Moving dirt or clearing land on Maui almost always starts with one question: do I need a county permit for this? The short answer is that Maui County treats excavation, fill and vegetation removal as regulated work, and only small, low-impact jobs slip through. Here is how it works.
Grading vs. grubbing: two different permits
Maui County's Department of Public Works splits earthwork into two permit types. A grading permit covers excavation, fill and the temporary stockpiling of soil, sand, gravel or rock. A grubbing permit covers uprooting and removing vegetation, including trees, brush and shrubs, from the surface of the ground. The county notes that certain exemptions apply, so not every shovel of dirt needs paperwork.
Many projects need both. Clearing an overgrown Haʻikū lot and then cutting a house pad is grubbing first, grading second.
Which jobs are usually exempt?
Exemptions in Hawaiʻi counties generally hinge on a few things: how many cubic yards you move, how tall the cut or fill gets, whether the work changes how water drains onto your neighbors, and whether the site sits inside the coastal Special Management Area (SMA). Small backyard jobs that stay well under those limits and don't redirect runoff are the most likely to be exempt.
Because the exact thresholds live in the county code and can change, treat any job bigger than a garden bed as "ask first." A five-minute call to Development Services is cheaper than a stop-work order.
Where to apply
Grading and grubbing permits on Maui are handled by the Development Services Administration (DSA), part of the Department of Public Works, at 250 South High Street in Wailuku. Maui County uses a single combined grading and grubbing application, while other Hawaiʻi counties split them into separate forms.
What the application asks for
- Location: your address and tax map key (TMK).
- Plans: a site plan showing the work area and the volume of soil involved, in cubic yards.
- Erosion control: how you'll keep sediment on site (silt fence, fiber rolls, stabilized entrances).
- Best management practices: a short statement of how dust, runoff and stockpiles will be handled.
Larger plans can also be reviewed by the local Soil and Water Conservation District, which publishes its own checklist for county grading and grubbing plans. The permit fee is based on the volume of earth moved or the area cleared.
Other permits that ride along
- Driveway permit: needed to build, rebuild, remove or repair a driveway connection on a county road.
- Work on a county highway: required any time a county roadway is dug up or disturbed, for example a water or sewer tie-in.
- Flood development permit: for work in mapped flood hazard areas.
- SMA review: if you're near the shoreline in places like Kīhei, Pāʻia or Lahaina, the Planning Department's SMA rules apply on top of the grading permit. See our South Maui and West Maui pages.
Why grubbing without a permit is a bad idea
Clearing land "just for fire safety" is common Upcountry, and the county does enforce. In 2024, Maui County issued a violation over unpermitted tree clearing that started as a fire-prevention project. Even well-meant clearing can trigger a notice of violation, fines and an after-the-fact permit.
Before you hire
- Call 811 at least five working days before any digging. See our 811 guide.
- Confirm the contractor's license on the state's free search. See how to check a Hawaiʻi contractor's license.
- Ask who pulls the permit. Most experienced Maui excavators handle it as part of the job.
Buying land and wondering what site prep it'll need? Browse lots on Real Estate for Sale Maui, then compare excavation contractors in our directory.