Statewide concealed carry licenses climb in Hawaii

News admin May 21, 2026 0 Comments

Statewide concealed carry licenses climb in Hawaii

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – The Hawaii Department of the Attorney General has released new 2025 statewide statistics on concealed carry firearm licenses.

According to the report, 3,764 people in Hawaii held a valid license to carry a concealed handgun as of Dec. 31, 2025. Officials said that marks a 70.5% increase from the 2,207 license holders reported at the end of 2024.

The current total is the number of people who have the concealed-carry license since new permitting rules began in 2024.

Paul Perrone, chief of research and statistics for the Department of the Attorney General, said the number of permitting gun owners are still a small percentage of Hawaii residents 21 and older.

“We’re at about 0.34% of the potential population,” said Perrone. “I think on the mainland you often see 2, 3, 4, maybe even as much as 5%.”

“I think we will see Hawaii grow up to that 5% over the next few years, and once people get their license they will keep renewing it. They will go through the process,” said Andrew Namiki Roberts, director of the Hawaii Firearms Coalition.

All four counties saw increases, with the largest in the City and County of Honolulu (up 90.0%) and the smallest in Kauai County (up 20.6%).

Statewide, 1,994 new applications were submitted in 2025 and 1,968 licenses were issued, according to the Attorney General’s office.

Officials said 38 applications were denied and eight licenses were revoked, but noted some applications were still pending at year’s end.

The report said the most common reasons for denial included applicants lacking the essential character or temperament to be entrusted with a firearm, being legally prohibited from possessing firearms, or failing to submit a properly completed application.

The Attorney General’s office said all denials citing character or temperament concerns were reported by the Honolulu Police Department.

The Attorney General’s office said applicants and license holders can appeal denials or revocations through an administrative process and, if needed, seek judicial review.

Four administrative appeals were requested statewide in 2025. Two were granted, one was denied and one was pending. The Judiciary reported no judicial reviews were requested.

The number is licenses is expected to continuing growing over the next two years, until the first group of four-year license-holders is up for renewal.“

“It may be about double what we see now” said Perrone. “We’ve completed two years, we have two more years to go. So we’re maybe about halfway there, so it may be about double what we see now. That’s if there aren’t any changes to the program.”

The full report can found on the Department of the Attorney General’s Research and Statistics web site at ag.hawaii.gov.