2025 Legal Guide to Selling a Gun in Hawaii (HI) for 2026

How to Sell a Gun in HI for Cash: The 2026 CashMyGuns Guide

Selling a gun in Hawaii requires intimate knowledge of the state’s extremely stringent and complicated laws and regulations governing firearm sales and transfers. Unlike many states, Hawaii mandates that all transfers of firearms, including private sales, must be preceded by the buyer obtaining a Permit to Acquire from the county police chief. This permit process includes a mandatory background check, fingerprinting, a waiting period of at least 14 days, and, for handguns, proof of required safety training.

Therefore, for anyone considering selling or buying a gun in Hawaii through a private transaction, being fully informed of the laws surrounding the transfer—including the seller’s responsibility to submit transfer paperwork to the police within 48 hours—is essential to ensure both parties remain in compliance with Hawaiian law. This critical information is compiled from official guidance, such as the memorandum on State Laws and Published Ordinances from the Hawaii Office of the Attorney General to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

Best options for selling a gun in Hawaii in 2026?

To own a firearm in Hawaii, individuals must first obtain a permit from the chief of police in their specific county, as ownership cannot be legally acquired through purchase, gift, inheritance, or any other means without one. The application process involves a mandatory waiting period during which the issuing authority conducts multiple background checks; applicants must also provide personal information, undergo fingerprinting and photographing, and sign a waiver granting access to their mental health records. While these permits are available to citizens, law enforcement officers, and certain aliens subject to specific conditions for age and use, the duration of the permit depends on the type of firearm. Permits for rifles or shotguns remain valid for one year, but a separate permit is required for every individual transaction involving a pistol or revolver, and these handgun permits expire after 10 days. Below are the legal methods for gun owners to sell a firearm in the state:

• Sell to CashMyGuns.com – Hawaii Best choice in 2026

  CashMyGuns.com provides a reliable online service for anyone looking to sell a firearm. Our process is simple, secure and fully compliant with Hawaii firearm laws. Share the make, model and condition of your gun, and you’ll receive an instant offer right away.

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• Sell to a licensed local dealer

  One option is to sell your firearm to a licensed local dealer. This approach helps ensure full compliance with Hawaii firearm laws, but sellers often receive significantly less than true market value when choosing this route.

• Sell through a private firearm sale

  Gun owners are permitted to sell firearms through private transactions, provided specific legal requirements are met. When acquiring a pistol, revolver, rifle, or shotgun from another person within the state, the permit must be signed by the recipient and delivered to the transferor. This process requires recording detailed information, including the names of the parties involved, specific firearm details, and serial numbers, which the person transferring the firearm must then submit to the issuing authority within 48 hours. Additionally, individuals seeking permits for pistols or revolvers are required to complete specific firearms safety or training courses. The law strictly prohibits unauthorized firearm transfers, establishes fees for permits, and outlines the notification procedures involving law enforcement and judicial authorities that occur when a permit application is denied due to legal restrictions. Here is the relevant legal text:

  (f) In all cases where a pistol or revolver is acquired from another person within the State, the permit shall be signed in ink by the person to whom title to the pistol or revolver is transferred and shall be delivered to the person who is transferring title to the firearm, who shall verify that the person to whom the firearm is to be transferred is the person named in the permit and enter on the permit in the space provided the following information: name of the person to whom the title to the firearm was transferred; names of the manufacturer and importer; model; type of action; caliber or gauge; and serial number as applicable. The person who is transferring title to the firearm shall sign the permit in ink and cause the permit to be delivered or sent by registered mail to the issuing authority within 48 hours after transferring the firearm. In all cases where receipt of a firearm is had by mail, express, freight, or otherwise from sources without the State, the person to whom the permit has been issued shall make the prescribed entries on the permit, sign the permit in ink, and cause the permit to be delivered or sent 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 person who is transferring title to the rifle or shotgun shall submit, within 48 hours after transferring the firearm, to the authority which issued the permit to acquire, the following information, in writing: name of the person who transferred the firearm, name of the person to whom the title to the firearm was transferred; names of the manufacturer and importer; model; type of action; caliber or gauge; and serial number as applicable.(g) Effective July 1, 1995, no person shall be issued a permit under this section for the acquisition of a pistol or revolver unless the person, at any time prior to the issuance of the permit, has completed:(1) An approved hunter education course as authorized under section 183D-28;

  (2) A firearms safety or training course or class available to the general public offered by a law enforcement agency of the State or of any county;

  (3) 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

  (4) A firearms training or safety course or class conducted by a state certified or National Rifle Association certified firearms instructor or a certified military firearms instructor that provides, at a minimum, a total of at least 2 hours of firing training at a firing range and a total of at least 4 hours of classroom instruction, which may include a video, that focuses on:

  (A) The safe use, handling, and storage of firearms and firearm safety in the home; and

  (B) Education on the firearm laws of the State.

  An affidavit signed by the certified firearms instructor who conducted or taught the course, providing the name, address, and phone number of the instructor and attesting to the successful completion of the course by the applicant shall constitute evidence of certified successful completion under this paragraph.

  (h) No person shall sell, give, lend, or deliver into the possession of another any firearm except in accordance with this chapter.

  (i) No fee shall be charged for permits, or applications for permits, under this section, except for a single fee chargeable by and payable to the issuing county, for individuals applying for their first permit, in an amount equal to the fee charged by the Hawaii criminal justice data center pursuant to section 846-2.7. In the case of a joint application, the fee provided for in this section may be charged to each person to whom no previous permit has been issued.

  (j) In all cases where a permit application under this section is denied because an applicant is prohibited from owning, possessing, receiving, or controlling firearms under federal or state law, the chief of police of the applicable county shall, within ten business days from the date of denial, send written notice of the denial including the identity of the applicant and the reasons for the denial to the:

  (1) Prosecuting attorney in the county where the permit was denied;

  (2) Attorney General;

  (3) United States Attorney for the District of Hawaii; and

  (4) Director of public safety.

  If the permit to acquire was denied because the applicant is subject to an order described in section 134-7(f), the chief of police shall, within three business days from the date of denial, send written notice of the denial to the court that issued the order. When the director of public safety receives notice that an applicant has been denied a permit because of a prior criminal conviction, the director of public safety shall determine whether the applicant is currently serving a term of probation or parole, and if the applicant is serving such a term, send written notice of the denial to the applicant’s probation or parole officer.

• Dispose of a firearm legally

  If the goal is simply to dispose of a firearm legally, owners can surrender it to local law enforcement. This method is safe and compliant, but it may result in losing out on the potential value the firearm could earn in a legitimate sale.

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