Paperwork When Selling a Car in Hawaii
Paperwork Required to Sell Your Car in Hawaii
Have a vehicle you'd like to sell in the Aloha State? We've put together this guide to walk you through the basic process, and have included plenty of links to other good resources.
How to Sell a Car in Hawaii
Keep in mind that Hawaii doesn't have a statewide Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). Issues such as transferring vehicle ownership are handled by individual counties. This information you are seeing on this page is a general guide only, as for the most part, the Hawaiian counties follow similar processes. You can always use our DMV office finder to track down specific information or contact your local county DMV by calling these numbers:
- City and county of Honolulu: (808) 768-3391.
- County of Hawaii: (808) 961-2223.
- County of Kauai: (808) 241-4242.
- County of Maui: (808) 270-7363.
Remember, too, that much of the process for selling a car in Hawaii is the same as anywhere else—namely, the preliminary steps of setting a price and advertising the vehicle to prospective buyers. Check out some tips in our Guide to Selling Your Car.
Once you've identified a buyer, the title-transfer process is mainly a matter of filling out a little paperwork, which we'll get into next.
Required Documents in Hawaii
To sell your car in Hawaii, you'll sign off on the certificate of title and give it to the buyer. You may need to:
- Provide your signature and date. Any other registered owners should do the same.
- Note the vehicle's current mileage to provide an odometer disclosure.
If applicable, lien holders may also need to fill out a section of the certificate of title.
Contact your local Hawaii county DMV office for more information.
Replacement Hawaii Title
What if you're missing the title to the car you want to sell, or it's been mutilated or destroyed? In that case, you'll need to get your hands on a duplicate title in order to complete the sale.
To obtain a replacement title, you'll need to fill out an application form and provide information about the vehicle, such as its:
- Make.
- Vehicle identification number (VIN).
- License plate number.
You may also need to specify whether the original title was misplaced, stolen, mutilated, or defaced. (In the latter two cases, the original title should be included with the application.)
If there's a lien on the title, the lien holder should sign the application.
You'll submit the form and any applicable payment to your local Hawaii DMV office.
For more information, visit our Replacing a Lost Title in Hawaii page, or contact your local Hawaii transportation office.
Duplicate HI Registration
By the same token, you can apply to replace vehicle registration that's been lost, damaged, or destroyed. As with the duplicate title application, you'll need to submit an application form and include the original registration if you still have it (if it's been damaged or defaced).
For more information, see our Replacing a Lost Registration in Hawaii page or contact your local HI DMV office for specific information about the duplicate-registration process in your county.
Vehicle History Reports
As you go about selling a car in Hawaii, you'll probably have buyers who are evaluating your offer using a vehicle history report. This offers data on your car's background, including issues such as its history with accidents and any major damages.
If you're curious about the history of your vehicle, you can order a vehicle history report yourself. If your vehicle is up to snuff, it can serve as a great selling tool.