What a real estate agent's website must show in Hawaii

Does a website count as advertising in Hawaii?

• The rule applies to "all real estate advertising and promotional materials" and to leasehold property advertised "in any medium". It does not mention websites or social media and does not carve them out. Haw. Code R. §16-99-11

  “All real estate advertising and promotional materials shall include the legal name of the brokerage firm or a trade name previously registered by the brokerage firm with the business registration division and with the commission.”

What every advertisement must show

• The brokerage firm's legal name, or a trade name it has registered with the business registration division and the Commission ("Inc.", "LLC" and similar may be abbreviated, and "dba" may join the licensed name and a trade name). Haw. Code R. §16-99-11

• On anything with your name, business cards included: your legal name, name as licensed, or licensed sole-proprietor trade name; your associating or employing brokerage; and your designation, broker (B) or salesperson (S), or Realtor (R) or Realtor-Associate (RA) if a current member of the Hawaii Association of Realtors. Haw. Code R. §16-99-11

  “Specify that the licensee is a broker (B), or salesperson (S), or if a current member of the Hawaii Association of Realtors, Realtor (R) or Realtor-Associate (RA).”

• Your status as a real estate licensee (active or inactive), in all advertising and promotional material. Haw. Code R. §16-99-11

Websites specifically

• There is no website-specific rule. A website is advertising and promotional material like any other, so it carries the brokerage's legal or registered trade name and, with your name, your brokerage and your (B), (S), (R) or (RA) designation. Haw. Code R. §16-99-11

Team names

• Hawaii's rule has no team provision. Any material naming an agent must identify the brokerage and the agent's designation, and all material carries the brokerage's legal or registered trade name. Haw. Code R. §16-99-11

What gets agents in trouble

• Advertising "For Sale by Owner", "For Rent by Owner", "For Lease by Owner" or "For Exchange by Owner". Haw. Code R. §16-99-11

• Advertising leasehold property for sale without identifying it by the word "leasehold". Haw. Code R. §16-99-11

• Including the address of an unregistered place of business without also giving, and identifying, the street address of the principal place of business or branch office. Haw. Code R. §16-99-11

Worth knowing

• §16-99-11 does not require a license number; it requires the brokerage name, your name and designation, and your licensee status. Haw. Code R. §16-99-11

How many agents this applies to

1,512 real estate agents were working in Hawaii when we last counted, across 15 brokerage offices. That is agents with a live profile on a brokerage's own site, not everyone holding a licence, so it is the population these rules actually bind day to day. The Hawaii brokerage directory breaks it down office by office. Counted 2026-10-07.

Sources

This page paraphrases the rules; the rules themselves are what bind you. Each was read on the date shown. If the Commission changes a rule, the page will lag until it is read again.

• Haw. Code R. §16-99-11 — Advertisement — read 2026-10-07
• Regulator: Hawaii Real Estate Commission (Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs)

Not legal advice. When a rule and this page disagree, the rule wins; when in doubt, ask your broker or the Commission.

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