Persons engaged in the business of selling or manufacturing firearms, either at wholesale or retail, must be licensed by the state annually.¹ A dealer license expires on the next June 30 following the date of issuance.²

All firearms in the possession and control of a firearms dealer, or registered by the dealer pursuant to state law,³ are subject to physical inspection by the chief of police of each county during normal business hours.⁴ During a national emergency, a dealer license may be revoked or suspended and all firearms in the licensee’s possession may be seized and held in possession by the state.⁵ A dealer license may be revoked for a dealer’s:

• Failure to comply with all laws relating to the sale of firearms;
• Failure to comply with the seizure of the dealer’s firearms by the Governor during a time of national emergency;
• Failure to comply with physical inspection of the dealer’s firearms by the Chief of Police during normal business hours.⁶

Pursuant to the Brady Act, federally licensed firearms dealers must conduct background checks on prospective purchasers each time the dealer transfers a firearm. See the Hawaii Background Checks section.

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1. Haw. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 134-31.[↩]
2. Id.[↩]
3. Haw. Rev. Stat. Ann § 134-3(c).[↩]
4. Haw. Stat. Ann. § 134-32(4).[↩]
5. Haw. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 134-32(2), (3).[↩]
6. Haw. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 134-32.[↩]