Contractor licence for tree work in Hawaii: the C-27b classification, experience, exams and renewal
Hawaii licenses tree trimming and removal as a specialty contractor classification, C-27b. This page restates the classification text from the Contractors License Board and the board's rules on experience, examinations and renewal.
Checked against the sources at the bottom of this page on October 9, 2026. Rules, fees and pay change: the source has the last word.
This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. It describes the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA) Contractors License Board position as read on October 9, 2026 in the board's Description of Contractor License Classifications and in Hawaii Administrative Rules (HAR) Title 16 chapter 77, Contractors, with the board's page for its licensing laws and rules. Hawaii calls the credential a contractor's license and groups it by classification. A short phrase in quotation marks is the source's own.
The tree classifications
HAR section 16-77-28 sorts every licensee into one or more classifications: A for a general engineering contractor, B for a general building contractor and C for a specialty contractor. Tree work sits in the C group. The board's classification description gives two entries that name trees.
| Classification | What the board's description says |
|---|---|
| C-27b Tree trimming and removal contractor | "To prune, trim, and remove trees, including stumps," and restore the ground to a condition similar to the adjacent area. The entry says this does not include the relocation and planting of field grown trees |
| C-27 Landscaping contractor | Prepares plots for architectural horticulture and provides tree trimming, decorative treatment and arrangement of gardens, lawns, shrubs, vines, bushes, trees and other decorative vegetation, plus conservatories, drainage and sprinkler systems, ornamental pools, walls, fences and walks |
The rules say the board may, after a hearing, establish, modify or delete classifications based on established usage in the construction industry. Section 16-77-34 defines incidental and supplemental work as work in other trades directly related to and necessary for completing the project undertaken under the scope of the licence.
Experience and examinations
Section 16-77-18 says every individual applicant, or the responsible managing employee (RME) of a contracting entity, must have had, within the ten years before applying, at least four years of supervisory experience, as a foreman, a supervising employee or a contractor, in the classification sought. It adds that self-employed or unlicensed experience may be accepted at the board's discretion. Under section 16-77-35, a licensee adding a classification files an application, pays the fees, meets the experience requirement for that classification and passes the part II examination.
Every applicant takes two written examinations. Part I tests general knowledge of State law on building, safety, health, labor and liens, and of basic business administration for contractors. Part II tests specialised knowledge in the classification applied for, such as C-27b. Section 16-77-41 says an examination is not required when the applicant qualified by written examination in the same classification within the four years before applying, or within four years of the date last licensed in good standing or inactive.
Fees and renewal
Section 16-77-12 says an application comes with the fees in chapter 16-53 and a contractors education fund fee of US$10. The application fee itself is set in chapter 16-53. Licences are renewed in every even-numbered year. The board mails a renewal notice before August 15 and the renewal application, documents and fees are due on or before September 30 of that year. Section 16-77-54 adds a contractors education fund fee of US$5 and a contractors recovery fund fee of US$10 to the renewal fees in chapter 16-53.
The board's page lists a request for a licence verification. The statute chapter named for contractors is HRS chapter 444. How other states handle tree work through contractor boards is on the contractor licences overview, and where a licence can be looked up is on the page about checking a tree company.
Sources
- Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Description of Contractor License Classifications, read October 9, 2026
- Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Hawaii Administrative Rules Title 16 chapter 77 Contractors, read October 9, 2026
- Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Contractors License Board statute and rule chapters, read October 9, 2026
- Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Contractors License Board, read October 9, 2026