Hawaii County Deed Records

Hawaii has five counties, and deed records for all of them are filed with the state Bureau of Conveyances in Honolulu. Unlike most states, Hawaii does not have county-level recorder offices. Whether a property sits on Oahu, the Big Island, Maui, Kauai, or the Kalaupapa Peninsula, the deed goes to the same central state office. Each county does maintain its own Real Property Assessment Division for tax and ownership purposes. Select a county below to find local resources, assessment office contacts, and county-specific property search tools for deed records.

How Hawaii County Deed Records Work

Hawaii's approach to deed recording is unlike any other state. The Bureau of Conveyances, part of the Department of Land and Natural Resources, handles all property recording for all five counties through one centralized office in Honolulu. There is no Honolulu County recorder, no Maui County recorder, and no Hawaii County recorder. Every deed, mortgage, lease, lien, and conveyance document goes through the same state office at the Kalanimoku Building, 1151 Punchbowl Street, Suite 120, Honolulu, HI 96813. Searching deed records in any county starts at the same place: the Bureau's online portal, RecordEASE, at bocdataext.hi.wcicloud.com. All documents recorded since 1976 are available there. For older records, a visit to the Bureau in person is required.

What varies by county is the Real Property Assessment Division. Each county runs its own office that tracks property ownership, assigns and updates Tax Map Key numbers, calculates assessed values for tax purposes, and processes exemption applications. The TMK system identifies which county a property belongs to by the first digit of the key number. Honolulu County is Zone 1. Maui County is Zone 2. Hawaii County is Zone 3. Kauai County is Zone 4. Kalawao County is Zone 5. All five zones are searchable in RecordEASE.

Recording fees are set by the Bureau and apply statewide. The cost to record the first five pages of a document is $26. Each additional page costs $5. These fees apply equally for all counties. Conveyance tax is also paid at the time of recording and is based on the consideration paid for the property transfer, with rates ranging from $0.10 to $1.25 per $100 of value depending on the purchase price.

All Hawaii Counties

Select any county below to view deed record resources, assessment office details, and property search information specific to that county.

Hawaii County Deed Records at a Glance

Honolulu County covers the entire island of Oahu and operates as a consolidated city and county government. It is the most populous county in the state and home to Urban Honolulu, Pearl City, Kailua, Kaneohe, Waipahu, Kapolei, and many other communities. The Real Property Assessment Division's main office is at 842 Bethel Street, Basement, Honolulu, HI 96813, phone (808) 768-3799. A second office serves the west side of the island at 1000 Ulu'ohi'a Street, Suite 206, Kapolei. Online property search for Honolulu County parcels is available at qpublic.net/hi/honolulu and through the division's own site at realproperty.honolulu.gov. Honolulu County uses TMK Zone 1. All deed recording goes through the state Bureau of Conveyances.

Hawaii County covers the Big Island of Hawaii and is the largest county by land area in the United States. The county seat is Hilo. The Real Property Tax Office has two locations: Aupuni Center, 101 Pauahi Street, Suite 4, Hilo, HI 96720, phone (808) 961-8201, and the West Hawaii Civic Center, 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Highway, Building D, 2nd Floor, Kailua-Kona, HI 96740, phone (808) 323-4880. Both offices are open Monday through Friday, 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Online property records are at hawaiipropertytax.com. Hawaii County uses TMK Zone 3 with an extended format that includes an isle number as the first component.

Maui County encompasses the islands of Maui, Molokai, and Lanai, along with the uninhabited island of Kahoolawe. The Real Property Assessment Division is at 70 East Kaahumanu Avenue, Suite A-16, Kahului, HI 96732, phone (808) 270-7297. The Bureau of Conveyances maintains a Maui branch office at 1063 Lower Main Street, Suite C-214, Wailuku, HI 96793, phone (808) 984-3067, open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Online property search is available at mauipropertytax.com and through the Maui qPublic portal. Maui County uses TMK Zone 2.

Kauai County covers the island of Kauai. The county seat is Lihue. The Bureau of Conveyances branch office is at 3060 Eiwa Street, Room 210, Lihue, HI 96766, phone (808) 241-3223, open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The Real Property Tax Office is at 4444 Rice Street, Suite 454, Lihue, phone (808) 241-4224. Online property search is at qpublic.schneidercorp.com. Additional county resources are available through the official county website at kauai.gov. Kauai County uses TMK Zone 4.

Kalawao County is the smallest county in Hawaii and in the entire United States by land area and population. It sits on the Kalaupapa Peninsula on the north coast of Molokai, the site of a former Hansen's disease settlement established in 1866. Property transactions here are extremely limited. Most land is held by the state or federal government. All deed records for Kalawao County are maintained through the state Bureau of Conveyances. The county uses TMK Zone 5. County administration operates through a unique arrangement that involves the Hawaii Department of Health rather than the standard county government structure.