Hawaii Certificate of Good Standing Overview

Certificate of Good Standing Hawaii refers to a legal document sometimes known as the Certificate of Existence, Certificate of Status, or Certificate of Fact that offers formal proof that a business is authorized to do business in the state of Hawaii. This certificate is most commonly used during the qualification process for foreign (out-of-state) businesses or during business-to-business transactions. It can be presented to vendors, licensing agencies, banks, or other entities to prove that a business has met all the requirements to operate in the state.

If your business has been designated as having good standing, then that usually means it has:

  • Successfully registered to be a corporation, LLC, or other business entity in the state.
  • Filed its required annual reports.
  • Paid its franchise taxes and any other state fees that were due.

Requiring a Certificate of Good Standing is normal for the conduction of some business processes. It is often needed when businesses expand into legal jurisdictions beyond which they are currently operating in. Other times, other entities will just want to know who they are dealing with.

Ordering a Hawaii Certificate of Good Standing

There are a variety of ways to order a Certificate of Good Standing in Hawaii, and these are by phone, fax, mail, e-mail, in-person request, or through an online form. The acquiring process for each method is as follows:

  • Online. Ordering online by form can be done through the Business Registration Division website, which will provide instructions for sign up, searching, ordering, and printing. Once the process is completed, the document will be e-mailed to you in PDF format, or you can request it in paper form.
  • Phone. When ordering by phone, you will want to have your credit card number ready for making your request. The phone number is (808)-586-2727.
  • In-person. You will want to bring your credit card with you to pay for the request in-office. If you make such a request before 4:00 p.m., you should have your certificate the same day.
  • E-mail. If you order by e-mail, you should provide your business’s name, the name of the document you are requesting, your credit card number, and a daytime phone number. The email address is [email protected].
  • Fax. You will want to provide the same information as required through email, though on a normal fax cover sheet. The fax number is (808)-586-2733.
  • Mail. This will require the same information as an e-mail request. The address for mail orders is either of the following:

Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs

Business Registration Division

801 Capitol Way South

PO Box 40

Honolulu, HI 96810

or:

King Kalakaua Building

335 Merchant Street, Rm. 201

Honolulu, HI 96813

Processing time for all orders is as follows:

  • Online: immediate
  • In-person: around 15 minutes
  • Over-the-phone, by fax, or any paper document request: up to five days, plus shipping time (and with a $7.50 processing fee)

If ordered by mail, the certificate will be sent by regular mail, unless a specific request is made otherwise. Return service by fax can be requested. The filing fee for all orders is $5.

Ordering a Certificate of Good Standing for Another Business

In addition to ordering a Hawaii Certificate of Good Standing for yourself, you may also do so for another business in order to see if they are considered to be in good standing in the state. To make this order, these steps should be followed at the Certificate of Good Standing search page:

  1. Log in to your account. Once login is done, navigate to the Certificate of Good Standing search webpage. Once there, type in the name of the business you would like to find a certificate for.
  2. Search through the results. Depending on your search terms, the list may be long or short. Once you find the business you are searching for, click on it.
  3. Choose your format. Upon clicking on the name, you will be brought to a page where you can order a digital certificate in PDF form or have a print certificate sent to you. You can then add your selection to your cart and check out.
  4. Order. Last of all, you will come to a checkout page. There you will have to enter your name, e-mail address, payment type, and credit card information if ordering through credit card (if you have a subscription through the government website, this will not be necessary). Once this is done, the certificate will be sent to you.

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