Find Deed Records in Honolulu County

Honolulu County deed records are filed with the Hawaii state Bureau of Conveyances, not at a local county office, which means all recorded property documents for Oahu are kept in one centralized system. Whether you need a copy of a warranty deed, a quitclaim, or a recorded conveyance from years past, the Bureau's online portal gives you access to documents going back to 1976. This guide walks you through where to search, how the Real Property Assessment Division fits in, and what to expect when you look up property deed records for any parcel on the island.

Where Honolulu County Deed Records Are Filed

All deed records for Honolulu County are recorded at the state level through the Hawaii Bureau of Conveyances, which is a division of the Department of Land and Natural Resources. This is different from most states where recording happens at the county recorder's office. In Hawaii, the Bureau handles deed recording for every island and every county. Honolulu County does not have its own separate recording office. Everything goes through the Bureau, which is located at the Kalanimoku Building, 1151 Punchbowl Street, Suite 120, Honolulu, HI 96813. If you need to record a deed or get a certified copy of a recorded document, that is where you go.

The Bureau operates under Hawaii Revised Statutes Chapter 502, which sets out the rules for recording property documents in the state. There are two recording systems available: the Regular System (also called the Torrens system alternative) and the Land Court system. Most residential deeds in Honolulu County are recorded in the Regular System, though Land Court properties do exist, particularly in older neighborhoods and some rural Oahu parcels. The type of system affects how you search and what documents you find.

The standard recording fee is $26 for the first five pages of a document, and $5 for each additional page. Conveyance tax is also due at the time of recording and ranges from $0.10 to $1.25 per $100 of value depending on the sale price and property type. You pay both fees at the time you submit the deed for recording.

The Honolulu Real Property Assessment Division website provides a direct view into how the city and county track ownership and assessed values tied to recorded deed records.

Note: Walk-in visits to the Bureau of Conveyances are available during regular business hours. It is a good idea to call ahead or check the DLNR website for any changes to public access hours before making the trip.

Search Honolulu County Deed Records Online

The main online tool for searching recorded deed records in Honolulu County is RecordEASE, available at bocdataext.hi.wcicloud.com. This portal covers documents recorded from 1976 to the present. You can search by grantor or grantee name, by document type, by recording date range, or by Tax Map Key number. For Honolulu County, all TMK numbers begin with Zone 1, so if you know the parcel's TMK, you can pull up every recorded deed linked to that property fairly quickly. The system shows document details and allows you to view scanned images of the actual recorded instruments.

For a more property-centric search that combines assessment data with ownership history, the qPublic portal is also useful. It lets you look up parcels by owner name, parcel ID, or street address.

The Honolulu qPublic property search portal gives users a way to find Honolulu County deed records and property details using address or parcel identifier lookups.

Keep in mind that RecordEASE and qPublic serve different purposes. RecordEASE shows you the actual recorded conveyance documents. qPublic shows assessment and ownership data that the city and county maintain for tax purposes. Both draw from the same underlying property data, but they present it differently. If you need a certified copy of a recorded deed, you still go to the Bureau of Conveyances directly. Online portals let you identify what documents exist and confirm recording details, but certified copies require a formal request.

Note: Documents recorded before 1976 are not available through RecordEASE. For older deed records in Honolulu County, you need to visit the Bureau in person or contact them to arrange access to historical land records.

Honolulu County Real Property Assessment Division

The Real Property Assessment Division, often called RPAD, is the City and County of Honolulu agency that tracks property ownership, calculates assessed values, and handles the home exemption program. While RPAD does not record deeds, it plays a key role in the overall property records system for Honolulu County. When a deed gets recorded at the Bureau of Conveyances, RPAD eventually picks up the ownership change and updates its own database. That update happens on a weekly basis for ownership information, so there can be a short lag between recording and when RPAD reflects the new owner.

RPAD has two office locations serving Honolulu County. The main office is at 842 Bethel Street, Basement, Honolulu, HI 96813, and a west side office operates at 1000 Uluohi`a Street, Suite 206, Kapolei, HI 96707. Both offices can be reached at (808) 768-3799. The Kapolei location is convenient for property owners on the west and central Oahu areas. You can reach out to either office for questions about your assessment, home exemption status, or how to appeal a valuation.

The online tools at realproperty.honolulu.gov let you search for any parcel in Honolulu County by address, owner name, or parcel ID. You can view assessment history, tax billing information, and current ownership data. The site also lets you file a home exemption claim or submit an appeal during the open appeal period. Property characteristics on the site get updated when RPAD mails assessment notices, while billing and tax collection data refreshes daily.

Property Tax Rates in Honolulu County

Honolulu County property tax rates vary based on how the property is classified. The residential rate for owner-occupied homes is $3.50 per $1,000 of net taxable value, which is the lowest rate in the county's schedule. Non-owner-occupied residential properties valued over $1 million fall into the Residential A class, which carries a two-tier rate: $4.00 per $1,000 on the first $1 million of value, then $11.40 per $1,000 on any value above that threshold. This tiered structure has a significant effect on investment properties and vacation homes in higher-value Honolulu County neighborhoods.

Other property classifications and their 2024-2025 rates include Hotel and Resort at $13.90 per $1,000, Commercial and Industrial each at $12.40 per $1,000, Agricultural at $5.70 per $1,000, and Bed and Breakfast at $6.50 per $1,000. Transient Vacation Rental properties face a tiered rate of $9.00 per $1,000 on the first $800,000 of value and $11.50 per $1,000 above that.

The Honolulu property tax payment portal handles real property tax bills tied to the same parcels that appear in Honolulu County deed records and assessment data.

Home exemptions reduce the net taxable value used to calculate your bill. Property owners under 65 years of age get a $120,000 exemption from assessed value. Owners who are 65 and older receive a $160,000 exemption. These exemptions apply only to owner-occupied primary residences, and you must re-file if you transfer ownership of the property to a trust. The exemption does not carry over automatically when title changes to a trust, even if you remain the beneficial owner and continue living in the home.

Note: Assessment notices go out in December each year, and the assessment date for property values is October 1. The exemption filing deadline is September 30, so you need to act before the assessment date if you are claiming an exemption for the first time or re-filing after a trust transfer.

Paying Property Taxes and Filing Exemptions

Honolulu County property taxes are billed in two installments each year. The first-half year bills go out by July 20, and payment is due by August 20. The second-half bills are due February 20. If you prefer, you can pay the full annual amount during the August billing cycle rather than splitting it into two payments. Late payments may result in penalties and interest, so the due dates are worth marking. The tax year begins on July 1.

Online payments go through rphnlpay.com, which accepts Visa, MasterCard, American Express, JCB, and Discover. A convenience fee of 2.25% plus $2.50 applies to each online transaction. That fee is charged by the payment processor, not by the city. If you want to avoid the fee, you can pay by check or in person. The payment portal pulls parcel data from the same RPAD system used for deed records and assessments, so your TMK number or property address is all you need to pull up your bill.

Home exemption claims are filed through the RPAD online system or in person at either the Honolulu or Kapolei office. The September 30 deadline is firm. If you miss it, you wait until the following year. Appeals of assessed values can be filed in person, by mail, or online during the open appeal window, which runs from December 15 through January 15. Appeals cannot be submitted by fax or email. An appeal deposit is required when you file, but the deposit is returned if your appeal is sustained or if the matter is settled in your favor.

Honolulu County TMK System and Deed Searches

Hawaii uses a Tax Map Key system to identify every parcel of land in the state. Honolulu County is designated as Zone 1, and every parcel on Oahu has a TMK that starts with the number 1. The full TMK format is: zone-section-plat-parcel, such as 1-2-003-004. When you search for deed records in RecordEASE or look up ownership in qPublic, the TMK is the most precise identifier you can use. Names can have spelling variations and addresses change, but the TMK stays tied to the land itself.

Condominiums in Honolulu County have both a master land TMK for the underlying parcel and individual unit identifiers. When you search deed records for a condo unit, you may need both the project TMK and the unit number to find the right recorded documents. The RPAD site at realproperty.honolulu.gov is a good way to look up the current TMK for any Oahu property if you only have a street address to start with.

Honolulu County has a significant number of leasehold properties, which is less common in most other parts of the country. A leasehold deed records the transfer of leasehold interest rather than fee simple ownership. When you pull deed records for a leasehold parcel, you will see conveyances of the lease interest, not of the underlying land. Fee simple properties transfer the land itself. Both types of recorded documents appear in the Bureau of Conveyances system and follow the same recording process, but the distinction matters for buyers, lenders, and anyone doing a title search on Honolulu County properties.

If you are doing a title search or trying to trace the chain of ownership for an Oahu parcel, combining the RecordEASE deed search with the RPAD assessment history gives you the most complete picture. RecordEASE shows you every recorded instrument tied to the TMK. RPAD shows you the ownership timeline as reflected in the tax rolls. Together, they cover both the legal record and the administrative record of property ownership in Honolulu County.

Note: For parcels in the Land Court system, the Bureau of Conveyances maintains a separate set of records called Transfer Certificates of Title. These work differently from regular deed records and may require a different search approach through the Bureau.

Cities in Honolulu County

These communities are in Honolulu County on the island of Oahu. All property deed records for these areas are filed with the state Bureau of Conveyances. Property assessment and tax matters are handled by the City and County of Honolulu Real Property Assessment Division.

Nearby Counties

Honolulu County covers all of Oahu. Other Hawaii counties are on separate islands. All counties share the same state Bureau of Conveyances for deed recording.