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Founder Primer

LLC paperwork, boiled down for founders.

Primer 3 · Hawaii

Foreign LLC Registration in Hawaii (2026): 5 Moves and the 3 Best Services

If you are hiring for registering an LLC from another state in Hawaii in 2026, we rank Hawaii Registered Agent.co ($199), HI Registered Agent.org ($199) and Mainstay Filing ($199), in that order. The primer runs 5 moves: the filing, the $51 fee and what you owe after.
From the Founder Primer desk

Start here

Cost to register
$51
Per cca.hawaii.gov, as of October 2026
Home-state certificate
60 days
Age limit
Repeating report
$12.50
Annual report
State fees, three years
$76
Registration, reports, any minimum tax
How many moves
5
In order

After this primer

  • When an LLC from elsewhere must register in Hawaii
  • What to file and what it costs
  • What follows registration
  • Our picks and the reasoning

Hawaii: services we rank

Five weighted criteria set the order (see how we score); three-year cost and to-dos cleared count most.

Start with this $199 plus state fee, then $99/yr

1. Hawaii Registered Agent.co: best for a budget registration

First place goes to Hawaii Registered Agent.co because $199 service fee, $99 a year for the Hawaii agent.

A lower three-year cost than Mainstay Filing puts it first; cost is worth 27%.

Inside the price
  • Registration filing
  • One year of agent service
In its favor
  • First agent year costs nothing extra
  • $199 above the state fee
  • $99 yearly from year two
Against it
  • Home state needs a separate agent
Visit Hawaii Registered Agent.co Partner link. We may earn money if you buy.
In-state service $199 plus state fee, then $99/yr

2. HI Registered Agent.org: best for registering in Hawaii only

HI Registered Agent.org takes second; $199 service fee, $99 a year for the Hawaii agent.

It lists the same prices as Hawaii Registered Agent.co.

Inside the price
  • Registration filing
  • One year of agent service
In its favor
  • First agent year costs nothing extra
  • $199 above the state fee
  • $99 yearly from year two
Against it
  • Home state needs a separate agent
Visit HI Registered Agent.org Partner link. We may earn money if you buy.
Any state $199 plus state fee, then $149/yr

3. Mainstay Filing: best for companies adding a state

Mainstay Filing is a fair third choice: it files the Hawaii registration for $199 plus the state's fee, and the first agent year is on the house.

Over three years it sits $100 behind Hawaii Registered Agent.co.

From the second year the agent bills $149 yearly, no matter the state.

Inside the price
  • Registration, prepared and sent
  • Registered agent free in year one
  • Any state, one price
In its favor
  • Ready for another state
  • Registered agent free in year one
  • $199 plus the state fee
Against it
  • Renewal $50 over Hawaii Registered Agent.co's
Visit Mainstay Filing Partner link. We may earn money if you buy.

Comparing the services

# Service First year From year two Three-year total
1 Hawaii Registered Agent.co $199 $99/yr $397 Visit Hawaii Registered Agent.co Partner link. We may earn money if you buy.
2 HI Registered Agent.org $199 $99/yr $397 Visit HI Registered Agent.org Partner link. We may earn money if you buy.
3 Mainstay Filing $199 $149/yr $497 Visit Mainstay Filing Partner link. We may earn money if you buy.

Prices come from each company's own site, read November 13, 2026. Add the $51 state fee to every row.

The primer, move by move

  1. Move 1

    Does the rule reach your LLC?

    LLCs from other states file a foreign registration to transact business in Hawaii. The downside of not registering: Need to sue someday? Register first (HRS 414-432(a); 428-1008(a)). Its contracts stay valid (HRS 414-432(e); 428-1008(b)). Back fees for the unregistered stretch are owed too.

    Where this comes from: Per cca.hawaii.gov, as of October 2026

  2. Move 2

    Get the home-state certificate

    Hawaii requires original certificate of existence from the jurisdiction of formation, dated within 60 days.

    Time it so the certificate is recent at filing.

  3. Move 3

    Get a registered agent with a Hawaii address

    Every LLC must name a registered agent with an in-state street address. The address has to be a place of business with a street address in Hawaii. P.O. boxes are not accepted.

    All of our picks act as the registered agent.

    Where this comes from: Per capitol.hawaii.gov, as of October 2026

  4. Move 4

    Finish and lodge the Application for Certificate of Authority for Foreign Limited Liability Company

    The registration is the Application for Certificate of Authority for Foreign Limited Liability Company (Form FLLC-1) plus $51, addressed to the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA), Business Registration Division.

    Where this comes from: Per cca.hawaii.gov, as of October 2026

  5. Move 5

    Handle Hawaii's repeating filing

    The repeat item is the annual report at $12.50, end of the quarter in which the LLC was registered.

The cost of this primer

Item Paid to Total
Registering the LLC The state $51
Annual report The state $12.50
Paid help The service $199 up front
State fees, years one to three The state $76

These are the official Hawaii fees, cited below. The three-year line adds the filing fee, the year-two and year-three reports and any minimum tax.

The logic behind the order

The deciding criterion: founder outlay over three years, at 27% of the mark.

Hawaii Registered Agent.co costs $397 for years one to three; Mainstay Filing costs $100 more.

Hawaii questions

How much is Hawaii's fee for an out-of-state LLC?

$51 as the official fee. The services here charge $199 extra.

Which form do I file to register?

Fill in the form named in move 4 and send it to the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA), Business Registration Division.

Do I need a certificate from my home state?

Yes: original certificate of existence from the jurisdiction of formation, issued within 60 days of filing.

What if the LLC does business there without registering?

Need to sue someday? Register first (HRS 414-432(a); 428-1008(a)). Its contracts stay valid (HRS 414-432(e); 428-1008(b)). Back fees for the unregistered stretch are owed too.

What is due after registering?

After registering, the LLC files the annual report; each one costs $12.50.

Which service should handle the registration?

Hawaii Registered Agent.co, HI Registered Agent.org and Mainstay Filing, best mark first.

Keep reading

Sources, so you can check us

  1. Backup for the Hawaii DCCA Business Registration Division release of July section: cca.hawaii.gov, read October 2026.
  2. Backup for the Hawaii yearly filing: Annual report: fee, official source section: files.hawaii.gov, read October 2026.
  3. Backup for the Hawaii formation fee: Filing fee, official source section: cca.hawaii.gov, read October 2026.
  4. Backup for the Hawaii formation fee: Filing fee, official source section: cca.hawaii.gov, read October 2026.
  5. Backup for the Hawaii registered agent statute section: capitol.hawaii.gov, read October 2026.
  6. Backup for the Hawaii DCCA, foreign LLC registration section: cca.hawaii.gov, read October 2026.
  7. Backup for the Form FLLC-1 section: files.hawaii.gov, read October 2026.
  8. Backup for the Foreign LLC filing fees section: cca.hawaii.gov, read October 2026.
  9. Backup for the Hawaii Revised Statutes 428-1003, activities that are not section: capitol.hawaii.gov, read October 2026.
  10. Backup for the New Hawaii business registration portal FAQs section: cca.hawaii.gov, read October 2026.
  11. Backup for the Hawaii Revised Statutes 414-432, consequences of transacting business section: capitol.hawaii.gov, read November 2026.
  12. Backup for the Hawaii Revised Statutes 428-1008, effect of failure to section: capitol.hawaii.gov, read November 2026.
  13. pricing page at Hawaii Registered Agent.co, pulled November 13, 2026
  14. pricing page at HI Registered Agent.org, pulled November 13, 2026
  15. Hawaii service page at Mainstay Filing, pulled November 13, 2026