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Hawaii driver's license

Get your first license in Hawaii after moving to the US.

How it goes

  1. 1
    You arriveYou have moved to Hawaii and you want to drive here.
  2. 2
    Your permitYou practice on the road with a learner permit.
  3. 3
    The written testYou take the written test.
  4. 4
    Behind the wheelYou take the drive test behind the wheel.
  5. Your licenseYou pass the tests, and the license is yours.

What it costs

A first license

A limited-purpose licence or permit costs the same as the corresponding regular licence or permit — no separate dollar amount is set for it.

  • For a Class 1, 2, 3 or 4 licence: $70 for a seven-year term, $60 for six years, or $50 for five years.

  • For a Class 1, 2, 3 or 4 licence, shorter terms cost $30 for three years and $10 for one year; drivers 80 or older pay $20 for a two-year licence.

You pay this when you apply.

If you just arrived in the US

Your immigration status

Hawaii offers a limited-purpose instruction permit, provisional licence and driver's licence that require no documentary proof of legal presence and no proof of a Social Security number.

Foreign documents with no expiry date

Hawaii waives the examination for holders of a licence from any other US state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, or a province of Canada. Holders of a licence from the same places, plus the US Virgin Islands, are exempt from holding a Hawaii licence at all.

Documents you need

  • Documents that are still validEvery document you present as proof must be an unexpired, valid original or a certified copy. Notarized copies and faxes are not accepted.

Your Social Security Number

Giving your number, and who may see it

If you are eligible for a Social Security number, you must state it on the application, along with your residence address and any business address.

  • If you apply for a limited-purpose licence, the examiner cannot require you to give any information about whether you are eligible for a Social Security number.

  • The examiner cannot put your Social Security number on the licence it issues or renews. This rule covers the card itself, not whether the number is collected.

Tests you take

Eye test

Every applicant's eyesight is tested, the examiner can add any further physical examination they find necessary to judge your fitness to drive, and a vision test is required again at renewal. Eye defects must be corrected before the test — glasses or contact lenses must be worn, not left at home — and Hawaii publishes no acuity standard such as a 20/40 figure.

Drive test

For a motorcycle, motor scooter or moped, you take a special written exam on rules of the road, highway signs and safe driving, plus an off-road skills test — not the ordinary knowledge test and not the on-road driving test.

  • A licence is issued when you pay the required fee and show the examiner of drivers, to their satisfaction, that you can operate the category of vehicle you are applying for.

Tries you get on the written test

In Honolulu you must wait seven days after failing the test, and each attempt costs the full $12 fee — a failed attempt is not refunded. There is no limit on attempts, but no more than two in one day.

  • After a failed knowledge test there is a mandatory wait of at least one week, and you must be allowed to retest within thirty days. This rule applies statewide and sets no cap on the number of attempts.

Practice questions for the written test

Changes to rules or laws are made between printings of the driver's manual, so a printed copy can be out of date. The store-sold edition was printed in May 2023 and has a $7.49 cover price.

  • The Hawaii Driver's Manual, Motorcycle Manual and CDL Manual come from the state Motor Vehicle Safety Office at hidot.hawaii.gov/highways/library/motor-vehicle-safety-office. The same manuals apply statewide, even though each county runs its own testing.

Practising with your permit

Who can sit with you while you practise

The licensed person must occupy a passenger seat beside you the whole time the vehicle is being operated.

  • Your supervising driver must be at least twenty-one years old and licensed for the category of vehicle you are driving.

  • Supervision is required at every age — an adult practising alone on a permit is breaking the rule. Except on a motorcycle or motor scooter, the person beside you must be 21 or older and licensed for the same category of vehicle.

  • The supervisor must be at least 21 and licensed to drive that type of vehicle, and in everything except a motorcycle they must sit in the right front seat. This applies to adult permit holders too; you must be at least 15½ to get an instruction permit.

What to bring to the drive test

Who comes with you

A licensed driver must come with you to the testing station — on an instruction permit you cannot lawfully drive yourself there without that supervising driver.

  • The licensed driver who brings you cannot ride along: no passengers are allowed in the car during the test, so they wait at the station.

  • A licensed driver must come with you to the testing station, and you must provide a vehicle in safe operating condition. No passengers are allowed during the test.

  • The rule requires only "a licensed driver" to come with you — it sets no minimum age, licence class or relationship for that person. That is unlike the supervision rule for practising on a permit, which does require someone 21 or older.

The car and its insurance

If no valid insurance identification card is displayed for the car, the examiner will not issue you a licence.

  • You provide the test vehicle yourself. It must be in safe operating condition, with current registration, a current safety inspection certificate and an insurance identification card, and every safety defect must be corrected before the test.

  • An autocycle cannot be used for the category 3 performance test, even though a category 3 licence lets you drive one. If an autocycle is your only vehicle, you need to borrow or rent another one for the test.

  • The car you bring must have current registration, a current safety inspection certificate and an insurance identification card, with every safety defect fixed before the test. The safety inspection certificate is a sticker from an authorized garage, so a car newly shipped from the mainland needs that inspection done before it can be used for the test.

  • Four things must be true of the car, which you supply: safe operating condition, current registration, a current safety inspection certificate and an insurance identification card. The safety inspection is the item that catches arrivals from other states, and a licensed driver must also come with you — so without a car and a driver to borrow, you cannot sit the test.

  • During the driving demonstration you must produce and display a valid motor-vehicle or liability-insurance identification card for the test car.

Where to go

Who gives the tests

Each county's chief executive appoints its own examiners of drivers — competent drivers who live in that county. These examiners judge the qualifications and fitness of both first-time and renewing applicants.

Booking an appointment

In Honolulu, road tests are booked at www12.honolulu.gov/csdarts/frmApptInt.aspx; other transactions go through the AlohaQ system at alohaq.honolulu.gov.

Office locations

You can find county DMV offices and their contact information at hidot.hawaii.gov/driverslicense.

Other states

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Every source, quoted33 sources

Every fact on this page is quoted from the page that publishes it, in the words it uses.

Applying for a driver's license in Hawaii?

Answer a few questions and see the steps that apply to you.

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