Are Divorce Records Available to the Public in Hawaii?
Yes. Most Hawaii divorce records are open to the public under the Hawaii Uniform Information Practices Act and court rules. However, certain records are deemed confidential and may require a court order to access them.
Note: Divorce records are not automatically sealed in Hawaii. A request for a court order to seal a divorce record has to be made by either of the divorced parties. This request is made by writing a letter to the court and providing convincing reasons for the request. This is because for the court to decide on whether it should seal the record, it will consider the potential damage to the party making the request against the public right to public records. To access sealed court records, prior approval of the court must be sought.
How to Find a Divorce Record in Hawaii
Hawaii divorce records are documents produced during and after divorce trials filed and finalized in Hawaii State Courts. These records include divorce decrees, divorce certificates, and divorce case files. Some of these public records are only available to eligible individuals, while others are not.
Divorce records are considered court records. They may, therefore, be searched on third-party public record websites. Divorce records can offer personal information on minors, finances, and sensitive criminal information like domestic abuse. Because of this, divorce records, certificates, and decree availability is usually much lower than other types of public records because of the personal nature of divorces. Simply put, divorce records are significantly harder to obtain and search for than other types of public records.
Hawaii Divorce Certificates
A divorce certificate is a document evidencing the end of a marriage. It provides basic information such as the names of the divorced parties, the date of divorce, and the place of divorce. It proves that two people are no longer in a legal marital union and may remarry and/or proceed with changing their names.
Divorce certificates from July 1951 to December 2002 are issued by the Hawaii Department of Health. Certificates produced before and after these dates are available at the courts where the recorded divorces were finalized.
There are two types of divorce certificates in Hawaii. These are certified divorce certificates and plain divorce certificates. A certified divorce certificate is printed on a security paper and bears an official seal. It is only available to the divorced parties, their designated attorneys, and their immediate family members.
A plain divorce certificate is printed on a copy paper and bears a stamp but does not carry a seal. It provides the same information as a certified copy provides and is available to anyone requesting it. A plain divorce certificate is solely an informational record and is not acceptable for legal or identification purposes.
Understanding Hawaii Divorce Decrees
A Hawaii divorce decree is the final judgment issued by a family court after finalizing a marriage dissolution. This document is available in the court where the divorce occurred. In addition to certifying the legal end of a marriage, it also spells out the terms of the divorce. These terms include alimony amount, child custody and support, visitation schedule, and asset division.
A divorce decree is signed by both parties, their attorneys and the judge who gave the divorce judgment. It is filed with the clerk of the court where the decree was issued. Divorce decrees are included in divorce records.
A divorce decree is accessible to the divorced parties, their spouses, descendants, parents/guardians, and designated attorneys.
Understanding Hawaii Divorce Record
A divorce record is the complete case file of a divorce. It provides details of divorce proceedings and includes original documents introduced and produced during the trial. A complete divorce case record includes a divorce decree as well as motions, orders, complaints, reports, assessments, and transcripts.
How to Obtain Hawaii Divorce Court Records
Divorce court records can be obtained by visiting the Hawaii Family Courts in the counties where the divorce proceedings were held. Fees for accessing divorce records depend on the number and types of copies requested. Consult the Hawaii Judiciary Schedule of Fees and Costs to calculate the total fees payable when requesting divorce records.
The three ways of requesting copies of divorce court records in Hawaii are:
- Online via eCourt Kokua
- Via mail: A written request for divorce records can be made by writing to the office of the clerk of the family court where the divorce proceedings are held. This may be O
ahu](https://www.courts.state.hi.us/general_information/contact/oahu), [Maui](https://www.courts.state.hi.us/general_information/contact/maui), [Hawaii, or Kauai. Submit the request using a completed request for access to court records form or purchase of court records form. Enclose a copy of a valid government-issued ID and evidence of payment for the copies requested. Requests via mail take around 10-20 working days.
Requesters looking for divorce case details needed to complete the form may find such information online on Hawaii Judiciary’s eCourt Kokua portal.
- In-person: A divorce record is available from the clerk’s office in the family court where the divorce was decided. To obtain divorce records in person, a requester must visit the family court of interest. The four Hawaii court circuits are O
ahu](https://www.courts.state.hi.us/general_information/contact/oahu), [Maui](https://www.courts.state.hi.us/general_information/contact/maui), [Hawaii, or Kauai. Complete and bring along a request for access to the court records form or purchase the court records form. These forms allow requesters to provide the following information”:- Their names
- Names of the parties on divorce records
- Case information (case numbers, circuits, and dates of the divorce)
Bring along a government-issued ID and payment for copy fees.
How to Obtain a Hawaii Divorce Certificate
There are two ways of obtaining Hawaii divorce certificates depending on their dates of issue. Divorce certificates from January 1951 to December 2002 can be obtained from the Hawaii District Health Office. It accepts applications submitted by mail and in person and charges $10 for a certified copy of a divorce record and $4 for each additional copy.
To order via mail, download and fill out the request form. Attach evidence of payment and a copy of a valid government-issued ID and mail the request to:
State Department of Health
Office of Health Status Monitoring
Vital Records Issuance Section
P.O. Box 3378
Honolulu, HI 96801
This request form can also be submitted in person to Room 103, 1250 Punchbowl Street, Honolulu.
To obtain divorce certificates first issued outside those dates, the requester must contact the family court where the divorce occurred. For further inquiries, send an email to hoohikihelp@courts.hawaii.gov.
How to Find Out if Someone is Divorced in Hawaii
Finding out if someone is divorced in Hawaii is an easy task. As divorce records are releasable to the public in Hawaii, an interested individual can access the state judiciary's eCourt Kokua portal to search divorce records in Hawaii for free. Besides viewing case details like the divorce parties' names, case ID, case status, filing date, presiding court, events, and dockets, an information seeker can also see if a court granted a divorce or not. Individuals can also find out if a divorce decree was amended and access a printable case view.
For persons who do not have a computer or an internet connection, free access to Hawaii divorce case information is also available at the courthouses via public access terminals or at a local public library.
How to Find Public Divorce Records Online
Some public divorce court records can be reviewed online by visiting eCourt Kokua. It is important to note that this web portal has only some divorce records. It also does not provide access to all divorce court documents but allows access to information about these cases. To access marriage dissolution documents, interested parties can visit the clerk's office in the courthouse where the divorce was filed.
Government public record search portals and third-party public record websites may both provide court records search tools, which can help find divorce records, though record availability usually varies widely. Divorce records in particular, may simply not be available through either source.
Does Hawaii Recognize Common-Law Marriages?
Marriage laws in Hawaii require that the parties who wish to unite must apply for a marriage license. Proxy applications are prohibited. The parties to be married must appear together in person before a marriage license agent. Eligibility for marriage allows for persons under 18 but not below 15 to get married with parents’ consent, and consent forms must be obtained from a licensed agent. Courts may be approached to handle the divorce for a Hawaii common-law marriage that was done in a state where it is legal.
How to Lookup Divorce Records in Hawaii
Divorcees can look up their Hawaii divorce records at the family court in the circuit where the case was finalized. Alternatively, they can fill out an application form and fax or mail it to the court to search for divorce records in Hawaii. Note that a court clerk, the family court's record keeper, requires valid identification (e.g., a passport or driver's license) from subjects of records to process mail or in-person requests.
Those who cannot go to the courthouse or fax/mail the court to request their divorce records can access the Hawaii judiciary's eCourt Kokua case management system. There, the inquirer can enter their first and last name, case ID number, or other search criteria to view case records. Users registered on the Judiciary Electronic Filing and Service System (JEFS) can also download PDFs of their divorce documents.
Note: the Hawaii Department of Health maintains limited divorce records, specifically Hawaii divorce certificates. The agency only retains Hawaii divorce certificates from January 1951 to December 2002. Other record years must be searched at the family court that heard the divorce case.
What are Dissolution of Marriage Records?
In many U.S. states, "dissolution of marriage" is a more formal expression for "divorce". Sometimes, state court systems substitute the two terms when referring to the legal proceedings initiated to sever marital ties and settle all related legal matters. However, the State of Hawaii only refers to this procedure as a "divorce" and the official case records as "divorce records".
