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Does a med spa have to register or hold a license in Hawaii?

Facility · part of The Practice Perimeter

HAWAII LICENSES THE PRACTITIONER AND, ON THE COSMETOLOGY SIDE, THE BEAUTY SHOP; THE SECTIONS CITED HERE CONTAIN NO MEDICAL-SPA LICENSE. A beauty shop license names the shop, at least one licensed beauty operator, and an owner who is responsible for ensuring that only licensed individuals practice in it; no one may operate a beauty shop or practice cosmetology for commercial purposes without a license, and cosmetology may be practiced only in a licensed barber shop or beauty shop, with listed exceptions. Fees are set by the director by rule, and the fee rule prices them in dollars: a $20 application fee for a beauty operator, $50 for a beauty shop, $50 for a physician’s permanent license application, $20 for a physician assistant, and $100 for a pharmacy application with a $65 original permit fee. Physicians pay application, examination, and license fees and renew by January 31 of each even-numbered year. An esthetician applicant needs 1,200 hours of apprentice training or 600 hours in a beauty school. A pharmacy may not be opened without a permit, a permit is required to distribute or dispense samples of prescription drugs, though that paragraph does not interfere with furnishing samples directly to physicians for use in their professional practice, and a permit is required to engage in the business of preparing, manufacturing, or compounding any drug; compounding prescriptions other than by or under the immediate supervision of a registered pharmacist violates the pharmacy chapter, and the Board of Pharmacy’s rules make failure to follow USP chapters 795 and 797 unprofessional conduct.

Drawn from 17 verified rules in this section · regulatory monitoring, not legal advice

The rest of what Hawaii says on this

Every other rule we have verified under med-spa registration & licensing, each linked to its primary source.

  • An applicant for a barber shop or beauty shop license shall: (1) Identify the name and location of the shop; (2) Identify at least one barber or beauty operator to qualify the shop for licensure in the applicable license category; (3) Identify the owner of the shop who shall be responsible for all operations of the shop and be responsible for ensuring that only currently licensed individuals, apprentices, or temporary permittees are practicing in the shop; Hawaii licenses the beauty shop where cosmetology is practiced; nothing in chapter 453 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes or in the Hawaii Medical Board’s rules in chapter 16-85 of the Hawaii Administrative Rules licenses a facility where medicine is practiced, and Hawaii issues no license or registration specific to a medical spa.

    Haw. Rev. Stat. § 439A-10(a)(1)-(3) (ch. 453 and Haw. Admin. R. ch. 16-85 surveyed) · verified Sep 8, 2026

  • The department’s fee rule sets the license fees for the board of barbering and cosmetology as dollar amounts. Its application fees are listed as Operator or instructor $ 20; Beauty shop $ 50; Beauty school $ 500; Apprentice $ 20.

    Haw. Admin. R. § 16-53-14(1) · verified Sep 8, 2026

  • The same fee rule sets the Hawaii medical board’s application fees at Physician for permanent license $ 50; Physician for limited and temporary license $ 25; Physician assistant $ 20.

    Haw. Admin. R. § 16-53-24(1) · verified Sep 8, 2026

  • For the board of pharmacy the fee rule lists an application fee of Pharmacy $ 100 and an Original permit fee for pharmacy and miscellaneous $ 65.

    Haw. Admin. R. § 16-53-33(1), (3) · verified Sep 8, 2026

  • No person shall for commercial purposes practice as a barber apprentice, beauty apprentice, barber, beauty operator, or beauty instructor; operate a barber shop, beauty shop, or beauty school; or announce or advertise as being prepared or qualified to practice or operate unless the person obtains a license or permit as required by this chapter.

    Haw. Rev. Stat. § 439A-3(a) · verified Sep 8, 2026

  • The practice of barbering and practice of cosmetology shall be carried on only by persons holding a license or permit to practice in the State and only in barber shops or beauty shops; provided that nothing in this chapter shall prevent or prohibit a barber to practice barbering or beauty operator to practice cosmetology: (1) At any place for educational purposes; (2) Upon persons at a health care, nursing, mental, or correctional facility; (3) At a charitable event; or (4) At a person's private home, office, or hotel room when requested to do so.

    Haw. Rev. Stat. § 439A-3(b) · verified Sep 8, 2026

  • All fees required by this chapter shall be as provided in rules adopted by the director pursuant to chapter 91 and shall be deposited with the director to the credit of the compliance resolution fund established pursuant to section 26-9(o), except that the examination fee required in section 439A-8 may be paid directly to the professional testing service by the department or the examinee.

    Haw. Rev. Stat. § 439A-13 · verified Sep 8, 2026

  • No applicant or licensee shall be granted a license pursuant to the licensing laws unless the appropriate fees have been paid. Unless otherwise provided by law, the director shall establish the amount for all fees and expenses by rules adopted pursuant to chapter 91. The fees to be established by the director may include but not be limited to an application fee, filing fee, license fee, renewal fee, examination fee, and other reasonable and necessary fees related to the department's administrative costs.

    Haw. Rev. Stat. § 436B-15 · verified Sep 8, 2026

  • No applicant shall be examined under this chapter until the applicant has paid to the board application, examination, and license fees. The board may provide separate fees for licensure by endorsement and for limited and temporary licenses. (b) Every physician or surgeon holding a license under this chapter shall renew the license with the board no later than January 31 of each even-numbered year.

    Haw. Rev. Stat. § 453-6(a)-(b) · verified Sep 8, 2026

  • An esthetician applicant shall have an education equivalent to the completion of high school and either: (1) One thousand two hundred hours of training as a beauty apprentice in a beauty shop or barber shop under the supervision of a cosmetologist or esthetician; or (2) Six hundred hours of training in a beauty school.

    Haw. Rev. Stat. § 439A-6(f) · verified Sep 8, 2026

  • It shall be unlawful for any person to operate, maintain, open, change location, or establish any pharmacy within the State without first having obtained a permit from the board.

    Haw. Rev. Stat. § 461-14(a) · verified Sep 8, 2026

  • (2) For any person to distribute or dispense samples of any prescription drugs without first obtaining a permit from the board to do so; provided that nothing in this paragraph shall interfere with the furnishing of samples or drugs directly to physicians, druggists, dentists, veterinarians, and optometrists for use in their professional practice;

    Haw. Rev. Stat. § 461-15(a)(2) · verified Sep 8, 2026

  • (6) For any person, as principal or agent, to conduct or engage in the business of preparing, manufacturing, compounding, packing, or repacking any drug without first obtaining a permit from the board to do so;

    Haw. Rev. Stat. § 461-15(a)(6) · verified Sep 8, 2026

  • Any proprietor or manager of a pharmacy who fails or neglects to place a registered pharmacist in charge thereof or who permits the compounding of prescriptions, or the vending of drugs, except by or under the immediate supervision of a registered pharmacist, shall be deemed to have violated this chapter. Any person who, not being a registered pharmacist, compounds prescriptions or vends drugs, while not subject to the immediate supervision of a registered pharmacist, shall be deemed to have violated this chapter.

    Haw. Rev. Stat. § 461-10 · verified Sep 8, 2026

  • (17) Failure to comply with the pharmaceutical compounding requirements found in chapters 795 (nonsterile preparations) and 797 (sterile preparations) of the United States Pharmacopeia National Formulary, as amended;

    Haw. Admin. R. § 16-95-110(a)(17) · verified Sep 8, 2026

  • HAWAII WRITES THE DUTY AS A DISCIPLINARY GROUND RATHER THAN AS AN INSTRUCTION, WHICH IS EASY TO MISS. It is a ground for the medical board to act on a “Failure to report to the board, in writing, any disciplinary decision issued against the licensee or the applicant in another jurisdiction within thirty days after the disciplinary decision is issued”.

    Haw. Rev. Stat. § 453-8(a)(14) · verified Sep 8, 2026

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← All Hawaii rules and changes · MedSpaRadar is regulatory monitoring and reference, not legal, medical, or compliance advice. Verify against the linked primary source and consult qualified counsel before acting — rules change and turn on your specific facts. Legislative data via LegiScan (CC BY 4.0).