Regulated Industries Complaints Office

Aloha and welcome to RICO’s website!

RICO is the watchdog for service providers in industries and occupations that are regulated by a professional or vocational licensing board that is attached to the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs.  The industries and occupations are regulated because the service they provide impacts the health, safety, or welfare of Hawaii’s consumers.

RICO receives complaints, reports and tips of inappropriate or illegal conduct that are then screened, reviewed or investigated by RICO staff.  If warranted by good evidence, complaints can be referred for formal prosecution consideration, by RICO’s legal team.  Many complaints end informally, such as with an educational contact that help to rehabilitate or encourage businesses to operate legitimately.  Formal prosecutions can include citing or suing persons who perform regulated work without being licensed, and, asking a licensing board to impose sanctions when it can be proven legally that the licensee’s conduct fell below the regulatory standards. Please remember to read the FAQs, too, for information about the RICO process.

As of 2025, RICO’s authority covered 52 separate industries consisting of approximately 170,000 licensees.  With this many licensees, and persons engaging in unlawful, unlicensed services too, the sheer number of complaints, reports and tips received annually by RICO means that not all cases will be referred for investigation or prosecution, which means enforcement action is not guaranteed.  Consumers are therefore encouraged to seek other forms of dispute resolution and private relief also.

Educational information and resources are available on our site too so consumers can make informed decisions about the person or business they are thinking of hiring in a regulated-industry. RICO is hopeful that the same information will discourage unlicensed work and motivate interested and skilled persons to invest in the steps needed to get a professional or vocational license.  Finally, some of the information on the site is meant to assist hardworking and legitimate licensees with remaining in compliance with the licensing laws.

Last, but not least, RICO is responsible for administering the State Certified Arbitration Program (SCAP), which is commonly known as the “Lemon Law Program.”  Lemon law cases are warranty claims that consumers file against car manufacturers for allegedly serious defects with their newly-purchased cars.  RICO has strived to make the SCAP process less intimidating and more convenient by, for example, allowing the submission of information electronically and having the option to hold hearings remotely to better accommodate the parties involved.

Esther Brown, Complaints and Enforcement Officer