It is not possible to make a UTV street legal through any of the Hawaii DMVs. Additionally, you cannot drive an imported UTV with an existing out-of-state street legal registration in Hawaii for more than 30 days.

Whether you are a Hawaiian resident looking to get street legal or a mainlander looking to drive your street legal UTV in Hawaii, this guide details the challenges you will face in trying to drive a UTV legally in Hawaii. We will also explore ways that regular enthusiasts can use OHVs off-road in Hawaii and times when farmers, agricultural workers, and government agents can use OHVs on public roads in limited circumstances.

Our research was informed by official resources linked in the Laws, Codes, and Other Resources section below along with firsthand accounts from Hawaiian DMV agents. To be clear, we have never tried to import a UTV to Hawaii with an out-of-state registration or tried to get a new out-of-state registration for a vehicle already located in Hawaii. If you have, please contact us and share your experiences to help improve this guide for others.

Regardless of your situation, we advise against using our Street Legal UTV Registration Services or trying to obtain an out-of-state registration if your intent is to drive in Hawaii. Driving any UTV or other off-highway vehicle on public roads in Hawaii is done at the operator’s discretion regardless of how and where it is registered. With that said, our service will still make your UTV street legal throughout the mainland. Click below to learn more.

Some local areas might be more accepting, but this guide focuses on what is legally permissible. Though we have made our best effort to include all relevant details, something we did not cover might apply to your situation. We are enthusiasts, not attorneys. This is not legal advice.

Why Hawaii Can’t Register UTVs as Street Legal

Hawaii is one of very few places in the country where street legal UTVs are at odds with local laws. As an island state with limited access, Hawaii can tightly control how and when vehicles registered elsewhere can be driven on their roads. If a vehicle registered in another state spends more than 30 days in Hawaii, the owner must either transfer the registration and license plates to Hawaii or apply for a Hawaii Out-of-State Vehicle Permit. Both options require the vehicle to pass a Hawaii Motor Vehicle Safety Inspection, something a UTV is highly unlikely to do without extensive modifications.

Let’s start by looking at the two ways a street legal UTV could end up in Hawaii.

Getting a street legal UTV to Hawaii

The 30-day window begins when the vehicle arrives in Hawaii, not when the owner arrives, since it is based on a bill of lading or shipping receipt indicating the vehicle’s arrival date. This presents an issue for anyone looking to make a UTV street legal in Hawaii when the vehicle is already there. While it is possible to register a UTV as street legal in states like Montana and South Dakota that do not require the owner or the vehicle to be physically present to register there, meaning you can obtain a registration digitally from anywhere, doing so would not produce a shipping receipt so there would be no valid start date for the 30-day window. The vehicle would just suddenly appear in Hawaii with an out-of-state plate.

The alternative would be to import a UTV into Hawaii with an active street legal registration and license plate from another state. Going that route would produce the required shipping receipt, but at the end of the 30-day window you would still need to pass a Hawaii safety inspection.

There is no choice but to take action within the first 30 days and that means passing a Hawaii safety inspection. But does that mean you get 30 days of driving without worries? What’s the next step after the inspection? And what if you ignore the 30-day window and keep driving?

Effects of the 30-day inspection window

So, what happens if you exceed the 30-day window? Doing so can result in fines, tickets, and impounding. Given that we’re talking about a small landmass, it wouldn’t take long for local law enforcement to notice the same vehicle twice, especially a street legal UTV with out-of-state plates.

What’s more, although the law seems to allow a person to legally drive in Hawaii for 30 days without passing a safety inspection, the real world seems to disagree. When we called the Hawaii DMV, we were informed that local police have been known to require every vehicle to have a passing Hawaii safety inspection even if the vehicle is only in Hawaii temporarily during the 30-day window. The DMV advised us that anyone driving on public roads in Hawaii without passing a Hawaii safety inspection would be risking tickets and fines.

In short, even driving around during the first 30 days could be risky. You would be drawing massive amounts of attention to yourself in a vehicle that most likely wouldn’t pass a Hawaii safety inspection. And if you wanted to keep driving for longer than 30 days, passing an inspection would be your only option.

Passing a Hawaii safety inspection

Hawaii’s vehicle inspection requirements include stipulations for every component group from lighting to brakes as you might expect from an inspection designed for cars, trucks, and SUVs. This immediately presents a problem for UTVs and other off-highway vehicles, even those registered legally in other states, since the equipment required to become street legal through states like Montana and South Dakota is far less than what Hawaii requires.

Specifically, many structural aspects of a UTV are not easily modified to pass a Hawaii motor vehicle inspection:

• Bumpers cannot be higher than 22” and must meet other state standards

• Doors must be installed

• Fenders must cover the width of the tire tread

• Headlight height must be between 22” and 54”

• Lights and reflectors must meet federal safety standards

• Odometer must be installed and functional

• Seat belts must meet safety standards and be anchored to their original unmodified positions

• Tires must be DOT approved and cannot rub anywhere

• Tread must be of a roadgoing design

• Wheel bearings must have no play (0.005” if adjustable)

• Windows and windshields must meet ANSI, SAE, or federal standards

• Windshield wipers and washing system must be fitted

What if you passed the inspection?

Let’s assume that somehow your street legal UTV passed a Hawaii safety inspection, which is highly unlikely. You would then have two choices: get an Out-of-State Vehicle Permit or skip straight to transferring the vehicle’s registration to Hawaii. Both options present new roadblocks.

A Hawaii Out-of-State Vehicle Permit allows a vehicle to drive on out-of-state plates in Hawaii for up to 12 months. The corresponding decal placed on the vehicle bears the words “VEHICLE PERMIT” along with the expiration date so local law enforcement can differentiate permitted vehicles from those within the 30-day window.

Getting a Vehicle Permit differs slightly depending on county and vehicle type, but generally several documents must be furnished including a passing Hawaii safety inspection receipt and a bill of lading or shipping receipt showing the exact date the vehicle arrived in Hawaii. Again, this presents a unique roadblock for a Hawaii resident registering a street legal UTV that’s already in Hawaii.

Hawaii Out-of-State Vehicle Permits expire after 12 months or when the vehicle’s out-of-state registration expires, whichever comes first, and cannot be renewed. Once that happens, the only way to continue driving is to transfer the vehicle’s registration to Hawaii. If a person continued driving on an expired permit (or an expired out-of-state registration), there would be a high risk of tickets, fines, and impounding.

States like Montana and South Dakota have registration categories that specifically allow UTVs and other off-highway vehicles to become street legal. Montana has Autocycles, South Dakota has Four-Wheel Motorcycles, but Hawaii has nothing of the sort. Autocycles in Hawaii must have three wheels, motorcycles cannot have more than three wheels, and there are no other categories conducive to registering a UTV as street legal. This would likely result in a vehicle type mismatch wherein Hawaii would be unable to accept the vehicle’s registration.

What is the best possible outcome?

When it comes to making a UTV street legal in Hawaii, the best possible outcome is driving around for a maximum of 30 days. During that time, local law enforcement would be well aware of the vehicle thanks to the out-of-state plate and the fact that it’s a UTV, and they might insist that you get a safety inspection earlier than 30 days.

Even if you installed street legal parts, given Hawaii’s approach to off-highway vehicles as described in a later section below, the inspection facility would most likely refuse to pass your UTV. And even if it did pass, when it came time to transfer the registration to Hawaii the DMV would likely be unable to do that since there isn’t a fitting category to register a UTV under.

All told, it’s probably not going to work unless you only want to drive around for a couple weeks, and even that seems like a risk. If you are a mainlander and want to spend 30 days or less driving your street legal UTV in Hawaii, we suggest calling ahead to local authorities and explaining your situation, but be prepared to be told no.

Driving in Hawaiian OHV Areas

Registration

Hawaii does not require a state-level registration to operate in OHV areas, public lands, and similar spaces. According to the Hawaii Division of Forestry and Wildlife OHV Guide, UTVs and other OHVs with valid permits can be driven on established forest roads in the Upper Waiākea ATV and Dirt Bike Park and certain roads within the Mauna Kea ATV and Dirt Bike Riding Area. To use these roads, you must obtain a Hawaii Recreational OHV Permit by completing the application and liability waiver. Hunters with valid hunting licenses do not need this permit while hunting.

You should not need any state-issued permit to use private property, though individual areas might have their own requirements. Riding on beaches is prohibited unless otherwise stated.

Equipment

UTVs and other off-highway vehicles operated in Hawaii are required to have a Forest Service-qualified spark arrester and a good working muffler with a maximum volume of 98 decibels. Specific areas may require their own permits and equipment, so be sure to call ahead to learn what is required of you and your machine.

UTVs and other off-highway vehicles can only be used on Hawaiian roads for farming, agriculture, or government work. They are restricted to roads with 1 or 2 lanes with speed limits of 35 MPH or less and cannot be driven anywhere in Honolulu County. Driving must happen during daylight, the driver must be licensed, and all occupants must wear DOT helmets.

• OHVs can also be driven on certain forest roads with a valid permit as described in the previous section on OHV areas.

• The Hawaii Disabled Hunter Permit grants qualifying applicants extended permissions for hunting purposes.

Road use requirements

Off-highway vehicles can only be driven on Hawaiian roads when all the following requirements are met:

• OHVs can only be used for agriculture, farming, or official government work

• OHVs can only drive in counties with less than 500,000 residents (anywhere but Honolulu County)

• OHVs can only drive on roads with 1 or 2 lanes and speed limits of 35 MPH or less

• Operation must occur during daylight hours

• Operator must have a valid category 3 driver’s license or CDL

• All occupants must wear DOT helmets

Illegal road use

It has often been reported that anyone can drive an OHV on any 35 MPH two-lane road in Hawaii at any time, but according to Hawaii Statute 286-12 that is not the case.

Following the letter of the law, Hawaii has long been serious about discouraging people from riding off-highway vehicles on public roads. What’s more, the public is encouraged to call local authorities whenever an OHV is sighted on a public road. Violators risk getting their vehicle towed and impounded and incurring steep fines in the process. With that said, searching online reveals many accounts of people who say that rural areas are much more lenient than urban areas, allowing OHVs to drive on roads and even beaches without any issues when done in a responsible manner.

How Hawaii defines a UTV

Hawaiian law defines a Utility-Terrain Vehicle as one which:

1. Is designed to be operated off highway;

2. Is sixty inches or less in width;

3. Has an unladen weight of one thousand three hundred pounds or less;

4. Is suspended on four to six tires;

5. Has a steering wheel for steering control;

6. Is equipped with roll-over protection;

7. Accommodates one driver and one passenger sitting side-by-side; and

8. Is equipped with seat belts for driver and passenger protection.

Smaller vehicles are considered All-Terrain Vehicles for most purposes and follow largely the same rules as UTVs.

For questions outside the scope of this guide, try contacting:

• Hawaii Department of Transportation

• Hawaii Division of Forestry and Wildlife

• Hawaii Division of State Parks

• DMV – Hawaii County

• DMV – Honolulu

• DMV – Kauai

• DMV – Maui

These are the sources we used to create this guide. If you find any inaccurate or outdated information, please contact us and we will be happy to address it.

Regarding street legality

Hawaii Motor Vehicle Safety Inspection Standards (PDF) (Newest version we could find on an official site; equipment requirements begin on page 28)

County of Hawaii Out-of-State Permit Guide (Plainspoken explanation with application form)

County of Hawaii Safety Inspection Component List

Hawaii Out of State Vehicle Registration Transfers

Hawaii Statute 286-2 (Definitions of autocycles, motorcycles, highways)

Hawaii Statute 286-54 (Out-of-state vehicle permit)

Operating as an OHV

Hawaii Division of Forestry and Wildlife: Off-Highway Vehicles (Registration and equipment requirements)

Hawaii Recreational OHV Permit application form

Hawaii Disabled Hunter Permit application (PDF)

Hawaii OHV Riding Safety and Responsible Riding (PDF)

Mauna Kea ATV and Dirt Bike Riding Area Guide and Map (PDF)

Upper Waiākea ATV and Dirt Bike Park Guide and Map (PDF)

Road use of OHVs not registered as street legal

Hawaii Statute 286-12 (Road use conditions, defines All-Terrain Vehicle and Utility-Terrain Vehicle)

Other resources

Hawaii Statute 286-71 (Autocycle safety gear)

Hawaii Statute 286-81 (Motorcycle safety gear)

Hawaii Revised Statutes