I tried walking in at 0845 this morning at Hilo and there was a sign up that said "WE'VE MET OUR MAXIMUM CAPACITY OF WALK-IN APPLICANTS. PLEASE TRY AGAIN TOMORROW"
I went up to the kiosk and the woman barked at me DO YOU HAVE AN APPOINTMENT?! I tried explaining to her that there were no appointments available online and she told me that I was wrong. (I had tried scrolling through the calendar into 2023 and every month showed no appointments available).
Some nice lady who was near me told me that she had the same outcome, and that she had originally tried to go to Pahoa and that they had put up signs not to approach the building unless one had an appointment, no walk-ins were available.
She said she got to Hilo at 0650 (they open at 0800) and she was #10 in line.
It wasn't until later that I realized today is June 8, the day that licenses that expired in the last year are no longer extended under Ige's proclamation, so I don't know if that is the reason why it was so crazy or this is just how the bureaucracy functions now.
Regardless, it looks like for now at least the only way to get a renewal is to book an appointment months into the future in Pahoa, or show up in Hilo at least an hour before they open. I would suggest earlier is better, I would rather get there at 0630 and wait for 2-3 hours than get there at 0800 and wait 6-7 hours. Just don't show up 45 minutes after they open like I did, or else you'll have just wasted an hour driving to Hilo and back with only frustration to show for it.
I suggest making a game of it, perhaps pretending that it's 1977 and you're camping out for tickets to Star Wars. Except after you get your ticket, you're not sure if you're going to get to see the event, or you'll find out that the utility bill you brought to prove that the USPS doesn't deliver to your home address isn't sufficient and maybe you get to repeat the process another day.
I went up to the kiosk and the woman barked at me DO YOU HAVE AN APPOINTMENT?! I tried explaining to her that there were no appointments available online and she told me that I was wrong. (I had tried scrolling through the calendar into 2023 and every month showed no appointments available).
Some nice lady who was near me told me that she had the same outcome, and that she had originally tried to go to Pahoa and that they had put up signs not to approach the building unless one had an appointment, no walk-ins were available.
She said she got to Hilo at 0650 (they open at 0800) and she was #10 in line.
It wasn't until later that I realized today is June 8, the day that licenses that expired in the last year are no longer extended under Ige's proclamation, so I don't know if that is the reason why it was so crazy or this is just how the bureaucracy functions now.
Regardless, it looks like for now at least the only way to get a renewal is to book an appointment months into the future in Pahoa, or show up in Hilo at least an hour before they open. I would suggest earlier is better, I would rather get there at 0630 and wait for 2-3 hours than get there at 0800 and wait 6-7 hours. Just don't show up 45 minutes after they open like I did, or else you'll have just wasted an hour driving to Hilo and back with only frustration to show for it.
I suggest making a game of it, perhaps pretending that it's 1977 and you're camping out for tickets to Star Wars. Except after you get your ticket, you're not sure if you're going to get to see the event, or you'll find out that the utility bill you brought to prove that the USPS doesn't deliver to your home address isn't sufficient and maybe you get to repeat the process another day.