Hawaii Mechanic License and Repair Dealer License: Requirements, Fees, and Why Mobile Shops Can't Be Licensed

Updated 2026-10-17. Sources are listed at the end.

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This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules vary by state and change often. Confirm with the official source linked in each section, or with a licensed attorney, CPA or insurance agent, before you act.

Hawaii is one of the stricter states. It licenses both the individual mechanic and the repair dealer (the business), through the Motor Vehicle Repair Industry Board at the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA), under HRS Chapter 437B. Here’s the short version for mobile techs: Hawaii won’t issue a repair dealer license to a mobile repair facility.

Mobile repair: what the Board says

The Board’s FAQ asks, “Can I operate a mobile repair facility?” It answers: “Mobile implies that the facility is portable. Mobile repair facilities would not be in compliance with HRS 437B-7.5” (DCCA MVR FAQ, June 2026). The repair dealer instructions are blunter: “Licenses will not be issued to mobile repair facilities in accordance with §437B-7.5, HRS” (Repair dealer requirements).

Section 437B-7.5 requires a dealer applicant to be or employ a full-time licensed mechanic and to have “a repair facility and the equipment necessary” for the licensed specialties. The Board may inspect the facility (HRS §437B-7.5).

What this means in practice: if you want to do paid repairs in Hawaii, plan on a fixed, properly zoned facility. The FAQ doesn’t say whether a licensed shop can also send a technician out for on-site jobs. If that’s your plan, ask the Board before you advertise “mobile” (DCCA Licensing Branch, 1-844-808-3222).

Mechanic license

Requirements (DCCA FAQ):

Experience: at least two years full-time “hands-on” work, or one year hands-on plus either three full years of high school automotive (or body/paint) training, or two years of trade, technical, college or apprenticeship training.
ASE certification in one or more areas. You apply only after you have the ASE certificate and attach a copy (Mechanic requirements).
You’re limited to your ASE specialties. The FAQ’s example: if you’re certified only in A1 Engine Repair, you need certification to do brakes too. Adding classifications later costs a flat $10 per application.

ASE test and registration costs are in ASE certification cost.

Mechanic fees (Mechanic requirements):

Licensed between	Fee
July 1, even year - June 30, odd year (e.g., now through June 30, 2027)	$133 ($10 application + $56 license + $67 compliance resolution fund)
July 1, odd year - June 30, even year	$228 (adds the second year of the two-year period)

Repair dealer license

A repair dealer must (Repair dealer requirements; DCCA FAQ):

have a designated full-time head mechanic with a current license, and do repairs only in the specialties its mechanics are certified in
operate from a premise zoned for repair by the county, with a county zoning clearance and the Zoning Certification Form (MVR-13)
file one application per facility
post the Board’s Notice to Customer sign and the registration certificate where customers can see them

Repair dealer fees: $224 if licensed between July 1 of an even year and June 30 of an odd year (now through June 30, 2027), or $368 in the other half of the cycle. A salvage repair dealer pays $244 or $388 and must also carry a $25,000 surety bond (Repair dealer requirements).

Renewal: every license, whenever it was issued, renews by June 30 of each odd-numbered year. The next deadline is June 30, 2027. An unrenewed license is forfeited.

Estimates

You must give a written estimate before work starts. The customer can waive it only on the Board’s Customer’s Waiver of Right to a Repair Estimate form. If the price will go up, use the Customer’s Consent to Increase Cost of Repairs Above the Estimate form. Both are on the Board’s forms page. For how other states handle estimates, see estimate and invoice requirements.

Sources

DCCA Hawaii, Motor Vehicle Repair Mechanics and Dealers FAQ (June 2026): https://cca.hawaii.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/PVL_Resource_Motor_Vehicle_Repair_FAQs_2026-06_.pdf
DCCA Hawaii, Requirements & Instructions: Motor Vehicle Repair Dealer: https://cca.hawaii.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Require-Instruct-App-for-MV-Repair-Dealer-10.16.pdf
DCCA Hawaii, Requirements: Application for Mechanic: https://cca.hawaii.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Require-App-for-Mechanic_04.24R.pdf
DCCA Hawaii, Motor Vehicle Repair Industry Board forms and publications: https://cca.hawaii.gov/pvl/boards/motorrepair/application_publications/
Hawaii Revised Statutes §437B-7.5: https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol10_Ch0436-0474/HRS0437B/HRS_0437B-0007_0005.htm