Business Registration

A description of BREG’s mission with links to key services

Overview

The Business Registration Division (BREG) of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA) is responsible for processing and maintaining for public access, registrations of corporations, general and limited partnerships, limited liability partnerships, limited liability companies, trade names, trademarks, service marks and publicity name rights.

All the information and forms you need to register are available at our Business Registration Division (BREG) office. You can also download any of our business registration forms or use our website to file or purchase documents electronically. We accept registration document filings electronically, mailed, hand delivered, or faxed to our office. All filings must be accompanied with required filing and other services fees. Fax filings require credit card information with the fax or via the phone.

Registrations dating back to the 1800s are available in our Records Viewing Area and for purchase online. These records are available for viewing or can be obtained in hard copy. You can also search for a registration through the business name search. The business name search contains all active records, but only inactive records from 1996. Our registry consists of 9 databases that each contain millions of pieces of data.

Regular review time for documents is approximately within five working days. Expedited review takes approximately one to three working days. Certificates of Good Standing can be issued in 15 minutes at our office or obtained online.

Prior to filing, we recommend that you review the information on this site. This information includes “General Info on Registering“, “Filing Tips“, and our “Frequently asked questions (FAQs)“.

BREG also provides special subscription services for frequent filers and bulk downloads of information through its online services.

Organization

The Documents Registration Branch of BREG consists of the Documents Information Section, the Documents Processing Section and the Records Section.

The Documents Registration Branch is supervised by one branch supervisor and three section supervisors. It provides an invaluable service to the business community in assuring that the information on file is readily available and accessible in order to support the free flow of commerce within the State. Without the availability of this information to the business community, commercial activity in the State would be substantially impaired, since the business community often relies on the information on record to support the extension of trade credit, commercial leases, real estate transactions and the delivery of financial services.

The Documents Registration Branch processes over 100,000 documents each year and maintains the public registry of over 90,000 active business entities. The active files include business entities that have been on record with the State for over 100 years. Information is also retained for business entities that have been dissolved or canceled. Minimal information must be kept for these inactive files for the purposes of research, litigation, real estate transactions, and general business use.

The Documents Information Section of the branch is responsible for responding to the public’s requests for information. All phone inquiries and requests for documents are handled by this section. Phone inquiries regarding basic corporate information is handled by clerical staff with access to computer terminals providing essential information regarding the registration of any business.

In addition to handling phone inquiries, the Documents Information Section also provides for the public access to the actual documents on file in the King Kalakaua Building in the Records Viewing Area where the public can view the actual business documents and request copies when necessary. The division also maintains computer terminals for individual use for those persons who are requesting information. The Records Viewing Area permits the public to view the original corporate, partnership or trade name documents on file which may provide specific information of a material nature not otherwise maintained on the division’s computerized data base.

The Records Section of the Documents Registration Branch provides for the maintenance of all business records registered with the division. This section is responsible for the proper order of all documents within a file as well as the annual reports which each entity must file in order to be in good standing with the State of Hawaii. In addition, the Records Section is responsible for the certification of all documents and copying of records for use by the business and legal communities in commercial transactions.

Finally, the Documents Processing Section of the branch provides for the compliance review of all filed applications to assure the meeting of statutory requirements in each registration or application.