Search Hilo Deed Records
Hilo deed records are part of Hawaii's statewide recording system, with all property documents filed at the Bureau of Conveyances in Honolulu regardless of which island or county the property sits on. As the county seat of Hawaii County, Hilo is the base for the Hawaii County Real Property Tax Office, which manages parcel valuations and ownership records for the entire Big Island under TMK Zone 3. From residential lots in Keaukaha to commercial parcels downtown, every recorded deed for Hilo property is searchable through the state's RecordEASE portal and the county's online property system.
Hilo Overview
Recording Hilo Deed Records
Hilo deed records are filed at the Hawaii Bureau of Conveyances (BOC), located at the Kalanimoku Building, 1151 Punchbowl Street, Suite 120, Honolulu, HI 96813. This is the only recording office in the state. There is no Big Island branch of the BOC. All property transfers, mortgages, easements, and liens for Hilo parcels must be submitted to the Honolulu office to be part of the official public record.
Recording fees are $26 for the first five pages of a document and $5 for each additional page. Most standard residential deeds fall within five pages, making $26 the typical base cost. Documents with exhibits or lengthy legal descriptions may exceed that count. The BOC homepage at dlnr.hawaii.gov/boc lists the current fee schedule along with instructions for in-person, mail, and electronic submissions.
Every sale in Hilo triggers a conveyance tax obligation. Taxable transfers require Form P-64A; exempt transfers use Form P-64B. Hawaii's conveyance tax runs from $0.10 per $100 of value at the low end to $1.25 per $100 at the high end. Hilo property values tend to be lower than comparable properties on Oahu, which means many residential transfers here fall into the lower and middle tax brackets. Still, the form must be completed and submitted with every deed regardless of the sale amount. The authority for deed recording in Hawaii is HRS Chapter 502.
Once recorded, a deed is indexed in the BOC system and becomes searchable through RecordEASE. The index entry includes the document type, recording date, parties, and the TMK for the affected parcel. Copies of recorded documents are available for purchase at $1 per page.
Hawaii County Real Property Tax Office in Hilo
The Hawaii County Real Property Tax Office website at hawaiipropertytax.com is the primary county resource for Hilo property owners searching for assessment data, ownership records, and deed-related parcel information.
The Hawaii County Real Property Tax Office serves Hilo property owners from the Aupuni Center at 101 Pauahi Street, Suite 4, Hilo, HI 96720. This is the main location for Big Island property tax matters and handles assessment questions, exemption applications, ownership updates, and appeals for all Hawaii County parcels, including the full Hilo area.
The office has several direct contacts depending on your question. For clerical matters, call (808) 961-8201 or email rptclerical@hawaiicounty.gov. Appraisal questions go to (808) 961-8354 or rptappraisal@hawaiicounty.gov. Collections matters are handled at (808) 961-8282 or rptcollections@hawaiicounty.gov. For abstracting and ownership changes, contact (808) 961-8287 or rptmapping@hawaiicounty.gov. The fax number is (808) 961-8415. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 7:45 AM to 4:30 PM.
The Hilo office is responsible for linking deed records filed at the BOC to the county's parcel database. When a deed is recorded and a change of ownership occurs, the ownership information in the county system updates to reflect the new owner. That update is not instantaneous. A recently recorded Hilo deed may take a few weeks to appear in the county system. If you see a discrepancy between the BOC index and the county's records, the BOC recording is the controlling authority on when the transfer legally took effect.
Note: For Hilo residents who need to reach the property tax office by mail, the address is the same as the office location: Aupuni Center, 101 Pauahi Street, Suite 4, Hilo, HI 96720.
Searching Hilo Deed Records Online
The Bureau of Conveyances at dlnr.hawaii.gov/boc is the recording authority for all Hilo deed records, maintaining the official statewide archive of property documents for the Big Island and every other Hawaii county.
Two online systems cover Hilo deed records. The first is RecordEASE at bocdataext.hi.wcicloud.com, which indexes all BOC-recorded documents from 1976 forward. You can search by owner name (grantor or grantee), by TMK, or by document type. All Hilo properties use TMK Zone 3, which is the zone identifier for the Big Island. Filtering by Zone 3 keeps your results on Hawaii County parcels and avoids mixing in records from other islands.
The second system is the Hawaii County Real Property Tax portal at hawaiipropertytax.com. This county-run site lets you search by address, owner name, or parcel number to pull up assessment data, ownership information, and tax status for any Hilo property. It does not give access to full deed images, but it is a fast way to confirm ownership and find the TMK needed for a RecordEASE search. The combination of these two tools covers most Hilo deed research needs without a trip to any office.
For searches going back before 1976, in-person research at the BOC in Honolulu is required. Older records are maintained by the BOC but are not in the RecordEASE digital index. The BOC can assist with locating and retrieving pre-1976 documents from the historical record.
TMK Zone 3 and How to Use It
Every Hawaii property has a Tax Map Key, and Hilo properties use TMK Zone 3, the identifier for Hawaii County on the Big Island. The full TMK format for Hawaii County parcels is: Isle-Zone-Section-Plat-Parcel. An example would be 3-1-2-345-678, where the leading 3 denotes Zone 3 (Big Island), followed by the section, plat, and parcel numbers that narrow down the specific lot.
To use the TMK effectively, start at the Hawaii County property tax portal. Enter the street address of the Hilo property you are researching. The portal returns the parcel record with the full TMK displayed. Copy that TMK and carry it into RecordEASE. In RecordEASE, entering the TMK in the parcel search field returns all recorded documents indexed to that parcel, from the earliest available entry to the most recent. This gives you the full deed history for that specific Hilo lot.
If you are searching by owner name in RecordEASE, enter the last name first, then first name, to match the grantor/grantee index format. A name search returns a list of all documents where that person appears as either the grantor (seller/transferor) or grantee (buyer/recipient). For a common name, adding a date range helps narrow results to the time period you care about. Filtering to Zone 3 documents also helps when the name appears in records across multiple islands.
Note: TMK numbers for Hilo can change if a parcel is subdivided, consolidated, or re-platted. If a RecordEASE search by TMK returns fewer documents than expected, check the Hawaii County portal for prior TMK numbers associated with the same physical location.
Tax Programs for Hilo Property Owners
Hawaii County offers several property tax programs relevant to Hilo owners. The Homeowner Exemption is the most widely used. To qualify, the owner must occupy the property as their principal residence as of January 1 of the tax year, and must have a valid Social Security number on file with the county. The application also requires proof of age for the enhanced senior exemption. Filing deadlines and renewal requirements are managed by the Hilo office at 101 Pauahi Street.
The Agricultural Dedication program reduces property taxes for land actively used for agricultural purposes. Many properties on the Hilo side of the Big Island include agricultural zoning or active farming use, making this program relevant for a share of the local property base. A Long-Term Rental reduction is also available for properties rented to long-term tenants rather than used as vacation rentals. The deadline to apply for the Long-Term Rental program is December 31, and the benefit must be renewed annually. Property owners who shift from long-term to short-term rental use must notify the county promptly, as the classification affects the tax rate.
Veterans who meet eligibility criteria may qualify for the Veterans Exemption, which reduces the assessed value subject to taxation. Surviving spouses of qualifying veterans may also be eligible. Contact the Hilo office at (808) 961-8201 or rptclerical@hawaiicounty.gov for the current application materials and deadlines for any of these programs. Each program has specific eligibility criteria, and filing late typically means waiting until the next tax year to receive the benefit.
Note: Claiming a tax exemption program does not change the deed record at the BOC. Exemptions are administered entirely through the county property tax system and have no effect on recorded title.
Hilo Property Characteristics and Conveyance Tax
Hilo's property market includes a range of types. Residential lots, single-family homes, condominiums, commercial parcels, and agricultural land all appear in the deed record index for Zone 3. The east side of the Big Island, where Hilo sits, receives significantly more rainfall than the Kona side. That environmental factor shapes development patterns, land use, and property values in ways that differ from western Hawaii County properties.
Property values in Hilo are generally lower than comparable properties on Oahu. Many residential transactions fall in ranges where the conveyance tax lands in the middle brackets rather than the top rates. But agricultural and commercial land transfers, along with higher-end residential sales, still carry meaningful conveyance tax obligations. The P-64A or P-64B form must accompany every deed submission to the BOC, and the county uses these filings as one data source for tracking market activity.
The County Clerk for Hawaii County, Jon Henricks, is located at 25 Aupuni Street, Hilo, HI 96720, and can be reached at (808) 961-8255 or clerk-council@hawaiicounty.gov. The County Clerk handles government records and is separate from the Real Property Tax Office, but the two offices both serve Hilo property owners in different capacities. If you are researching ownership disputes or chain of title issues that involve court filings, the County Clerk's office is the appropriate contact for Hawaii County court records that might intersect with deed history.
Hawaii County Deed Records
Hilo is the county seat of Hawaii County, which covers the entire Big Island. All deed recording for Hilo properties goes through the state Bureau of Conveyances. Hawaii County's Real Property Tax Office in Hilo manages parcel valuations and tax records through the TMK Zone 3 system used across the Big Island, connecting deed filings to county property records for every parcel in the county.
Other Big Island Communities
Hilo is the county seat of Hawaii County on the Big Island. Other significant Big Island communities include Kailua-Kona on the west side, served by the Hawaii County Real Property Tax Office Kona location at 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Highway, Building D, 2nd Floor, Kailua-Kona. All Big Island deed records are filed through the state Bureau of Conveyances.