Hawaii (HI) · Open house rules

Open house rules for Hawaii agents

What Hawaii asks of an agent at the door: the deadline the commission sets for telling a visitor who you represent, the telemarketing carve-out that names licensed brokers by trade, why the local MLS treats visiting an open house together as touring, and what the records law actually covers.

Last reviewed August 31, 2026Every claim links to a primary source

This is not legal advice

We are software people, not lawyers. This page is a plain reading of public Hawaii sources, gathered so you can go read them yourself. Rules change, and how any rule applies to your situation is a question for your broker, your association, or an attorney licensed in Hawaii.

When do you have to tell a Hawaii visitor who you represent?

At a Hawaii open house you are usually the listing brokerage firm acting alone, and plenty of the people walking in have no agent of their own. For exactly that situation the commission's rule sets the deadline at prior to preparing any contract between the buyer and the seller, and it lets the disclosure be made in writing or orally, so a spoken line at the door is an acceptable way to make it. Waiting until you are drafting an offer is technically inside the rule and still a bad idea, because by then the visitor has spent an hour talking to you on the assumption you were helping them. Say who you represent as you greet people, and carry the same sentence on your sign-in screen so there is a record that every visitor saw it. The rule requires the disclosure to be made at least once, so one clear statement at the door is what you are building a record of.

Prior to preparing any contract between the buyer and the seller, the following disclosure shall be made at least once to the buyer, in writing or orally: (1) If the licensee acting as the listing brokerage firm is acting alone and providing services to the buyer, the licensee shall disclose who the licensee represents in the transaction;
Hawaii Administrative Rules 16-99-3.1, Disclosure of agency (Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs) (opens the source in a new tab)

Checked at the source on August 31, 2026

Can you call or text a visitor after the open house?

Hawaii's telemarketing chapter has a carve-out with your name on it. Section 481P-5 lists who chapter 481P does not apply to, and item nine is a real estate broker or salesperson licensed by this State to sell real estate, when soliciting within the scope of the license. So that chapter is not what governs your follow-up call to yesterday's open house visitor. Two limits are worth reading twice: the exemption runs only as far as your license, so calling about a side venture is a different conversation, and it is written as an exemption from this chapter, which means it says nothing about the federal telemarketing rules. Keep a plainly worded consent line on the sign-in form and the timestamp that goes with it.

This chapter shall not apply to: ... (9) A real estate broker or salesperson who is licensed by this State to sell real estate, when soliciting within the scope of the license
Hawaii Revised Statutes 481P-5, Exemptions (Telemarketing Fraud Prevention Act) (opens the source in a new tab)

Checked at the source on August 31, 2026

Does an open house visitor have to sign a buyer agreement?

Not to walk through a house you are holding open for the seller. What triggers the written buyer agreement in Hawaii is working with someone as their buyer before touring a home, and HiCentral MLS, the Honolulu Board of REALTORS multiple listing service, names visiting an open house together as exactly that kind of tour. So the rule is pointed at the visitor you arrange to meet at the next open house as their agent, and that agreement has to be signed before you go. It is not pointed at the person who walks in off the street while you are there for the seller. This is NAR settlement and MLS policy rather than Hawaii state law, and this particular wording is the Oahu board's, so confirm what your own board and brokerage require.

Written Buyer Agreement required when working with buyer before touring a home in person or virtually (e.g., visiting an open house together or a live virtual tour)
HiCentral MLS (Honolulu Board of REALTORS), MLS Policy and Practice Changes (opens the source in a new tab)

Checked at the source on August 31, 2026

What do you owe a visitor whose details you collect?

Hawaii's records destruction chapter turns on a narrow definition, and an ordinary sign-in list sits just outside it. Chapter 487R treats information as personal only when a name is combined with a Social Security number, a driver's license or Hawaii identification card number, or an account, card number, access code or password that opens a financial account. A name, a phone number and an email address do not meet that bar. A photograph of a visitor's driver's license does, because it carries both halves of that definition in one image, so an agent who snaps one at the door for safety has just moved the open house list into a chapter about destroying records properly. Decide before the event whether you want to be holding that at all.

"Personal information" means an individual's first name or first initial and last name in combination with any one or more of the following data elements, when either the name or the data elements are not encrypted: (1) Social security number; (2) Driver's license number or Hawaii identification card number; or (3) Account number, credit or debit card number, access code, or password that would permit access to an individual's financial account.
Hawaii Revised Statutes 487R-1, Destruction of Personal Information Records (opens the source in a new tab)

Checked at the source on August 31, 2026

How this page is put together

  • Every claim above carries a link to a primary source, plus the exact words from that source that support it. If a claim cannot be quoted, it is not on this page.
  • Each claim shows the date a human last opened that link and confirmed the quote still says what it says.
  • We only cover what we could source. A topic you were hoping to find may be one we have not confirmed yet, so treat this as a starting point rather than a complete list of everything Hawaii expects of you.

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