Do You Have to Pay a Speeding Ticket in Hawaii on Vacation

The short answer

An ordinary speeding ticket in Hawaii is a civil fine, not a crime. You almost certainly will not be arrested, you will not have to fly back to Hawaii, and it will not show up on a background check. You do have to deal with it. You have 21 days to respond, you can pay or contest it from the mainland, and ignoring it leads to late fees, collections, and a charge from your rental company.

There is one real exception. Driving 80 mph or more, or 30 mph or more over the limit, is a criminal charge in Hawaii called excessive speeding, and it carries a mandatory court date. That is the one situation to take seriously and get a lawyer for. To tell which kind you have, look at your ticket. If it has a court date and time printed on it, it is the criminal kind, so read the excessive speeding section below. If it is a citation with a 21-day window and no court date, it is the ordinary civil kind.

This is general information for visitors, not legal advice. For any criminal excessive speeding charge, talk to a Hawaii traffic attorney. Last updated 4 July 2026, reflecting Act 170, effective 1 July 2025.

How much a Hawaii speeding ticket costs

Ordinary speeding is a civil traffic infraction with fines capped by law. You will pay up to $200 for a first offense, up to $300 for a second within a year, and up to $500 for a third within a year, plus a $10 surcharge if you were more than 10 mph over. School and construction zones are steeper, at a $250 fine plus a surcharge of $125 in a school zone or $100 in a construction zone.

Violation	What you will pay	Civil or criminal
Ordinary speeding, first offense	Up to $200 plus fees, and $10 more if over 10 mph over	Civil fine
Ordinary speeding, second in a year	Up to $300 plus fees	Civil fine
Ordinary speeding, third in a year	Up to $500 plus fees	Civil fine
School zone	$250 plus $125 surcharge	Civil fine
Construction zone	$250 plus $100 surcharge	Civil fine
80 mph or more, or 30 mph or more over	$500 to $1,000 or more	Criminal

The exact total depends on your speed and which county issued the ticket, because Oʻahu (Honolulu), Maui, Hawaiʻi (Big Island) and Kauaʻi each add their own fees. The only authoritative number is on your citation, or you can enter your citation number into the Hawaiʻi State Judiciary’s official Traffic Fines Calculator.

When speeding becomes a crime in Hawaii

This is what catches visitors off guard. Under Hawaii Revised Statutes section 291C-105, excessive speeding means driving either 30 mph or more over the posted limit, or 80 mph or faster no matter what the limit is. Much of Oʻahu’s H-1, H-2 and H-3 freeway is posted at just 55 to 60 mph, so a mainlander doing an ordinary-feeling 80 is automatically in criminal territory.

Excessive speeding carries a mandatory court appearance, so you cannot simply mail in a payment. The penalties escalate, and a 2025 law, Act 170, made the third offense harsher.

Offense within 5 years	Classification	Penalties
First	Petty misdemeanor	$500 to $1,000 fine plus surcharges, up to 30-day license suspension, 36 hours community service or 48 hours to 5 days jail, and a driver-retraining course
Second	Petty misdemeanor	$750 to $1,000 fine, mandatory 30-day suspension, 5 to 14 days jail, and driver retraining
Third	Misdemeanor, upgraded by Act 170	$1,000 fine, mandatory minimum 30 days jail, and license revoked for 90 days to 1 year

Because this is criminal, missing the court date can lead to a bench warrant for your arrest. Hawaii will not extradite you across the Pacific for a first offense, but the warrant sits in the system and can surface on a future traffic stop or if you return to Hawaii. This is where hiring a local traffic attorney pays off, because they can often appear on your behalf so you never fly back, and advise you on how a low-level conviction affects your record.

How Oʻahu speed cameras bill you months later

Oʻahu now runs automated red-light and speed cameras at 10 downtown Honolulu intersections. Per the Hawaii Department of Transportation, red-light citations have run since November 2022, speed warnings began in March 2025, and real speed citations started on 1 November 2025 after more than 500,000 warnings went out. A speed violation costs $167 to $317 depending on how far over you were, and a red-light violation is $97. The cameras target the higher-risk drivers, and HDOT has said it is citing vehicles going more than about 11 mph over the limit.

Camera tickets matter for tourists because a camera cannot pull you over, so the citation is mailed to the registered owner, which for a rental is the rental company. Act 170 requires the citation to be mailed within 10 days and reviewed by police first, but it still routes through the rental company before it reaches you, so a charge can appear on your card weeks to a few months after your trip. One relief is that Hawaii has essentially no toll roads, so unlike some mainland trips you will not also rack up toll-camera charges.

Who pays a ticket in a rental car

It depends on how you got the ticket. If an officer pulled you over and handed you a paper ticket, that citation is written to you, the driver. The rental company is not involved, and you respond to the court yourself within 21 days. If a camera caught you, the citation goes to the rental company as registered owner, and one of two things happens.

Transfer of liability, the usual path. The rental company gives the authority your name and address from your rental agreement, the citation is re-issued to you directly, and you keep the full right to contest it with the court. The company charges your card only its own admin fee.
Pay and bill, the fallback. The company pays the fine itself and charges your card the fine plus an admin fee. Once they have paid, your ability to contest the underlying ticket is usually gone.

The admin fee is typically $30 to $50 per citation, sometimes more. Most major agencies use a third-party processor, Verra Mobility, formerly American Traffic Solutions, so the charge on your statement may read ATS Processing Services or come from rentalcarticket.com. If you see that weeks after a Hawaii trip, it is almost certainly a real citation fee and not fraud, but confirm it matches an actual ticket before paying twice. Your rental contract authorizes the company to release your details and charge your card for citations and fees, so a bank chargeback can backfire because you signed the authorization. Scammers do send fake Hawaii toll and ticket texts and emails, so verify any notice through the rental company or the court directly, never through a link in an unexpected message.

What happens if you ignore it

A civil ticket you ignore does not create an arrest warrant, but it does not vanish either. Miss the 21-day deadline and you face a default judgment, late penalties, and referral to collections, which can hurt your credit, plus a hold that can complicate a future license renewal. If it was a camera ticket, the rental company likely pays and bills you anyway. A criminal charge you ignore is far more serious, because missing your court date can produce a bench warrant for your arrest. Living 2,500 miles away is not a defense, so deal with it inside the 21 days.

Whether a Hawaii ticket follows you home

It can, but not through a single simple mechanism, so ignore anyone who tells you it only counts if your state belongs to a compact. Hawaii itself has no driver points system, so if a conviction reaches your home state, your state applies its own points under its own rules. Convictions and license suspensions can travel home through the Driver License Compact, which most but not all states belong to, and through the federal National Driver Register, which covers serious violations in every state regardless of any compact. Your insurer can pull your driving record at renewal no matter what, so a conviction can raise your premium. The rule of thumb is that a single minor civil infraction you simply pay often will not add points back home, but a criminal conviction or a license suspension is the kind of thing that follows you.

How to contest a ticket from the mainland

You do not have to fly back, but the path splits by ticket type. For a civil infraction, do not pay it yet, because paying is an admission that closes the case. Within 21 days, follow the citation’s instructions to request a hearing or submit a written statement. Options vary by county, and some courts allow a hearing by phone or video, so contact the district court that issued the ticket to confirm what an out-of-state driver can do. Only pay online if you are admitting it. The state’s eTraffic Hawaiʻi system is for paying tickets you do not dispute, it cannot be used to contest, and it will not work once 21 days pass or if your ticket requires court. It can also take about two weeks for a ticket to appear in the system. For a criminal excessive speeding charge, do not try to mail in a statement, because there is a mandatory court date and missing it means a warrant. Hire a Hawaii traffic attorney, who can frequently appear for you so you never return.

How to avoid a ticket

Never hit 80, because even where traffic flows fast, 80 mph turns an ordinary ticket into a criminal charge, and that is the single most important number for visitors. Freeway limits are lower than you expect, with much of the H-1 posted at 55 to 60 mph rather than 65 to 70, so follow the signs rather than mainland instinct. Brake hard for school and construction zones, where fines start at $250 plus surcharges. And assume the downtown Honolulu cameras are on, so stop fully on yellow-to-red.

Frequently asked questions

Do I really have to pay an out-of-state speeding ticket from Hawaii?

Yes. You have 21 days to respond. Ignoring it leads to late penalties and collections, your rental company may pay it and bill your card, and a conviction can reach your home state and insurer.

Is 80 mph really a crime in Hawaii?

Yes. Driving 80 mph or more, or 30 mph or more over the limit, is excessive speeding, a criminal offense under HRS section 291C-105. Even a first offense means a mandatory court date, a $500 to $1,000 fine, possible jail and a license suspension.

Will a normal Hawaii speeding ticket show up on a background check?

No. An ordinary speeding ticket is a civil infraction, not a crime, so it will not appear on a criminal background check. Only the criminal charges, such as excessive speeding, reckless driving and DUI, are different.

What happens if I ignore a Hawaii speeding ticket after I go home?

A civil ticket will not create a warrant but piles on late fees and can go to collections, and a camera ticket gets paid by your rental company and charged to you. A criminal charge you ignore can produce a bench warrant for your arrest.

My rental company charged my card for a ticket weeks later, is that legal or a scam?

It is usually legitimate. Your rental agreement lets the company handle citations issued to it as the registered owner and charge your card an admin fee, often $30 to $50, typically through a processor like Verra Mobility or ATS Processing Services. Verify it matches a real citation, but it is almost certainly not fraud.

Will a Hawaii ticket raise my insurance back home?

It can. Hawaii has no points system of its own, but a conviction can reach your home state through the Driver License Compact and the federal National Driver Register, and your insurer can see it at renewal. A single minor infraction you pay is less likely to matter than a criminal conviction or suspension.

How much is a speeding ticket in Hawaii?

Ordinary speeding is capped at up to $200 for a first offense, $300 for a second in a year, or $500 for a third, plus county fees and a $10 surcharge if you were more than 10 mph over. Use the Hawaiʻi Judiciary’s official Fines Calculator for the exact figure.

How much is an Oʻahu speed camera ticket?

A speed-camera violation runs $167 to $317 depending on how far over you were, and a red-light violation is $97. The cameras began issuing citations on 1 November 2025 at 10 downtown Honolulu intersections.

How long do I have to respond to a Hawaii ticket?

21 days from the date you received the citation. The online system may take about two weeks to show your ticket, so do not leave it to the last day.

Can I fight a Hawaii ticket without flying back?

Yes, for a civil infraction. Do not pay it, then request a hearing or file a written statement per the citation, and ask the district court about phone or video options. A criminal excessive speeding charge has a mandatory court date, so get a lawyer who can appear for you.

Do points from a Hawaii ticket transfer to my license?

Hawaii does not use points itself. It reports a conviction to your home state, which then applies its own points system, so the effect on your license depends on your home state’s rules.

Did the rental company paying my ticket kill my chance to contest it?

Often yes. If the company paid the fine and billed you rather than transferring the citation into your name, the case is usually closed with the court by the time you see the charge. Open mail and card alerts from unfamiliar processors promptly so you can act while you still can.

Related guides

Sources include the Hawaiʻi State Judiciary (eTraffic and the official Fines Calculator), Hawaii Revised Statutes section 291C-105 as amended by Act 170 of 2025, and the Hawaii Department of Transportation’s automated-enforcement announcements. General information only, not legal advice.