Haw. Rev. Stat. § 143-1
This is the official text of Haw. Rev. Stat. § 143-1, part of Hawaii’s Rev. Stat — part of the compiled statutory law of Hawaii, published by the state as "Rev. Stat." Browse the sections below, each linked to its official government source.
Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.
Definitions.
Official statutory text
Whenever used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:
"Microchip" or "microchip identification" means a device that is implanted under the skin of an animal and that contains contact information for the owner of the animal.
"Officer" means any sheriff, deputy, any member of a police force in counties with a population of less than 100,000 and animal control officers of the several counties of the State.
"Owner" includes every person owning, harboring, or keeping a dog; provided that if the owner is a minor under the age of eighteen years, the parent, guardian, or other person having the care, custody, or control of the minor shall be irrebuttably presumed to be the owner.
"Unlicensed dog" means any dog for which the license for the current year has not been paid or to which the tag provided for in this chapter is not attached. [L 1941, c 268, §1; RL 1945, §7151; RL 1955, §156-1; am L 1963, c 85, §3; HRS §143-1; am L 1983, c 227, §2; am L 1989, c 211, §10; am L 1990, c 281, §11; am L Sp 2021, c 5, §3]
Revision Note
"Microchip" or "microchip identification" means a device that is implanted under the skin of an animal and that contains contact information for the owner of the animal.
"Officer" means any sheriff, deputy, any member of a police force in counties with a population of less than 100,000 and animal control officers of the several counties of the State.
"Owner" includes every person owning, harboring, or keeping a dog; provided that if the owner is a minor under the age of eighteen years, the parent, guardian, or other person having the care, custody, or control of the minor shall be irrebuttably presumed to be the owner.
"Unlicensed dog" means any dog for which the license for the current year has not been paid or to which the tag provided for in this chapter is not attached. [L 1941, c 268, §1; RL 1945, §7151; RL 1955, §156-1; am L 1963, c 85, §3; HRS §143-1; am L 1983, c 227, §2; am L 1989, c 211, §10; am L 1990, c 281, §11; am L Sp 2021, c 5, §3]
Revision Note
Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site
Need a lawyer in Hawaii?
Find a Hawaii lawyer
About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the
Open US Law dataset
(Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine
(Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.