Generally, anyone wishing to acquire a firearm must obtain a permit.¹ In 2017, Hawaii enacted a law that requires the chief of police who is responsible for issuing permits to report applicants who fail a background check to law enforcement and other agencies.²

As of January 1, 2024, to be eligible for a permit to acquire a firearm, an individual must:³

• Be a citizen, national, or lawful permanent resident of the United States of the age of 21 years or more;
• Not be prohibited from firearms purchase or possession under state or federal law;
• Not be a person for whom issuance of a permit would not be in the interest of public health, safety, or welfare because the person lacks the essential character or temperament necessary to be entrusted with a firearm.
  • In determining whether a person lacks the essential character or temperament necessary to be entrusted with a firearm, the issuing authority shall consider whether the person poses a danger of causing a self-inflicted bodily injury or unlawful injury to another person, as evidenced by:
    • Information from a health care provider indicating that the person has had suicidal or homicidal thoughts or tendencies within the preceding five years;
    • Statements or actions by the person indicating any dangerous propensity or violent animus toward one or more individuals or groups, including groups based on race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, or any other characteristic, and the propensity or animus is of a nature or to an extent that would objectively indicate to a reasonable observer that it would not be in the interest of the public health, safety, or welfare for the person to own, possess, or control a firearm or ammunition; or
    • Other information that would lead a reasonable, objective observer to conclude that the person presents or would present a danger to the community as a result of acquiring or possessing a firearm or intends or is likely to use a firearm for an unlawful purpose or in an unlawful manner.

No person shall be issued a permit unless the person, within the four years before the issuance of the permit, has completed:

• An approved hunter education course unless the applicant seeks to acquire a handgun, in which case the applicant shall complete a training course that is:
  • A firearms safety or training course or class available to the general public offered by a law enforcement agency;
  • A firearms safety or training course offered to law enforcement officers, security guards, investigators, deputy sheriffs, or any division or subdivision of law enforcement or security enforcement by a state or county law enforcement agency; or
  • A firearms training or safety course or class conducted by a firearms instructor certified or verified by the chief of police of the respective county or a designee of the chief of police or certified by a nongovernmental organization approved for such purposes by the chief of police of the respective county or a designee of the chief of police, or conducted by a certified military firearms instructor; provided that the firearms training or safety course or class provides, at a minimum, a total of at least two hours of firing training at a firing range and a total of at least four hours of classroom instruction, which may include a video, that focuses on:
    • The safe use, handling, and storage of firearms and firearm safety in the home, as well as a component on mental health, suicide prevention, and domestic violence issues associated with firearms and firearm violence; and
    • Education on the firearm laws of the state.

In addition to identifying demographic information, the permit application form shall include information regarding the applicant’s mental health history and shall require the fingerprinting and photographing of the applicant by the police department of the county of registration.⁴

An applicant for a permit must sign a waiver at the time of the application allowing the chief of police of the county issuing the permit access to any records that have a bearing on the mental health of the applicant.⁵

Permits to acquire a handgun require a separate application and permit for each transaction, and are void if not used within ten days after the date of issue.⁶ Permits to acquire a rifle or shotgun entitle the permittee to make subsequent purchases of rifles or shotguns for a period of one year from the date of issue without a separate application and permit for each acquisition, subject to the disqualifications under state law.⁷

One copy of the permit must be retained by the issuing authority as a permanent official record.⁸

No permit to acquire a firearm shall be issued earlier than 14 calendar days after the date of the application, except for sales to state or federally licensed dealers, law enforcement officers, persons with a license to carry a handgun, or where a firearm is registered pursuant to state law.⁹ See the Hawaii Registration of Firearms section for additional information. All permits must be issued or the application denied before the 20th day from the date of application.¹⁰

State law provides that:

• In all cases where a handgun is acquired from another person within the state, the buyer’s permit to acquire a handgun must be signed in ink by the buyer and delivered to the seller. The seller must verify that the buyer is the person named in the permit and enter on the permit: 1) the name of the person to whom the title to the handgun was transferred; 2) names of the manufacturer and importer; 3) the model; 4) the type of action; 5) the caliber or gauge; and 6) the serial number as applicable. The seller must then sign the permit in ink and send it by registered mail to the issuing authority within 48 hours after transferring the firearm.
• In all cases where receipt of a firearm comes by mail, express, freight, or otherwise from sources outside Hawaii, the buyer shall make the prescribed entries on the permit, sign the permit in ink, and send it by registered mail to the issuing authority within 48 hours after taking possession of the firearm.
• In all cases where a rifle or shotgun is acquired from another person within the state, the seller must submit, within 48 hours after transferring the firearm, to the authority which issued the permit to acquire: 1) the seller’s name; 2) the buyer’s name; 3) names of the manufacturer and importer; 4) the model; 5) the type of action; 6) the caliber or gauge; and 7) serial number.¹¹ Permits to acquire may be revoked for good cause by the issuing authority or by the judge of any court.¹²

Permits to acquire are exempt from the requirements of the Brady Act. Under federal law, persons who have been issued state permits to purchase or possess firearms are exempt from background checks if those permits were issued: 1) within the previous five years in the state in which the transfer is to take place; and 2) after an authorized government official has conducted a background investigation, including a search of the NICS database, to verify that possession of a firearm would not be unlawful.¹³ Consult the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) chart outlining those permits that qualify as alternatives to the Brady Act. Please note that ATF’s exempt status determination is subject to change without notice.

In 2016, Hawaii enacted a law authorizing county police departments to enroll firearms permit applicants into the federal Rap Back service. The FBI defines the Rap Back service as a service that “allows authorized agencies to receive notification of activity on individuals who hold positions of trust (e.g. school teachers, daycare workers) or who are under criminal justice supervision or investigation, thus eliminating the need for repeated background checks on a person from the same applicant agency.”¹⁴

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1. Haw. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 134-2(a).[↩]
2. Id. at 2(j).[↩]
3. Haw. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 134-2.[↩]
4. Haw. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 134-2(b).[↩]
5. Haw. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 134-2(c).[↩]
6. Haw. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 134-2(e).[↩]
7. Haw. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 134-2(e); See also, Haw. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 134-7.[↩]
8. Haw. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 134-2(e).[↩]
9. Haw. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 134-3(a), 134-2(e).[↩]
10. Id.[↩]
11. Haw. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 134-2(f).[↩]
12. Haw. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 134-13.[↩]
13. 18 U.S.C. § 922(t)(3), 27 C.F.R. § 478.102(d).[↩]
14. Haw. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 134-2, 3; 846-2.7(b)(42.[↩]