What Hawaii offers instead
What creates it in Hawaii
HRS ch. 415A, the Professional Corporation Act (§ 415A-1). Definitions are at § 415A-2, purposes at § 415A-3, corporate name at § 415A-8, articles of incorporation at § 415A-14.6, and the Business Corporation Act (ch. 414) applies under § 415A-27. The Business Registration Division registers it on Form PC-1.
What the name must contain
§ 415A-8, as the Business Registration Division applies it on Form PC-1 and its instruction sheet: the name must contain the word "corporation", "incorporated" or "limited", or the abbreviation "corp.", "inc." or "ltd."; it may be any name permitted by law expressly applicable to the profession in which the corporation is engaged or by a rule of the licensing authority of that profession; and it must not be the same as, or substantially identical to, any name already registered, reserved or authorised in Hawaii, unless the applicant files written consent plus a distinguishing word, or a certified copy of a final court decree establishing prior right. Hawaii requires no "P.C." or "professional corporation" element in the name at all.
Which occupations Hawaii treats as professional
An enumerated list, keyed to licensing chapters rather than to occupation names. HRS § 415A-2 defines "professional service" as any service that lawfully may be rendered only by persons licensed under chapters 442, 448, 453, 455, 457, 459, 461, 463E, 465, 466, 471 and 605. The Business Registration Division spells those out on Form PC-1 and in the PC-1 instructions as 442 (Chiropractic), 448 (Dentistry), 453 (Medicine and Surgery), 455 (Naturopathic Medicine), 457 (Nurses), 459 (Optometry), 461 (Pharmacists and Pharmacy), 463E (Podiatrists), 465 (Psychologists), 466 (Public Accountancy), 471 (Veterinary Medicine) and 605 (Attorneys). Under § 415A-3(a) a professional corporation is normally single-profession, but § 415A-3(b) permits two or more professions, and professional plus ordinary ch. 414 business purposes, to the extent the combination is permitted by the licensing laws and rules applicable to those professions.
Does the agent requirement differ from an ordinary Hawaii LLC’s?
No. Hawaii sets no separate agent requirement for a professional entity — it is the same requirement an ordinary Hawaii LLC files under.
Why Hawaii answers this way
Hawaii has no professional limited liability company, and unlike Georgia it has not replaced one with an express permission either; the LLC Act is simply silent. HRS ch. 428 (Uniform Limited Liability Company Act) has thirteen parts and none of them concerns professional practice. § 428-111(a) says an LLC "may be organized under this chapter for any lawful purpose, subject to any law of this State governing or regulating business", which points the question back at each licensing statute rather than answering it. § 428-105(a) gives one set of designators for every Hawaii LLC: the name must contain "limited liability company" or the abbreviation "L.L.C." or "LLC", with "Limited" abbreviable as "Ltd." and "company" as "Co.". The Business Registration Division's own material matches: its domestic LLC page cites ch. 428 and never mentions professional services, its complete list of domestic LLC forms runs from LLC-1 to LLC-11 with no professional variant, and its domestic profit corporation page lists a Professional Corporation (Form PC-1) alongside the ordinary DC-1, the Sustainable Business Corporation and the two cooperatives, with no professional LLC anywhere. The naming point is the one most likely to surprise a reader: a Hawaii professional corporation is named like any other corporation, ending in "Inc.", "Corp." or "Ltd.", not "P.C.". Governance is where ch. 415A bites instead: not less than half the directors, and all officers other than the secretary and treasurer, must be "qualified persons" (individuals eligible to own shares), and at least one director must be a Hawaii resident (§ 415A-14, restated on Form PC-1). The articles must state the profession or professions the corporation is authorised to practise (§ 415A-14.6(a)(2)), and the incorporators certify the contents under the penalties of § 415A-25. Statutes, Business Registration Division pages and Form PC-1 with instructions read September 2026.
Verified against the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Business Registration Division (cca.hawaii.gov/breg/registration/dpc/) · Statute text: www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol08_Ch0401-0429/HRS0415A/HRS_0415A-.htm (Professional Corporation Act) and https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol08_Ch0401-0429/HRS0428/HRS_0428-.htm (Uniform Limited Liability Company Act) · Last updated September 2026. Hawaii only — the rules in this cluster differ by jurisdiction, and this page speaks for no other.