How to Incorporate in Hawaii

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Incorporating in Hawaii is relatively easy.  This article should give you resources to understand how the incorporation process works in Hawaii, and to use the legal forms from the Hawaii Secretary of State to incorporate in Hawaii.


While not required, it is advised that you reserve your business name before submitting any incorporation forms. To do this in Hawaii, you can research existing registered names through the Department of Commerce & Consumer Affairs registry of existing names. It is open to inspection by the public. Once you find out if your name is available, you can fill out form X-1 (http://hawaii.gov/dcca/breg/registration/forms/x-1-pdf.pdf) and submit the completed form with your $10 filing fee to reserve the name for a period of 120 days.


Hawaii offers two convenient ways to incorporate - via mail or online.


To register a Domestic Profit Corporation in Hawaii via mail, you must fill out the Articles of Incorporation Form DC-1 (http://hawaii.gov/dcca/breg/registration/forms/dc-1-pdf.pdf) and submit with the $50.00 filing fee to: P.O. Box 40, Honolulu, Hawaii 96801. For an addition $25.00 you can have an expedited review of your forms. Checks should be made payable to Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs. The Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs has provided an easy-to-follow instruction for about filling out form DC-1 available here: http://hawaii.gov/dcca/breg/registration/forms/dc-1-instr-pdf.pdf.


To file online, simply visit Online Business Registration Business Express where you can create an online account and follow their simple interface to registered your business online.


There are many companies that offer the service of filing these articles on your behalf, such as FileOnline  or LegalZoom.