This is the How-To for the City and County of Honolulu (O‘ahu!)

Click here to view the guide directly.

Do you need to register your bike?

  • Hawai‘i law (HRS 249-14) requires with wheels 20” in diameter or greater must be registered to be used on public streets.
  • If you have a bicycle with wheels smaller than 20” in diameter, or a maximum seat height lower than 25”, you legally do not need to register your bicycle (although it can be helpful in recovering stolen bikes).
  • “Low-speed electric bicycles” (e-bikes) with fully operable pedals & an electric motor less than *750 watts (1 h.p.), whose maximum speed is less than 20mph, need to be registered. The one-time registration fee is $30 for e-bikes. (See the law here).

How do you register your bike? (for O‘ahu)

  • Needed documents
    • Proof of Ownership – This can be provided in 3 possible ways. 1. Receipt of sale, 2. Bill of sale, 3. Affidavit of Ownership (available at the office – see below)
    • Registration form (available at any Satellite City Hall) – This form requires information on the bicycle: make, year, color, serial number (normally this is stamped in the bicycle between the bottom bracket at base of the bike), whether it’s a Men or Women body type, number of speeds, and wheel size.  See image of carbon copy form below.

Bike registration form

Once you have all your information, these are the offices available to handle registration:

    • ≫ [JAN 2023 UPDATE] Business License, Bicycle and Moped Services Office has moved to the Kapālama Driver Licensing Center in Kalihi
    • Walk-in service only for business licensing, bicycle and moped registration services at windows #16 & #17.
    •           –Open Hours: Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. & 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
    •           -For more information, please call 808-768-9700. 
    • ≫  When paying by mail or in person, the following payment types are accepted: By cash, check (drawn on U.S. funds), money order, traveler’s check, or cashier’s check. There is a $25.00 service fee for returned checks. Make checks payable to: “City and County of Honolulu.” 
    • Mail to: DMVLP P.O. Box 30350 Honolulu, HI 96820-0350
    • All Satellite City Halls – you can get and fill all the paperwork at any of the satellite City Halls. Click here for a list. If fill your registration here, you’ll receive your sticker in the mail.

Here's the steps on how to register your bicycle for each process:


BOUGHT A NEW BIKE?

Congrats! If you bought a bicycle from a bike store on O‘ahu, they’ll complete the Bicycle And Moped Registration (CS-L(SS)41) form for you, have you sign, and your registration decal will be mailed directly to you. If you bought the bike from a department store (big box store such as Walmart) and the store did not have you fill out the paperwork, you’ll need to pick up a Bicycle And Moped Application (CS-L(SS)41) form (find it at any Satellite City Hall), complete it, and mail the Registration Form in yourself to the DMVLP office.

Moving here from another state with your bicycle?

Pick up a Bicycle And Moped Registration (CS-L(SS)41) form from any Satellite City Hall (or head over to the Bicycle Registration Station) and complete the required information. You’ll also need to fill out a Statement of Fact Ownership (Form CS-L(SS)37) and mail that in with your $15 check to the DMVLP.

BOUGHT a USED BIKE (already registered to the seller)?

If the seller has the bicycle’s registration paperwork (CS-L (MVR)96 form), have them write the date they sold you the bike (“Date of Release” line) and sign on the “Signature of Owner” line before they pass the registration to you. You’ll then complete your information on the remaining lines, sign, & mail to the DMVLP office along with $5.00 to transfer the bike to your name. Do this within 30 days of the date of sale, otherwise the fee is $15.00.
If the seller does not have their bike’s registration paperwork (CS-L (MVR)96 form), both you and the seller need to fill out the Bill of Sale (CS-L(SS)47) form. Send the completed Bill of Sale form into the DMVLP along with your completed Application for a Duplicate (CS-L(SS)35) form (have the seller sign the “Registered Owner” line) plus $5.00 to the DMVLP.    

 

SELLING YOUR (USED) BIKE?

Use your bicycle’s current registration paperwork (CS-L (MVR)96 form that was sent to you from the City & County of Honolulu with your bike registration sticker) to write in the date of the bike sale, sign on the line, then give the registration to the buyer of your bicycle to complete, submit, & pay a transfer fee of $5.00 to the DMVLP office within 30 days of the sale.
If you do not still have your bicycle’s registration paperwork, use the Bill of Sale (CS-L(SS)47) form and get the Buyer’s signature, name, and address. Both the person selling (that’s you) & the person purchasing the bicycle need to complete this form. The seller should fill out the Application for a Duplicate (CS-L(SS)35) form as the “Registered Owner”. The buyer can complete it with their information and indicate “successor in interest”.
 

DIDN’T GET THE PAPERWORK ABOVE?

You’ll need to complete three forms: the Bicycle Bill of Sale (CS-L(SS)47) form (just the Buyer’s certification portion) to say you purchased said bicycle, the Application for Duplicate (CS-L(SS)35) form to acquire the bike’s paperwork under your name, and the Statement of Fact Bicycle Ownership (CS-L(SS)37) form to note that you were not able to get the paperwork from the owner who you bought/got the bike from. Then mail within 30 days of the bike sale to the DMVLP with the $5 transfer fee, or you’ll need to pay a $15 penalty (if the date of sale of the bike is over 30 days).
 
CHANGING YOUR ADDRESS? NEED A DUPLICATE BIKE REGISTRATION OR REPLACEMENT BIKE DECAL?
Fill in and mail the Change of Address (CS-L(SS)214) form within 30 days of your change of address. If you need a copy of your bike’s registration paperwork use the Application for Duplicate (CS-L(SS)35) form and send in with $5.00 to DMVLP. If you need another reg. sticker for your bicycle, complete the Application for Replacement of Bicycle/Moped (CS-L(SS)91) form and mail in with $2.00 to the DMVLP to obtain a replacement bicycle decal sticker to affix on your bike.

HELPFUL FILLABLE FORMS FOR BICYCLE REGISTRATION (CLICK IMAGE FOR FORM):

Change of Address (Form CS-L(SS)214) – If you change your original address that your bike was first registered with, you’ll want to update it to your current address. (Must file within 30 days of your change of address.)

Notice of Transfer (Form CS-L(SS)215) – If you are selling or buying an already registered bicycle, you’ll need to fill out this form transferring the past bicycle registration to the new owner. (Fill out within 10 days of sale.)

Application for Duplicate Bicycle Registration (Form CS-L(SS)35) – Misplaced/defaced/lost/ your bicycle registration? Fill out this form for $5 to get a duplicate registration for your bicycle.

Statement of Fact Ownership (Form CS-L(SS)37) – Bought/acquired a bicycle but wasn’t able to get their “Notice of Transfer” form completed? Fill this out form.

Bicycle Bill of Sale (Form CS-L(SS)47) – Selling or purchasing a bicycle? Both the person selling and the person purchasing the bike need to fill out this form.

Application for Replacement of Bicycle Tag (Form CS-L(SS)91)

Link for all online forms through the City & County of Honolulu’s site can be found at:

http://www.honolulu.gov/cms-csd-menu/site-csd-sitearticles/38954-bicycle-information-c-c-current.html

In addition to the C&C official registration we also recommend registering your bike through (free) community-based organizations like BikeIndex.

And of course, if you LIKE your bike, LOCK it up. Bicycles are their own getaway vehicles(!), so make sure to invest in a good quality lock and be thoughtful in where you are locking up your bicycle. HBL’s free workshops for adults go over all the tips you need to know to secure your steed, or check out our short video about How to Lock Up Your Bicycle in Hawai‘i.