Guide for Uber drivers in Hawaii

How to start driving for Uber and Lyft on Oahu

Signing up with Uber or Lyft happens online, in their driver apps. Driving in Hawaii adds two steps of your own that most new drivers miss: a General Excise Tax license, and a small share of every deposit set aside for the tax.

What Uber asks for

From Uber’s pages for drivers in the US and its vehicle requirements for Honolulu:

You: new drivers must be at least 23, with at least one year of licensed driving experience in the US (three years if you’re under 25). After you sign up, an online screening reviews your driving record and criminal history.
Documents: a valid US driver’s license, proof of residency, proof of insurance if you’ll drive your own car, and a profile photo. The car doesn’t need to be registered in your name.
The car: 15 years old or newer, four doors, in good condition with no cosmetic damage, no commercial branding or decals, no taxi or neon colors, and no pickup trucks. For UberX: five factory-installed seats and seat belts, working windows and air conditioning, and not salvaged or rebuilt.
Insurance: Uber says every driver must keep their own policy as state and local laws require, and that Uber also carries automobile liability insurance for its US drivers.

What Lyft asks for

From Lyft’s page for drivers in Hawaii:

You: 25 or older, with a valid driver’s license (temporary and out-of-state licenses are accepted), and a driver screening every quarter that reviews your driving history and criminal background.
Documents: a profile photo, the vehicle’s registration, personal vehicle insurance and, in Honolulu, a Hawaii Vehicle Inspection Sticker.
The car: 2010 or newer, four doors, five to eight seats counting the driver’s, no trucks in Honolulu, and not titled as salvage, non-repairable or rebuilt. No taxis, stretch limousines or rental cars (more below).
Lyft says Honolulu drivers must let the City’s Department of Customer Services inspect their vehicle when asked.

No car of your own?

Uber has a Vehicle Marketplace with car rental and purchase options from vehicle partners, only for Uber drivers. Open it to see what’s offered in Honolulu.

Lyft’s rental program, Express Drive, isn’t offered anywhere in Hawaii, and Lyft doesn’t take other rental cars, so to drive for Lyft on Oahu you need a car that isn’t a rental.

Sign up

Start on Uber’s page for drivers in Honolulu or Lyft’s page for Honolulu, and download the driver app.
Upload your documents and photos in the app, and agree to the screening.
Wait for the screening to clear before you go online.

Requirements change, and each app shows what it needs from you when you sign up, so check there before you buy or change a car.

Before your first ride: a GE license

Hawaii counts driving as a business. The Department of Taxation’s Tax Information Release 2025-01 says rideshare drivers owe General Excise Tax on what they earn: fares at the 0.5% wholesale rate, and tips at 4% plus the county surcharge, 4.5% on Oahu. To file and pay it, you need a GE license: $20, once, online at Hawaii Tax Online. Step by step: How to get a Hawaii GE license.

From your first deposit: set aside the GET

The GET is yours to file and pay, so it’s yours to set aside. Moving a small share of every deposit into an account of its own as it arrives means each return is covered when it’s due. For many drivers the share is about 1%: How much to set aside for GET.

Keep your documents

Uber: each month’s Tax Summary is on drivers.uber.com, under Tax Information. GETdone reads them and works out your returns.
Lyft: keep its weekly summaries and annual tax summary. GETdone asks for Lyft’s totals for each return’s months.
Driving for both? Hawaii Tax Online takes all your GET income on one return, so both apps go on the same G-45 and G-49: Forms G-45 and G-49.

Income tax is separate from GET, and GETdone doesn’t work it out. Ask a tax professional what to set aside for it.

Next: see your GET from your first month

Once you’ve driven a month, drop in Uber’s Tax Summary. GETdone works out your General Excise Tax, free, on your device: nothing is uploaded.

Start free

Sources

Read on October 6, 2026. Uber’s, Lyft’s and the Department’s own pages are the final word: check them before you sign up, buy a car or file.

This guide puts Uber’s, Lyft’s and the Department’s requirements in plain words. It isn’t tax or legal advice, and GETdone isn’t affiliated with Uber or Lyft.