Hawaii car registration and title fees

• Title fee — varies. The county's fee for the new certificate of ownership on a car being titled for the first time. $10 in Kauai and Maui, $5 in Hawaii County. Honolulu's $10 is its published title transfer fee. (KCC 5-2.4(b); Maui FY2027 App. B (acct 3274); HCC 24-19(d); ROH title transfer fee per Honolulu DCS)
• Ownership transfer fee — varies. The county's fee to move the title and registration into your name. $10 in Honolulu and Kauai, $20 in Maui, $5 in Hawaii County. A fee of $50 more is added if the transfer is filed more than 30 days after the sale. (Honolulu DCS vehicle-ownership-transfer page; KCC 5-2.4(b); Maui DMV buyer page and FY2027 App. B (acct 3270); HCC 24-19(d))
• State registration fee — $46.00. A flat annual state fee on every vehicle, collected by the county with its own fees. (HRS 249-31(a))
• State weight tax — varies. The state's annual tax on a car's net weight: 1.75 cents a pound up to 4,000 lb, 2 cents a pound from 4,001 to 7,000 lb, 2.25 cents a pound from 7,001 to 10,000 lb. For a new car, net weight is the factory shipping weight plus 100 lb. Without your car's weight this assumes 3,750 lb. (HRS 249-33(a); HRS 249-1 (net weight))
• County weight tax — varies. City and County of Honolulu's weight tax: 7 cents a pound of net weight. For a new car, net weight is the factory shipping weight plus 100 lb. Without your car's weight this assumes 3,750 lb. A bill to cut this to 5.5 cents from July 1, 2027 has passed second reading; it is not law yet. (ROH 41-17.1(b); Honolulu Bill 10 (2017) CD1; Honolulu DCS motor-vehicle-registration page)
• County weight tax — varies. Maui County's weight tax: 3.5 cents a pound of net weight, set each year in the county budget (FY2027 notice: no change from January 1, 2027). For a new car, net weight is the factory shipping weight plus 100 lb. Without your car's weight this assumes 3,750 lb. (MCC 3.24.030; Maui FY2027 App. B (Highway Fund); Council notice of public hearing 2026-05-15)
• County weight tax — varies. Kauai County's weight tax: 2 cents a pound of net weight. For a new car, net weight is the factory shipping weight plus 100 lb. Without your car's weight this assumes 3,750 lb. (KCC 5-2.3(a), (d))
• County weight tax — varies. Hawaii County's weight tax: 1.25 cents a pound of net weight, $12 minimum. For a new car, net weight is the factory shipping weight plus 100 lb. Without your car's weight this assumes 3,750 lb. (HCC 24-17, 24-18 (rate per Tax Foundation of Hawaii and 2026 press reports; county page not reachable))
• County registration fee — varies. The county's flat annual registration fee: $20 in Honolulu, Maui and Kauai, $12 in Hawaii County. (Honolulu DCS fee guidance (CS-L(MVR)50A); Maui FY2027 App. B (acct 3262); KCC 5-2.4(g); HCC 24-19 (Hawaii County amount not confirmed))
• Highway beautification fee — varies. An annual county fee for highway beautification and abandoned-vehicle disposal: $7 in Honolulu, $10 in Maui, $5 in Kauai, $1 in Hawaii County. State law lets each county set it up to $10. (HRS 286-51(b); Honolulu DCS fee guidance; Maui FY2027 App. B; KCC 5-2.6; HCC 24-19(h))
• Vehicle disposal fee — $25.00. Maui County charges $25 per vehicle per year to fund its vehicle disposal program. (MCC 3.27; Maui FY2027 App. B (Environmental Management special revenue, 'Disposal of Vehicles'))
• Vehicle disposal fee — $12.00. Hawaii County has charged $12 per vehicle per year for its vehicle disposal fund. The county's current page does not list fees, so this is an estimate. (HCC 24-19(i) (Ord. 04-008))
• Registration emblem — $0.50. The annual tag for your plate, set by state law at 50 cents. (HRS 249-7(b))
• License plates — varies. A new car gets its first set of plates: $5 in Honolulu, Kauai and Hawaii County, $6.75 in Maui. A used car keeps the plates it has. (HRS 249-7(b); Honolulu DCS fee guidance; KCC 5-2.4(e); Maui FY2027 App. B (acct 3250); HCC 24-19(a))
• Plate reassignment — $5.00. Moving the plates from the car you're replacing. (HRS 249-7(e); Maui FY2027 App. B (acct 3282))
• Safe routes to school surcharge — $5.00. A $5 state surcharge on every registration, collected by the county. The law told counties to start by December 31, 2025, but start dates differ and Hawaii County was still updating its system in August 2026. (HRS 249-37)
• Highway improvement fee (electric) — $100.00. Maui County charges $100 a year on an electric car. (MCC 3.25.025; Maui FY2027 App. B (Highway Fund))
• Highway improvement fee (hybrid) — $50.00. Maui County charges $50 a year on a car that runs partly on electricity and partly on gasoline. (MCC 3.25.025; Maui FY2027 App. B (Highway Fund))

• Safety inspection (est.) — $26.18 (dealer fee). Hawaii will not register a car without a current safety inspection certificate. A new car gets an initial check good for two years; a used car needs a current one. A station may charge up to $25 plus tax (4.712% here). It is paid to the dealer or station, not the government, so it belongs in the advertised price. (HRS 286-26(b), (d), (e); HAR 19-133.2-22(e)(1))

• Registration is annual. The weight taxes and county fees come back every year, and the bill moves with the car's net weight and the county where it is registered.

• An electric car owes a state road charge from its first renewal, not at the sale: $50 a year flat, or $8 per 1,000 miles up to $50, until July 1, 2028, when the per-mile charge becomes automatic. The $50 paid at the first renewal is credited at the second.

• Registration: on a new car the dealer usually registers it for you. You pay the state registration fee, a state weight tax and a county weight tax set by the car's weight, a county fee, a beautification fee and plates. This estimate assumes a 3,750-pound car unless you enter a weight. Honolulu's weight tax is 7 cents a pound, Maui's 3.5, Kauai's 2 and Hawaii County's 1.25.

Source: Hawaii Department of Taxation - County Surcharge on General Excise and Use Tax · rules last verified Oct 11, 2026. Methodology.