Hawaii's court, criminal, vital, property, voter, and licensing records are maintained across state agencies and the 5 counties listed below. Use the tabs to filter by record type, or jump directly to any source.
- Courts: The Hawaii Supreme Court sits at the top of the system; trial-court business is handled by the Circuit Court, District Court, Family Court. Most courts publish dockets and case lookups online.
- Criminal history: Official background checks run through the Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center (HCJDC); the Hawaii criminal records page covers the current fee and request process.
- Vital records: Birth, death, marriage, and divorce certificates are issued by the Hawaii Department of Health and may also be available locally.
- Property & recorded documents: Maintained at the county level by the Assessor, Recorder, or Clerk's office.
- Business filings: the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs' Business Registration Division operates the official business-entity search.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau (2024 Population Estimates Program; 2022 ACS 5-year)
Hawaii Public Records at a Glance
Hawaii runs on four counties and a strong state layer. eCourt Kokua is the judiciary's single public index for case records across the islands — one search covers the whole state, as the Hawaii court records page shows. The Criminal Justice Data Center runs eCrim, a public conviction search open to anyone, which makes Hawaii one of the easier states for a criminal record check. The Department of Health issues birth, death, and marriage certificates with some of the strictest eligibility rules in the country. There is no secretary of state: business filings go through the DCCA's Business Registration Division. Bureau of Conveyances handles deeds statewide — Hawaii is the only state that records all land documents in one office.
Figures reflect sources indexed in this directory and the latest official reports. Content reviewed July 30, 2026 by the SearchSystems editorial team.
Hawaii Guides
Step-by-step pages for the searches people actually run:
Statewide Databases
42 official Hawaii government databases. Click a tab to filter by record type.
Court Records
Criminal Records
Wants & Warrants
Vital Records
Voter Records
Licenses
Recorded Documents
Property Records
Hawaii Counties
All 5 Hawaii counties. Click any county for local court, sheriff, recorder and assessor links.
Frequently Asked Questions
How are public records organized in Hawaii?▼
Hawaii keeps public records at three levels: federal (FBI, federal courts via PACER), state (court of last resort, state police, department of health, secretary of state), and county-level (sheriffs, clerks, recorders, assessors). Each county maintains its own court, criminal-justice, property, and vital-records offices linked from the county pages below.
Where do I start a Hawaii court-case search?▼
For statewide trial-court information, start at the Hawaii State Judiciary: www.courts.state.hi.us. Hawaii federal cases are searched through PACER. For local case dockets, see the Court Records tab and the county page for your area.
How do I get an official Hawaii background check?▼
Hawaii's official statewide criminal-history check is run by the Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center (HCJDC) at ecrim.ehawaii.gov. Most state-level checks require fingerprints and a fee. A nationwide FBI Identity History Summary is available separately.
Where do I obtain Hawaii birth, death, or marriage certificates?▼
Certified Hawaii vital records are issued by the Official Hawaii Vital Records at health.hawaii.gov. Recent local events (births, deaths, marriages) can often also be requested from the county clerk or local registrar where the event was filed.
What does it cost to access Hawaii public records?▼
Most online record indexes in Hawaii are free to search; fees apply for certified copies, fingerprint background checks, full document images at the recorder, and statewide bulk data. Each agency publishes its current fee schedule — for example the Hawaii State Judiciary (courts), the Official Hawaii Vital Records (vital records), the Official Hawaii Voter Records (elections), and the Official Hawaii Professional & Occupational Licenses (licenses).