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Crane operator rules in Hawaii

What the Hawaii Occupational Safety and Health Division says about the repeal of the state hoisting machine operator board, and what the board's own report to the Legislature said about its rules before the repeal.

Checked against the sources at the bottom of this page on October 8, 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. The sources are the Hawaii Occupational Safety and Health Division (HIOSH), part of the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, and the report that the Hoisting Machine Operators Advisory Board (HMOAB) sent to the Legislature. The national background is on the parent page, cranes in tree work.

The repeal

HIOSH published a notice on July 20, 2026 headed "HMOAB Repeal and Deadlines". It says Act 41, signed by the Governor, repeals the HMOAB and its statutory authority as of July 1, 2026, and that this means state certification is no longer required to operate cranes for construction in Hawaii. The notice says HIOSH continues to enforce federal OSHA requirements for crane operations in construction and general industry. It sets two dates: HIOSH stops accepting submissions, information or inquiries about the board effective September 1, 2026, and all board-related inquiries had to be received by Friday, August 28, 2026. See the HIOSH repeal notice.

The HIOSH permits and certifications page still carries a heading for Hoisting Machine Operators (Cranes) in its list, next to boilers, elevators and amusement rides. The page text read does not explain the heading.

The Montana Department of Labor and Industry summary of state crane licensing names Hawaii among the states with their own crane or hoisting operator licence rules. That summary does not mention the repeal, which the Hawaii notice dated July 20, 2026 states.

What the state certification covered

These points come from the board's December 2016 report to the 2017 Legislature, written under Act 73 of 2016. They describe the rules as they stood in that report, not the rules after the repeal.

  • The board was attached to the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. Since 1998 its jurisdiction involved construction tower and crane operators who operate hoisting machines with a lifting capacity of one ton or more. The rules were Chapter 48 of Title 12 of the Hawaii Administrative Rules.
  • The report says federal OSHA's crane and derrick rules apply to construction only, and that the board covered only operators of construction crane and tower machines of one ton or more under ASME B30.5 and B30.3.
  • Crane types listed as covered were large telescopic boom cranes, small telescopic boom cranes, lattice boom crawler cranes, lattice boom trucks, tower cranes, overhead cranes, service truck cranes and fixed cab boom trucks. The report does not say whether tree-service knuckleboom cranes were covered.
  • Of the four methods OSHA recognizes, the board accepted only certification by an accredited testing organization. It recognized certificates from four organizations: the National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators, Crane Institute Certification, the National Center for Construction Education and Research and the Operating Engineers Certification Program.
  • The board required a current physical examination, ran a criminal history record check on applications, and set the minimum age at 21 at the time of application.

Fees in the 2016 report

The report gives the fee structure then in place: a US$50 application fee for new applicants plus US$100 for each year of certification, up to a maximum of five years or the balance of the national certification. Renewal was US$100 a year on the same limits, and an application for renewal sent more than ninety days after expiry was treated as new and carried the US$50 fee. Replacement cards were issued at no cost. The report says 408 operators were certified in the 2014-15 fiscal year and 369 in 2015-16. These fees no longer apply to a board that has been repealed.

Where federal rules stand

With the board gone, the HIOSH notice points to federal OSHA. OSHA's construction crane rule lists tree trimming and tree removal among the work it does not cover, and the general industry crane standard has no operator card rule. Both points are set out with their sources on the parent page.

Sources