents, depending on what the entity was required to file. The portal also permits purchasing certificates and copies from the selected record. BREG warned that during the July 2026 system transition some services may be temporarily unavailable and that expedited handling is currently unavailable.
Checking a business name in Hawaii
BREG evaluates whether a proposed entity name is distinguishable from names on its registry under the applicable Hawaii entity statute. A name must use the required LLC or corporate designator and cannot be deceptively similar merely because of capitalization, punctuation, spacing, singular/plural changes, or a generic word. A reservation or acceptance is only a registry decision; it does not clear trademarks, trade names, professional restrictions, geographic licensing, or unfair-competition claims.
Hawaii name reservations
BREG charges $10.00 to reserve an LLC or corporate name, with a $25.00 expedited-review add-on. The reviewed BREG fee material identifies the reservation charge but does not state a uniform reservation-duration number in the accessible 2026 fee page; verify the effective period on the current reservation form before relying on it. Reservation only protects filing priority and does not create trademark rights or guarantee licensing approval.
DBA, trade names, and fictitious names
Hawaii registers trade names statewide through BREG rather than through a county clerk. Form T-1 costs $50.00, and expedited review costs $20.00. The official page is https://cca.hawaii.gov/breg/registration/trade/ and provides online and paper instructions. A trade-name registration is distinct from a corporation or LLC legal name and does not itself create limited liability.
What do you need after the search?
- Official proof of standing — find certificate fees and ordering instructions.
- A missed report or inactive registration — check deadlines and reinstatement rules.
- A new business registration — compare Hawaii formation and filing fees.