Hawaii Vehicle Shipping
Hawaii Shipping Services - Car, SUV, Truck, Motorcycle, RV, Boat and Oversize Heavy Equipment
When you’re shipping a vehicle from the east coast to Hawaii, generally it’s more reasonable and faster to transport your car directly to California where it can be shipped from a west coast port (like San Diego).
We have dedicated terminals in Oakland, Seattle and Long Beach to make sure drop off and pick up is fast and convenient. We can pick up your vehicle anywhere in the United States or Canada and deliver it to the port for you.
We do offer real time tracking port to port, not truck to port.
U.S. Mainland ports
- Seattle
- Tacoma
- Oakland
- Los Angeles
Hawaii ports
- Honolulu
- Kahului
- Nawiliwili
- Hilo
Vehicle Preparation
Before you ship a vehicle to Hawaii, there are a few things you need to do. We’ve prepared a handy checklist to make it easy for you.
• Make sure the vehicle is mechanically sound.
• Remove your personal belongings.
• Wash and clean your vehicle.
• Make copies of your transportation paperwork.
Vehicle Must Be Operational
In order to load your vehicle on the ship, your vehicle must be operational. This includes a working emergency brake and must be legal or qualified for legal operation on highways or public streets.
We reserve the right to reject receipt of cargo if the cargo does not meet the requirements for safe transportation & handling by our vessel operations.
Your vehicle must be washed and clean
PLEASE NOTE – Vehicles are subject to strict inspections by the USDA. It is the responsibility of the shipper to have the interior and exterior of the vehicle thoroughly cleaned.
For example: John had his truck shipped to the San Diego port. As the USDA did their inspection, they looked for clumps of mud in wheel wells and under the vehicle’s carriage. They inspected under the hood of his vehicle, searching for dirt, grass, and plant seeds in the interior as well as the exterior and for anything they thought may be suspicious.
John’s car failed the inspection. If your vehicle fails a 
USDA inspection at origin, we will not be unable to ship your vehicle until the vehicle has been thoroughly cleaned and cleared a second inspection.
PLEASE NOTE: Our company can not ship vehicles with cracked or broken windshields.
The Tacoma port is excluded from USDA inspection at this current time. But vehicles do have to be clean as they still survey each vehicle at the port point of origin.
Remove All Personal Belongings
The only items acceptable for shipment in your vehicle are accessories attached by the manufacturer to the vehicle, or permanently installed in the dash, doors, rear deck, or console. For example the following items should be removed:
- All personal items
- Auto protective covers/auto bras
- Loose radios
- CD’s
- Radar scanners
- Extra speakers or amplifiers
- Decorative ornaments
- Truck tailgate nets
- Tape players and tapes
- Compact disc players and discs
- Portable telephones of any type
- Power boosters
- Equalizers
- Auto roof racks if not factory installed
- Theft alarm systems (if you choose to leave a car alarm inside, make sure that the system is disconnected or disengaged prior to shipping your vehicle).
Hawaii Legal Requirements
The State of Hawaii does require proof of ownership for vehicles shipped to the mainland. Therefore, we cannot accept an automobile for shipment from Hawaii unless you do one of the following:
(1) Produce a certificate of ownership and a current certificate of registration showing you are the legal owner of the vehicle;
(2) If not the legal owner, you must produce a current certificate of registration that shows the registered owner of the vehicle is giving you written consent to have the vehicle transported.
If someone delivers the automobile that is not the registered owner, we have to have a notarized letter of authorization.
If a lien holder is named on the registration, the lien holder also has to provide a letter authorizing shipment from Hawaii.
- Current title
- Current registration
- Notarized letters of authorization from any non-present party listed on the Title (lien holder or spouse, etc).
Click here to view current State of Hawaii legal requirements.
In Hawaii, these are the most frequently used ports for importing a vehicle:
- Kahului, Maui
- Nawiliwili, Kauai
- Honolulu, Oahu
- Hilo, Hawaii (Big Island)
- Kawaihae, Hawaii (Big Island)
PLEASE NOTE – Automobiles departing from the Hilo port must have a valid safety check, registration, valid picture ID and insurance as is requred from the Hilo Port Authority.
Port Locations and Hours of Operation
