A lifeguard tower along a Hawaii beach with trees in Honolulu.

Honolulu unveils innovative permitting software to streamline project delivery

July 22, 2025

Honolulu City and County’s Department of Planning and Permitting (DPP) announced it will start using a new system to apply for and track building permits. Beginning next month, the office will use its new permitting software “HNL Build,” which the department anticipates will speed up permit processing and simplify the application process.

Currently, DPP uses a POSSE platform to process applications. The department has used this system for 26 years and feels it can no longer keep up with demand. The POSSE platform usage will end on July 28. Permits in progress will be transferred to the new system, which will go live on August 4.

According to the Building Industry Association of Hawaii, with the current system, 13% of applicants were granted permits in less than six months. Half of the residential permit applications took over a year to be finalized, while average wait times for commercial permits exceeded two years. Additionally, the POSSE platform limits the types of permits applicants can apply for online, with some requiring an in-person, paper application.

The new permitting software, HNL Build, seeks to speed up the application process, thereby saving money for the department and applicants along the way. HNL Build’s installation began in February 2024 and has been in the testing phase for the last several months. DPP expects by using HNL Build, residential code review for one cycle will turn over applications in less than two weeks and commercial code review in less than three months.

Applicants will be able to track the status of each of their applications on the system with a single login. The applications can also be shared with other stakeholders, such as owners, contractors, plan makers and engineers, to ensure all crews and teams have access to project information and progress.

The HNL Build program guides the applicants through several steps, rather than confronting them with several options like the old system. It also requires applicants to upload all necessary documents before moving to the next step in the process. According to city officials, this move is designed to eliminate missing forms and unaddressed corrections, which were a big cause of the backlog of the old system.

HNL Build will feature a map of Oahu on which applicants can pinpoint the exact location of the building project with a street address or tax key map.

On HNL Build applicants will be able to produce online submissions for every application type handled by DPP. This includes site development permits, coastal permits, zoning permits, planning applications, licenses and other approvals. Additionally, applicants may pay for permits online with a credit card, a feature missing from the previous platform.

DPP plans to continue updating its software as the year progresses. Later this year, the department plans to launch another new software called CivCheck, a tool that ensures project plans meet DPP standards before submitting them for a permit application. This effort is intended to help DPP staff and applicants to produce successful permits in a timely manner.


Photo by Jess Loiterton from Pexels

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