Hawaii has no veteran business preference (2026)
Hawaii has no state-level certification, procurement preference or set-aside for veteran-owned businesses. This is a confirmed absence, not a page we ran out of time on — we checked the statute that would have created one and established it is not in the code. Most sites cannot tell the difference between a benefit that does not exist and one they failed to find, which is why so many of them list a Hawaii programme anyway.
Hawaii's Public Procurement Code names nine preferences and not one of them is for veterans. Bills to add a veteran-owned small business set-aside have been introduced repeatedly — 2012, 2014, 2022 — and the language from those bills circulates widely enough that you will find confident descriptions of a "3% of the 20% small business set-aside" rule for Hawaii veterans. That rule is not in the statute. It is bill text that never became law.
| Verified programs | 0 |
|---|---|
| State certification | None |
| Procurement preference | None |
| Status | Absence confirmed against the state procurement code |
| Last verified | 2026-08-12 |
What we checked, and what we found
Part X of Hawaii Revised Statutes Chapter 103D is where procurement preferences live, and it enumerates them: Hawaii products, printing and binding, reciprocity, recycled products, software development businesses, taxpayer preference, qualified community rehabilitation programs, biofuel, and accounting service businesses. There is no veteran-owned or service-disabled veteran-owned category anywhere in that list, and the word "veteran" does not appear in the chapter's section index at all. The frequently quoted requirement that at least 3% of Hawaii's 20% small business set-aside go to veteran-owned businesses comes from proposed legislation, not from the code.
- The full section index of HRS Chapter 103D — the Hawaii Public Procurement Code — contains the word "veteran" zero times.
- Part X, the preferences part, runs from § 103D-1001 to § 103D-1013 and names nine preference categories. None is veteran-related: Hawaii products, printing/binding/stationery, reciprocity, recycled products, software development, taxpayer, qualified community rehabilitation programs, biofuel, and accounting services.
- § 103D-1004, cited in secondary summaries as the veteran provision, is actually titled "Reciprocity" and concerns reciprocal preferences against bidders from other states that apply preferences. It has nothing to do with veterans.
- Veteran set-aside bills have been introduced across multiple sessions — SB2582 (2012), HB166 (2014), HB1974 (2022) — and the specific "3% of the 20% small business set-aside" language traces to that bill text rather than to the code. A bill is not a law.
Sources
- Hawaii Revised Statutes Chapter 103D — Hawaii Public Procurement Code (full chapter section index)
- Hawaii Revised Statutes § 103D-1004 — Reciprocity (the section often misattributed as the veteran provision)
- Hawaii HB166 HD2 (2014) — veteran-owned small business set-aside bill, source of the widely quoted 3%/20% language
Verified 2026-08-12. Legislatures change their minds — if Hawaii enacts a veteran business preference, this page becomes a benefit page.
What to chase instead
Federal certification is the whole game in Hawaii. SBA VetCert governs federal set-asides regardless of state law, and given the density of federal and defence contracting in Hawaii that market is considerably larger than the state programme you are missing. Two other things deserve your attention. Hawaii operates a State Agency for Surplus Property like every state, and federal Public Law 115-416 requires those programmes to be open to SBA-verified veteran-owned small businesses — that is real capital equipment, and it does not depend on Hawaii having a preference. And read the nine preferences that do exist: the Hawaii products preference in particular may be worth more to you than a veteran preference would have been, on grounds that have nothing to do with your service.
What to do next
With no state programme to certify into, federal certification is the whole game here. Start with whether you actually qualify as an SDVOSB — that determination is identical in every state and is what unlocks real set-aside dollars.
More verified states
Questions people actually ask
Does Hawaii have a veteran-owned business certification?
No. Hawaii runs no state-level veteran-owned business certification. Private companies sell certificates using the state's name; none of them are issued or recognised by Hawaii, and none grant access to a state programme, because there is no state programme. Confirmed 2026-08-12.
Does Hawaii give veteran-owned businesses a contracting preference or set-aside?
No. Part X of Hawaii Revised Statutes Chapter 103D is where procurement preferences live, and it enumerates them: Hawaii products, printing and binding, reciprocity, recycled products, software development businesses, taxpayer preference, qualified community rehabilitation programs, biofuel, and accounting service businesses. There is no veteran-owned or service-disabled veteran-owned category anywhere in that list, and the word "veteran" does not appear in the chapter's section index at all. The frequently quoted requirement that at least 3% of Hawaii's 20% small business set-aside go to veteran-owned businesses comes from proposed legislation, not from the code.
So what should a veteran business owner in Hawaii do instead?
Federal certification is the whole game in Hawaii. SBA VetCert governs federal set-asides regardless of state law, and given the density of federal and defence contracting in Hawaii that market is considerably larger than the state programme you are missing. Two other things deserve your attention. Hawaii operates a State Agency for Surplus Property like every state, and federal Public Law 115-416 requires those programmes to be open to SBA-verified veteran-owned small businesses — that is real capital equipment, and it does not depend on Hawaii having a preference. And read the nine preferences that do exist: the Hawaii products preference in particular may be worth more to you than a veteran preference would have been, on grounds that have nothing to do with your service.