Do You Need an Arborist License in Hawaii?

Last updated: August 25, 2026

Hawaii is one of the few states that licenses tree work by name. The C-27b Tree Trimming and Removal Contractor classification — “to prune, trim, and remove trees, including stumps” — comes from the Contractors License Board, and any job over $1,500 in labor and materials requires it. Getting it takes four years of supervisory experience, an exam, a financial vetting most states never do — and insurance the license cannot survive without: lapse the coverage and the license forfeits automatically.

What Hawaii Actually Requires

• ★ A contractor license for tree work: the C-27b Tree Trimming and Removal Contractor classification — “to prune, trim, and remove trees, including stumps, and restore ground to condition similar to adjacent area” — under the C-27 Landscaping family.
• ★ The $1,500 line: licensing is required unless the aggregate contract price for labor and materials is not more than $1,500 — and the exemption never applies where a building permit is required, or where a bigger job is split into small contracts to evade the chapter (HRS § 444-2(4)).
• Four years of supervisory experience within the past ten, proven with experience certificates and a chronological project list.
• A written examination in the classification, administered by Prometric — register within two years of approval or the application is abandoned.
• A financial vetting: financial statement, credit report, and tax clearance filed with the application, plus a good reputation for honesty, truthfulness, financial integrity and fair dealing.
• ★ Liability insurance: bodily injury $100,000 each person / $300,000 each occurrence, property damage $50,000 each occurrence.
• ★ Workers compensation from a carrier authorized in Hawaii, with the carrier’s statement that the board will be notified of any withdrawal, termination, or cancellation; sole proprietors with no employees may file a form in lieu.
• ★ The license dies with the coverage: failure to maintain continuous liability and workers compensation coverage causes automatic forfeiture of the license.
• Pesticide certification only for restricted-use products — the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity certifies commercial applicators (Ornamental and Turf category) for restricted-use pesticides; general-use products need no certification. Exams $50, certification card $100, good for five years.

What It Costs

Item	Cost	Notes
Application fee	$50	Non-refundable, per application; board reviews monthly except December
License fee	$260	Assessed after board approval and passing the exam
Contractors Recovery Fund	$150	The consumer-compensation fund behind every licensed contractor
Compliance Resolution Fund	$74 / $148	Prorated by where in the licensing cycle you enter
Exam	Prometric fees	Paid to the testing agency; out-of-state sitting +$100
Liability insurance	$100k / $300k / $50k	BI per person / BI per occurrence / PD per occurrence — continuous, or the license forfeits
Workers compensation	Premium	Carrier authorized in Hawaii; board notified of any cancellation
RUP applicator certification	$50 exam + $100 card	Only if you use restricted-use pesticides; five-year term
Hawaii LLC	$50	Articles of organization + $1 State Archives fee

Hawaii Licenses the Saw — and the License Forfeits Itself if the Insurance Lapses

Most states in this family regulate tree work sideways — through pesticides, taxes or workers comp. Hawaii regulates it directly, and the structure rewards knowing three things before you apply.

First, the classification split matters to what you sell. The C-27b scope is precise: to prune, trim, and remove trees, including stumps, and restore ground to condition similar to adjacent area — provided that this does not include the relocation and planting of field grown trees. Removal yes, planting no. The full C-27 Landscaping classification covers tree trimming and the planting, gardens, sprinklers and rockscaping around it. So the business that only takes trees down licenses cheaper and narrower as C-27b; the one that replants after removal needs C-27. Nevada and Utah draw nearly the same line in the opposite direction — there removal is the unlicensed half and planting is the licensed one; in Hawaii both halves are licensed, just separately.

Second, the $1,500 line is lower than it looks. The exemption covers a project whose aggregate contract price for labor and materials is not more than $1,500 — roughly one day of real tree work with a chipper on site. It disappears entirely where a building permit is required, and the statute pre-blocks the obvious dodge: splitting a big removal into several sub-$1,500 invoices is itself a violation. Practically, a working tree service in Hawaii is a licensed contractor; the exemption shelters odd jobs, not a business.

Third, the application is a financial audit as much as a trade test. Alongside four years of supervisory experience within the past ten (documented by experience certificates and a project history) and the written exam, the board wants a financial statement, a credit report, and a tax clearance — and the statutory standard includes “financial integrity.” A credit pull before you may trim trees has no counterpart anywhere else in this guide. The cadence is slow by design: the board meets monthly except December, applications are due the first Tuesday of the month before, and you must attempt the exam within two years or the application is abandoned. Plan the license before the season, not during it.

The insurance rule is the sharpest in the family. The board requires bodily injury cover of $100,000 each person and $300,000 each occurrence, plus $50,000 property damage, and workers compensation from a Hawaii-authorized carrier — with the carrier obligated to tell the board about any withdrawal, termination, or cancellation. And then the sentence that should be pinned above the desk: failure to maintain continuous liability and workers compensation coverages causes automatic forfeiture of the license. Mississippi and Delaware tie a license to a live policy; Hawaii goes further — no suspension, no grace letter, forfeiture. The $150 Contractors Recovery Fund payment on top funds consumer compensation claims against licensed contractors — part of why the license carries weight with customers here.

Pesticides run the other way from the mainland trend. Hawaii certifies commercial applicators only for restricted-use pesticides — the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity’s own FAQ says certification is needed “only if you use Restricted-Use Pesticides.” General-use products, applied commercially, need no certification — the exact opposite of Vermont, where even homeowner-grade products for hire trigger it. If you do use RUPs (Ornamental and Turf is the tree category), the exam is $50, the certification card $100, and it runs five years.

How to Get Licensed, In Order

1. Decide your scope first: removal-only is C-27b; removal plus planting is C-27.
2. Document four years of supervisory experience within the past ten — experience certificates and a project list.
3. Assemble the financial package: financial statement, credit report, tax clearance.
4. File by the first Tuesday of the month with the $50 fee, and sit the Prometric exam once approved.
5. Bind the insurance before issuance: $100k/$300k/$50k liability plus workers comp from a Hawaii-authorized carrier.
6. Pay the post-approval assessments — $260 license, $150 recovery fund, $74–$148 compliance resolution fund.
7. Add RUP certification only if you need it — $50 exam, $100 card, Ornamental and Turf category.
8. Register the business entity — $50 articles of organization plus the $1 archives fee.

Staying Licensed

The standing rule in Hawaii is continuity of coverage: the liability policy and the workers comp policy must run without a gap, because failure to maintain continuous coverage causes automatic forfeiture of the license — and your carrier is obligated to tell the board when anything is withdrawn, terminated or canceled, so a lapse is never private. Keep the certificates current in the board’s file (the online submittal system at pvl.ehawaii.gov/inikua is the fast route). The license itself renews on the board’s cycle with continuing obligations to the Contractors Recovery Fund and Compliance Resolution Fund. If you hold RUP certification, it runs five years with recertification through approved education. And if your work expands into planting and landscape construction, that is a C-27 application, not an amendment to the C-27b.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Hawaii require a license for tree trimming and removal?

Yes — by name. Hawaii’s Contractors License Board issues the C-27b Tree Trimming and Removal Contractor classification, a subclassification of C-27 Landscaping: to prune, trim, and remove trees, including stumps, and restore ground to condition similar to the adjacent area. The only work outside the licensing law is a project whose aggregate contract price for labor and materials is not more than $1,500 — and that exemption disappears whenever a building permit is required, and cannot be manufactured by splitting a bigger job into small contracts.

What does it take to qualify for the Hawaii C-27b license?

Four years of supervisory experience within the past ten years, documented with experience certificates and a project history; a written examination in the classification; a good reputation for honesty, truthfulness, financial integrity and fair dealing; and a financial statement, credit report and tax clearance filed with the application. The board meets monthly (except December), applications are due the first Tuesday of the month before, and the application fee is $50 — with the license fee, recovery fund and compliance resolution fund assessments added after you pass.

What insurance does a Hawaii tree contractor need?

The board requires a certificate showing bodily injury liability of $100,000 each person and $300,000 each occurrence, plus $50,000 property damage each occurrence, and a certificate of workers compensation insurance from a carrier authorized in Hawaii — with a statement from the carrier that the board will be notified of any withdrawal, termination or cancellation. Sole proprietors with no employees may file a form in lieu of workers comp. The rule with teeth: failure to maintain continuous liability and workers compensation coverage causes automatic forfeiture of the license.

Can I plant trees with a C-27b license?

No. The C-27b scope ends at removal and restoring the ground — it expressly does not include the relocation and planting of field-grown trees. Planting, transplanting and the rest of decorative outdoor work belong to the full C-27 Landscaping classification, which covers tree trimming as well. A removal-only business fits C-27b; a business that takes trees out and puts trees in needs C-27.

Tree work sits alongside our full guide to starting a landscaping business in Hawaii, and the wider guide to starting a business in Hawaii. Or see how every state handles tree work in our arborist license requirements by state guide.

Sources

Source	What It Covers
DCCA PVL — description of contractor license classifications	The C-27b Tree Trimming and Removal Contractor scope — to prune, trim, and remove trees, including stumps, and restore ground to condition similar to adjacent area, expressly excluding relocation and planting of field grown trees — and the C-27 Landscaping scope including tree trimming and planting
DCCA PVL — requirements for license, contractor (CT-00(B), rev. 10/25)	The four years of supervisory experience within ten, the exam, the financial statement/credit report/tax clearance, the $50 application fee and $260 license / $150 recovery fund / $74-$148 compliance resolution fund assessments, the $100,000/$300,000 bodily injury and $50,000 property damage minimums, the workers compensation certificate with board-notification statement, and the automatic forfeiture rule for lapsed coverage
HRS § 444-2 — exemptions (current statutes)	The $1,500 aggregate contract price exemption, its building-permit carve-out, and the anti-splitting language
Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity — pesticide FAQ	That certification is required only for restricted-use pesticides, the Ornamental and Turf commercial category, and the five-year certification term
DCCA Business Registration — domestic LLC	The $50 articles of organization filing fee and the $1 State Archives fee