Hawaii handles titles through each county’s motor vehicle office — Honolulu, Hawaii, Maui and Kauai. The statutory rules are the same statewide, but the fees and booking procedures differ by island.
Just moved to Hawaii? A vehicle registered out of state must pass a Hawaii safety inspection before the title transfer can be completed, and use tax may apply. Start with transferring your license to Hawaii.
The short version
- 30 days — unless your lienholder has no office in Hawaii, in which case it’s 60. A rule almost nobody mentions.
- A current safety inspection certificate is required to transfer the title, not just to register.
- Plates stay on the car. Hawaii is one of the few states where the buyer keeps them.
Hawaii Title Transfer Deadlines: 30 Days, 60 Days and 10 Days
Under HRS § 286-52, both parties must sign the certificate of ownership and the buyer must forward it to the county Director of Finance within 30 calendar days of the transfer date.
The exception worth knowing: that period extends to 60 days if the recorded lienholder does not maintain an office in the State of Hawaii. If you financed through a mainland lender, you likely have twice as long as you think.
The seller has 10 days to file a Notice of Transfer, using the form on the Certificate of Ownership or one from the county office. Missing it can bring a fine of up to $100 — and leaves you exposed to tickets and accidents involving a car you no longer own.
Miss the buyer’s deadline and it costs $50, plus delinquent taxes for any prior years the vehicle went unregistered. That second part can dwarf the penalty.
The Safety Inspection Is a Transfer Requirement
This is unusual. In most states inspection is tied to registration. In Hawaii, all four counties require a current State of Hawaii Safety Inspection Certificate as a condition of processing the title transfer itself.
A temporary certificate is accepted, but you can’t complete the transfer without one.
There’s no emissions testing anywhere in Hawaii — the safety check is the only requirement.
One more thing gets rolled in. If the vehicle’s registration has expired or will expire within 45 days, the county calculates and collects the registration renewal in the same transaction. Budget for it. Our guide to Hawaii registration renewal explains how the weight tax that drives that cost works.
How to Transfer a Hawaii Car Title Step by Step
Step 1: What the Seller Does
- Endorse the Certificate of Title in the assignment section — in blue or black ink. Every registered owner must sign.
- Hand over the last-issued Certificate of Registration and the current safety inspection certificate. If the registration card is missing, get a replacement before the sale.
- Leave the plates on the vehicle. Hawaii plates stay with the car. The exception is a personalized plate, which you keep and either transfer or surrender through your county.
- File the Notice of Transfer within 10 days.
No erasures, corrections or alterations are permitted on the title. A marked-up certificate gets rejected, and the fix is a duplicate.
Step 2: What the Buyer Brings
- The endorsed Certificate of Title, signed by both parties — joint purchasers must each sign
- The last-issued Certificate of Registration
- A current or temporary State of Hawaii Safety Inspection Certificate
- The county Application for Registration
- A bill of sale
- All lien releases, completed before submission
- A Letter of Authorization if the vehicle is titled to a business
- Payment
Maui County also asks for a Non-Commercial Vehicle Certification if the vehicle is a pickup truck or cargo van.
Step 3: Submit in Person at Your County Office
The package must be submitted in person at the motor vehicle office in the county where the vehicle is registered.
On Oahu, you need an appointment through AlohaQ — walk-in service isn’t available for in-state transfers.Other counties use their own ticketing or booking arrangements. Our guide to Hawaii DMV offices covers each island.
The county issues updated Certificates of Ownership and Registration in your name.
Do You Need a Notarized Bill of Sale?
Notarization isn’t required for a standard private sale — but there’s a practical reason to consider it anyway.
In Honolulu, signatures on the Application for Registration (Form CS-L(MVR)1) should be notarized to prevent rejection when they’re compared against the original title. An irregular-looking signature can send you back to the queue. Honolulu also requires a notarized bill of sale specifically when the seller is selling a vehicle not titled in their own name.
For the bill of sale itself, Hawaii County provides Form CS-L (MVR) 40, and the other counties accept a generic document. Include both parties’ names, the vehicle description and VIN, the sale price, the date and both signatures.
Gifts need a specific form. A vehicle received as a gift qualifies for a use tax exemption, claimed by completing Form G-27, the Motor Vehicle Use Tax Certification. The Hawaii District Tax Office can be reached on (808) 974-6321.
Hawaii Title Transfer Fees by County
| County | Transfer fee |
|---|---|
| Hawaii (Big Island) | $5.00 |
| Honolulu | $10.00 |
| Maui | $20.00 |
| Kauai | Call (808) 241-4256 |
| Late transfer penalty (all counties) | $50.00 |
The transfer fee itself is small. What makes a Hawaii transfer expensive is what comes with it — the registration renewal if you’re inside the 45-day window, and any delinquent taxes on a vehicle that has been sitting unregistered.
Note the $50 late penalty is ten times the transfer fee on the Big Island, which makes the 30-day deadline worth respecting even on the cheapest island.
Hawaii Car Title Transfer FAQs
Yes. Hawaii plates stay with the vehicle, so the seller leaves them on. Personalized plates are the exception — those belong to the owner and must be transferred or surrendered through your county.
If the recorded lienholder doesn’t maintain an office in the State of Hawaii, HRS § 286-52 extends the filing period to 60 days. Confirm with your county office before relying on it.
No. All four counties require a current or temporary State of Hawaii Safety Inspection Certificate as part of the transfer package.
Sign the vehicle over to yourself on the back of the title, then take the title and the death certificate to your county registration office.
No. Hawaii has no emissions testing program. The annual safety inspection is the only vehicle inspection in the state.
Two things cause most Hawaii transfer problems: sellers who skip the free 10-day Notice of Transfer and stay liable for a car they’ve sold, and buyers who arrive without a current safety inspection certificate — which is a transfer requirement here, not just a registration one.
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