Hawaii Criminal Records Search: Cases & Public Records

Start with the correct records system

Where Can You Find Hawaii Criminal Records Online?

Hawaii uses a statewide judiciary case-information system, but its criminal-history repository is maintained separately by the Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center (HCJDC). Public arrest records, correctional information and sex offender records involve additional agencies.

Free statewide criminal case lookup

How to Search Hawaii Criminal Court Records by Name or Case Number

The Hawaii State Judiciary operates eCourt Kōkua through its Judiciary Information Management System (JIMS). The public website provides case searches for qualifying criminal cases and other court proceedings.

The Judiciary refreshed the eCourt Kōkua interface in May 2026. Its main public search functions remained available, although page layouts and navigation labels may have changed.

Step-by-step: searching Hawaii criminal records

1. Open the official eCourt Kōkua page

   Follow the Judiciary’s current entry link to the case-search application. Read and accept the displayed public-access disclaimer.

2. Select the appropriate search method

   Use Party Search when you know the defendant’s name, Case Search when you have a case number, or Upcoming Court Hearings Search when you need scheduling information.

3. Enter the name or case identifier

   Provide the exact name as it appears in court documents, or enter the case number using the required format. Older cases may require number conversion.

4. Choose the appropriate court or case category

   Look for Circuit Court felony proceedings, District Court misdemeanor matters, or another relevant criminal case category.

5. Review matching records carefully

   Confirm the defendant’s identity, court, filing date, case number and publicly available case details. A matching name alone does not establish that you have found the correct person.

6. Open the docket or case history

   Review charges, hearings, court orders, pleas, judgments, sentencing entries or other publicly displayed events.

7. Look for available PDF documents

   If a PDF icon appears next to an entry, the corresponding public document may be available to purchase and download.

8. Confirm the official result when necessary

   For a certified judgment, official disposition or older case document, contact the courthouse maintaining the original record.

Is eCourt Kōkua free?

Yes, basic court case information can be viewed for free. However, obtaining copies of underlying documents may involve a charge.

Publicly available document PDFs cost $3 for documents up to 30 pages, with an additional $0.10 for each page after the first 30. The Judiciary also offers paid document subscriptions.

Understanding Hawaii criminal jurisdiction

Hawaii Circuit Court vs. District Court Criminal Records

The court that handles the case depends on the classification of the offense and the applicable procedural rules.

Why one criminal case can involve two courts

A felony case may involve an initial District Court appearance or probable-cause proceeding before moving to Circuit Court. In that situation, researching only the District Court docket may not reveal the later trial, plea or sentence.

Similarly, a misdemeanor case that proceeds to a jury trial may be transferred to Circuit Court under applicable procedures.

Official Circuit Court Jurisdiction | Official District Court Jurisdiction

Four judicial circuits, one statewide case search

Hawaii Criminal Records by Island and Judicial Circuit

Hawaii has four current judicial circuits: First, Second, Third and Fifth. There is no operating Fourth Judicial Circuit; it was merged into the Third Circuit in 1943.

Historic records and case-number conversion

How to Find Older Hawaii Criminal Court Records

Hawaii has important online case-coverage limits. Older cases may exist in court archives even when eCourt Kōkua returns no search result.

Hawaii’s older criminal case-number format

Some historic cases were migrated from earlier systems. Their older numbers may need to be converted to the current JIMS identifier before a case-number search will work.

The Judiciary explains that migrated numbers can require a circuit prefix, case-type identifier and leading zeros, producing a 12-character search value.

These are illustrative conversions published by the Judiciary, not actual records being recommended for background searches.

Newer criminal case numbers

For criminal cases created starting January 23, 2017, the current system supports a hyphenated case ID format incorporating the circuit, case type, year and sequence number.

For example, the Judiciary gives 1CPC-17-0000001 as a valid format and explains that the shortened form 1CPC-17-1 may also be accepted.

Dockets, judgments and certified records

How to Download or Request Hawaii Criminal Court Documents

eCourt Kōkua provides public docket information at no charge, but many filed documents require purchase.

The Judiciary’s record-access page explains that available public documents may be offered as regular copies with a file stamp or certified copies with the applicable electronic certification.

Download an eligible eCourt Kōkua document

1. Find the criminal case

   Search by party name or case number using the official statewide court portal.

2. Open the case’s Dockets tab

   Look through the available entries for the specific document you need.

3. Look for the PDF icon

   If the PDF icon is not displayed, that document is not available for purchase through the online portal.

4. Choose the appropriate copy option

   Review the available regular or certified copy option and whether it meets the requirements of the receiving organization.

5. Review the price before paying

   The Judiciary publishes a $3 base charge for documents containing up to 30 pages, plus $0.10 per page beyond that.

6. Purchase and retrieve the document

   Follow the portal’s payment and retrieval instructions. Payments made through eCourt Kōkua are nonrefundable.

Request records from the courthouse

If the document is not available online, the Judiciary offers three routes: viewing available records at a courthouse, ordering a paper copy there or submitting a written court-record request.

Prepare the following details before contacting the Clerk:

• Full case number
• Name of the party or defendant
• Judicial circuit and court type
• Document title or docket entry you need
• Whether a certified copy is required
• Your return contact information

For Oʻahu, the Judiciary provides First Circuit-specific request forms. For Maui, Hawaiʻi Island and Kauaʻi, it provides Neighbor Island court-record request forms and courthouse contacts.

Hawaii statewide criminal-history background checks

Hawaii eCrim Criminal History Search: Adult Conviction Records

Hawaii’s Adult Criminal Conviction Information service, known as eCrim, is operated through the Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center within the Department of the Attorney General.

eCrim searches publicly releasable adult criminal conviction information. It is not a database of all arrests, all pending cases, juvenile records or all federal and out-of-state convictions.

How to search Hawaii adult conviction information

1. Open the official eCrim service

   Use the Hawaii government-supported Adult Criminal Conviction Information website.

2. Review the record coverage

   Understand that the ordinary public name check concerns Hawaii adult convictions and excludes public disclosure of confidential pending or nonconviction arrest information.

3. Enter the required search information

   Provide the correct legal name and additional identifying details requested by the application. Avoid guessing personal information.

4. Pay the name-search fee

   HCJDC publishes a $5 charge for each online name search.

5. Review the search response

   Determine whether the system found publicly releasable adult conviction information matching the search criteria.

6. Purchase a record if needed

   HCJDC lists $12 for each resulting certified record through eCrim. The report is delivered electronically after payment according to its current procedure.

7. Confirm whether the recipient accepts an online record

   Some organizations require an HCJDC-issued document with the agency’s embossed seal rather than the online printout. Verify the required format before purchasing.

Why eCrim and eCourt Kōkua may show different information

The two government systems serve different purposes.

Verified public-record charges

How Much Does a Hawaii Criminal Records Search Cost?

Hawaii’s record-access fees differ depending on whether you want a court docket, a certified document, a state conviction-history search or your own fingerprint-based history.

HCJDC warns that in-office credit, debit and Apple Pay payments incur a 3% nonrefundable service fee, and it does not accept cash for those services.

Police records are not the same as court records

How to Request Hawaii Arrest Records and Police Reports

A particular arrest report, incident report or police investigation file is generally maintained by the agency that created it.

The Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center does not make all arrest reports publicly available. It explains that arrests which resulted in convictions are generally public criminal-history information, while pending and nonconviction arrests are confidential in the ordinary public criminal-history process.

If you need an incident report, identify the police department that handled the incident and ask about its applicable report-release procedure.

Hawaii police departments and criminal-history public access sites

HCJDC publishes a list of designated public-access locations where adult conviction-history information may be requested in person. These locations can also help identify the appropriate local police agency, but an HCJDC public-access printout is not the same as obtaining an incident report.

HCJDC lists a $25 charge for designated public-access conviction-history printouts. If instead you are seeking an arrest narrative, crash report, incident report or police investigative record, confirm the police department’s separate disclosure and fee requirements.

Fingerprint-based review of your own criminal history

How to Request Your Own Complete Hawaii Arrest Record

Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center offers an Access and Review process for individuals who want to inspect their own full Hawaii arrest history and check it for errors.

This process is fingerprint-based and intended for personal review. It is not an unrestricted method for obtaining another person’s confidential criminal-history records.

Steps for personal record review

1. Choose in-office or mail access

   Contact HCJDC at 808-587-3279 to confirm the current requirements for your preferred method.

2. Prepare identification and required forms

   For in-person processing, use the applicable HCJDC-073 form and bring acceptable identification and payment.

3. Complete fingerprint collection

   In-office fingerprinting requires an appointment. For a mail application, follow HCJDC’s fingerprint-card packet instructions.

4. Submit the applicable fee

   HCJDC publishes $55 for in-office personal Access and Review and $35 for the mail-in service. Outside fingerprinting providers may charge separately.

5. Review the response

   Check whether each record matches the correct arrest and court disposition. HCJDC lists an estimated three to five business days for processing its completed record-review requests.

6. Ask how to correct an inaccurate entry

   If a name, fingerprint association or disposition appears wrong, contact HCJDC and collect any certified supporting court records.

Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center

Kekuanaoa Building
465 S. King Street, Room 102
Honolulu, HI 96813

Criminal History Records Unit: 808-587-3279

Published office hours: Monday–Friday, 8 a.m.–4 p.m., closed noon–1 p.m. and on state holidays.

Custody and offender information

Hawaii Inmate Search, Prison Records and SAVIN Notifications

The Hawaii Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation provides Hawaii SAVIN, the Statewide Automated Victim Information and Notification service.

The program offers free access to qualifying offender custody and parole-status information for individuals under the department’s jurisdiction.

What SAVIN can help you find

• Qualifying offender custody status
• Parole-status information
• Custody-related updates
• Notifications by phone, email, text or application
• Information about available victim notification services

SAVIN is not a complete criminal-history database. A person may have a conviction without presently being in custody or on supervision under the department.

Hawaii Sex Offender and Other Covered Offender Registry

The Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center also maintains a statewide public registry of qualifying sex offenders and other covered offenders under Hawaii law.

The registry has separate reporting and eligibility rules; it is not a complete list of all convicted individuals.

Confidential, expunged and restricted records

Hawaii Criminal Record Expungement and the 2025 Court-Record Update

Hawaii provides expungement of qualifying adult criminal-history records under Hawaii Revised Statutes § 831-3.2.

Many nonconviction arrests may be eligible, subject to statutory exceptions and applicable waiting periods. Certain narrowly defined conviction records may also qualify for expungement after the appropriate court order.

What changed on July 1, 2025?

HCJDC explains that, effective July 1, 2025, it automatically transmits granted expungement orders to the Judiciary for consideration of removing or sealing the related case information in the court’s publicly accessible electronic database.

People receiving expungement orders after this effective date generally no longer need to make a separate initial request to transmit the order to the Judiciary.

However, expungement orders issued before July 1, 2025 still require individuals to contact the Judiciary directly about the related electronic court information.

Hawaii HCJDC expungement charges

HCJDC states that the expungement process takes up to 120 days and does not offer expedited processing.

Federal cases are searched separately

How to Find Federal Criminal Court Records in Hawaii

Federal criminal cases prosecuted in Hawaii generally belong to the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii.

Federal case dockets and publicly available filings are accessed through the federal judiciary’s PACER service.

Hawaii eCourt Kōkua does not replace PACER, and HCJDC’s Hawaii-only adult conviction-history checks should not be interpreted as a complete federal criminal-history report.

Troubleshoot missing or incomplete searches

Why Can’t I Find Hawaii Criminal Records Online?

eCourt Kōkua availability hours

The Judiciary publishes the following regular online service hours in Hawaii Standard Time:

• Monday–Saturday: 4 a.m. to midnight HST
• Sunday: Noon to midnight HST

Desktop Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Microsoft Edge are among its recommended browsers. Some office or business networks may block network traffic used by the application.

eCourt Kōkua technical support

Phone: 808-539-4909
Email: pao@courts.hawaii.gov
Published support hours: Monday–Friday, 7:45 a.m.–4:30 p.m., excluding state holidays.

Understand the legal outcome

What Does a Hawaii Criminal Court Record Actually Prove?

A public record may show a complaint, arrest-related charge, court appearance, plea, dismissal, conviction or sentence. These events have different legal meanings.

A charge might be dismissed, a conviction might be modified on appeal, or an arrest record might later qualify for expungement. For a high-stakes purpose, obtain the final disposition from the actual court.

Employment, housing and professional licensing decisions may be subject to consumer reporting, privacy and antidiscrimination laws. A public case-search result is not automatically a legally compliant background report.