Department of Public Works — Building Division
- Phone
- (808) 961-8321
- Hours
- Monday through Friday, 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Hawaii
Hilo (Hawaii County), HI permit fees and requirements
Hawai'i County prices building permits from the valuation of work on a five-band chained ladder (HCC § 5-7-3):
$10.00 to $500 of valuation, then $1.50 per $100 to $2,000, $7.50 per $1,000 to $25,000, $6 per $1,000 to $50,000, and $3 per $1,000 above — with plan review at 20% of the permit fee.
Permit costs we have worked out
Each page shows the fee components, the formula the jurisdiction uses, and a worked example you can follow by hand.
Estimate your potential Hilo (Hawaii County) permit fee with our Building Permit Fee Calculator.
| Permit | Category | Last reviewed |
|---|---|---|
| Hilo building permit fees | structural | 2026-09-26 |
Local context
What is specific to Hilo (Hawaii County)
Hilo is the county seat, and the county is the permitting jurisdiction: the Department of Public Works' Building Division at the Aupuni Center issues permits island-wide under Hawai'i County Code § 5-7-3. The county's ladder is the textbook kind this dataset keeps meeting: five marginal bands whose bases chain to the dollar. $10.00 covers the first $500; $1.50 per additional $100 (or fraction) reaches exactly $32.50 at $2,000; $7.50 per additional $1,000 reaches exactly $205.00 at $25,000; $6.00 per additional $1,000 reaches exactly $355.00 at $50,000; and $3.00 per additional $1,000 or fraction runs above with no limit.
Every band prints 'or fraction thereof', so partial blocks price as whole ones — $10,100 of valuation buys 9 whole thousands above the first $2,000. Plan review rides on top at 20% of the permit fee, per the county's own fee documents (council committee record COM 0734.001 quotes 'Plan Review Fees 20% of Permit Fee with a min.').
A $50,000 home prices $355.00 of permit fee plus $71.00 of review at 20% — $426.00 all in. A $150,000 home prices $355.00 + 100 x $3.00 = $655.00 of permit, $786.00 with review.
Valuation
How valuation is determined here
The valuation of the work read against the § 5-7-3 ladder: $10.00 to $500, then marginal per-$100/per-$1,000 rates on the amount within each band ($1.50/$100 to $2,000, $7.50/$1,000 to $25,000, $6/$1,000 to $50,000, $3/$1,000 above), with every partial block rounded up.
Who to contact
The office that issues the permit, with the details we have verified. Confirm current hours before travelling.
What these fees do not include
The list is not a disclaimer: on a new house the fees left out can outweigh the permit fee several times over. Every entry here is stated on the permit page as well.
Not included in our estimates
These figures are the County of Hawai'i's building permit fees under HCC § 5-7-3. They exclude:
- Trade permits — electrical, plumbing and building-mechanical permits carry their own county fee rows, not modelled here.
- The plan-review minimum the county's fee documents print beside the 20% — the percentage is modelled, the printed floor is named rather than guessed.
- Impact fees, wastewater connection and subdivision charges — separate county processes.
- State of Hawaii fees, which are not part of the county schedule.
Official sources for this jurisdiction
The documents these figures are transcribed from. Where a source contradicts itself we keep both readings and say so on the permit page.
- Municipal codeCountyPrimary source
Hawai'i County Code § 5-7-3 — Building permit fees
Read 2026-09-26 via two agreeing transcriptions of § 5-7-3: the County's own 'Guidelines for Permitting a Residential Photovoltaic (PV) System' (records.hawaiicounty.gov edoc 76875, quoting the schedule's opening rows) and the Grassroot Institute's October 2024 permitting report (Table 6, sourced 'Section 5-7-3. Permit, Hawai'i County Code, accessed Oct. 1, 2024'). The schedule: $10 to $500; $10 + $1.50 per $100 or fraction to $2,000; $32.50 + $7.50 per $1,000 or fraction to $25,000; $205 + $6 per $1,000 or fraction to $50,000; $355 + $3 per $1,000 or fraction above. Every band base chains exactly ($32.50, $205.00, $355.00), confirming the marginal reading. The County's WebLink host itself was unreachable (HTTP 000) from this environment.
- Official documentCountyPrimary source
Hawai'i County council committee record COM 0734.001 (2024-2026)
Quotes 'Building Permits: Plan Review Fees 20% of Permit Fee with a min.' — the county's plan-review practice, modelled as a 20% component on the permit fee.
- Official documentAuthority
Seven Low-Cost Ways to Speed Up Permitting in Hawaii (Grassroot Institute, Oct 2024)
Table 6 prints the full § 5-7-3 schedule; used as the second transcription that agrees with the County's own document row for row.