State records guide
Property title search in Hawaii
Facts below are taken from Hawaii statutes and official sources, each linked, each checked on the date shown. General information, not legal advice.
A Hawaii title search runs through the statewide Bureau of Conveyances, and registered land is registered with the Land Court's assistant registrar there. Mortgages foreclose by action or, where the mortgage contains a power of sale, by the power of sale process. County governments run their own tax sales, and transfer on death deeds are authorized.
What a Hawaii title search has to account for
| Where deeds are recorded | Hawaii records deeds in a single statewide office. The statute creates the Bureau of Conveyances within the Department of Land and Natural Resources, run by a registrar of conveyances appointed by the Board of Land and Natural Resources. Source: HRS s. 502-1, checked 2026-11-06. |
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| Recording jurisdictions | Title is either recorded in the statewide Bureau of Conveyances or registered through the Land Court, which has exclusive original jurisdiction over applications to register title to fee simple land anywhere in the State and sits in Honolulu. Source: HRS s. 501-1, checked 2026-11-06. |
| Mortgage foreclosure process | A Hawaii mortgage may be foreclosed by action under part IA, or by the power of sale process, which the statute describes as an alternative to foreclosure by action. Source: HRS s. 667-21, checked 2026-11-06. |
| Delinquent property tax sales | Real property tax in Hawaii is administered by the counties under their own codes. Maui County, for example, describes its tax sale as a public auction of tax deeds or tax liens used to recover delinquent real property taxes, conducted under Chapter 3.48 of the Maui County Code. Source: County of Maui, Real Property Tax: Tax Sale FAQ (Maui County Code ch. 3.48), checked 2026-11-06. |
| Redemption after a tax sale | In Maui County the former owner may redeem within one year of the tax sale, or within one year of recording if the tax deed was not recorded within sixty days, by paying the purchaser the price paid plus the purchaser's costs and interest at twelve percent a year, with no interest for a period extended by late recording. Redemption is arranged directly with the purchaser; the County is not involved. Source: County of Maui, Real Property Tax: Tax Sale FAQ (Maui County Code s. 3.48.270), checked 2026-11-06. |
| Transfer-on-death deed | A Hawaii owner may transfer property, effective at death, to one or more beneficiaries by a transfer on death deed. Where any portion of the property is registered in the Land Court, the transfer is subject to the requirement that a petition be submitted to the Land Court. Source: HRS s. 527-5, checked 2026-11-06. |
| Marital property system | The statute linked provides for a just and equitable division: on divorce the court may make orders that appear just and equitable, including finally dividing and distributing the estate of the parties, real, personal or mixed, whether community, joint or separate. Community property in Hawaii: divorce division, entirety deeds and community property brought from another state, section by section. Source: HRS s. 580-47, checked 2026-11-06. |
| Condominium lien priority | Unpaid common expense assessments are a lien on a Hawaii condominium unit with priority over all other liens except real property tax liens and sums unpaid on a mortgage recorded before the association recorded its notice of lien. The board may specially assess a mortgagee or other purchaser at a foreclosure for unpaid regular monthly common assessments, capped at the amount assessed in the six months before the foreclosure was completed. Source: HRS s. 514B-146, checked 2026-11-06. |
How the search itself is done and what you receive are set out under property title search and title report. Prices are the same in every state: see title search and title report cost.
Where are Hawaii deeds recorded?
Hawaii records land in one statewide office. Section 502-1 makes the Bureau of Conveyances a bureau of the Department of Land and Natural Resources, headed by a registrar of conveyances.
Hawaii also runs a second system. Under section 501-1 the Land Court, which sits in Honolulu, has exclusive original jurisdiction over applications to register title to fee simple land anywhere in the State, and section 501-101 has registration made by the assistant registrar, with the act of registration as the operative act to convey or affect registered land. Land can also leave that system: under section 501-262, deregistered land is no longer registered land, and papers relating solely to it are recorded in the Bureau instead. The report traces the chain of title as far back as the records go, with document images of the key instruments, and verifies findings with the assessor, tax office, recorder and courts.
How does a Hawaii foreclosure proceed?
Section 667-21 provides for foreclosure by action under part IA, and for the power of sale process as an alternative to foreclosure by action where the mortgage contains a power of sale. Section 667-53 lets an owner-occupant of residential property that is subject to nonjudicial foreclosure under part II convert it to a judicial foreclosure by filing a petition in the circuit court where the property is located.
In a foreclosure by action the record shows the judgment and the deed that followed it. Section 667-33 treats a nonjudicial sale as completed when both the affidavit and the conveyance document are recorded. An auction title report reports the foreclosing lien's position and the liens that would survive, in dollars, for the bidder's attorney.
How do Hawaii county tax sales work?
Real property tax is administered by the county governments under their own codes, so the tax sale rules come from the county. Maui County, whose page is linked above, describes its tax sale as a public auction of tax deeds or tax liens to recover delinquent taxes, held under Chapter 3.48 of the Maui County Code.
There, the former owner may redeem within one year of the tax sale, or within one year of recording if the tax deed was not recorded within sixty days, by paying the purchaser the price paid plus the purchaser's costs and interest at twelve percent a year; interest is not added for a redemption period extended by late recording. The redemption is arranged directly with the purchaser, and the County says it is not involved. The report verifies tax sales and redemptions with the tax office and states the surviving liens, taxes and assessments in dollars.
Can a Hawaii owner use a transfer on death deed?
Yes. Hawaii adopted the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act, and section 527-5 lets an individual transfer property, effective at death, to one or more beneficiaries by a transfer on death deed.
The Hawaii version adds a step for registered land. Where any portion of the property is registered in the Land Court, the transfer is subject to the requirement that a petition be submitted to the Land Court. A probate title search finds the decedent's property by name and reports vesting at death, how title passes, including joint tenancy, a transfer on death deed, a trust or a life estate, and the liens to pay.
How does Hawaii divide property in a divorce?
Section 580-47 lets the court make further orders that appear just and equitable, including finally dividing and distributing the estate of the parties, real, personal or mixed, whether community, joint or separate. Section 580-56 says a divorce decree that does not specifically recite that the final division of property is reserved for further hearing finally divides the property of the parties.
Because the court may reach separately held property, a deed in one spouse's name is not conclusive while a divorce is pending or after a decree that reserved the property division. The report states the recorded decree or deed it finds, and an attorney reads the effect.
Does a Hawaii condominium lien outrank the mortgage?
Only in a limited way. Section 514B-146 makes unpaid common expense assessments a lien on the unit with priority over all other liens except liens for real property taxes and assessments lawfully imposed by governmental authority, and sums unpaid on a mortgage recorded before the association recorded its notice of lien.
The exception that matters to a bidder is the special assessment. The board may specially assess a mortgagee or other purchaser who buys a delinquent unit at a judicial or nonjudicial power of sale foreclosure for the unpaid regular monthly common assessments, capped at the amount assessed during the six months before the foreclosure was completed. The report states any recorded notice of lien it finds, and the bidder's attorney reads its effect.
Which package fits a Hawaii property?
Every package covers Hawaii property wherever it is recorded. Pick by situation:
- Probate law firm: Find every property a decedent held, how it was vested and what has to be paid before it passes. $595 per estate.
- Real estate law firm: A preliminary report with schedule-style exceptions and print-ready exhibits for your matter. $695 per property.
- Builders and developers: Multi-parcel research on access, easements, restrictions, mineral reservations and entity ownership. $995 first parcel.
- Auction buyer: Know the total cost to own, which liens survive the sale and whether to bid at all. $395 for 1 property.
- Home buyer: Confirm the seller owns the home and learn what has to be cleared before you pay. $449 per property.
- Home seller: Find the old mortgage, judgment or name mismatch before a buyer's title company does. $449 per property.
Questions about a title search in Hawaii
Which office records deeds in Hawaii?
The Bureau of Conveyances, a statewide office within the Department of Land and Natural Resources headed by a registrar of conveyances. Land Court registered land is registered by the assistant registrar, and the Land Court, which sits in Honolulu, has exclusive original jurisdiction over applications to register title to fee simple land throughout the State.
What is the difference between regular system and Land Court property in Hawaii?
Regular system property is recorded in the Bureau of Conveyances as a chain of recorded instruments. Land Court property has been registered and carries a certificate of title, and registration is the operative act that conveys or affects it. Deregistered land is no longer registered land and its papers go to the regular system, so a title search checks which system or systems hold the parcel's history.
Does Hawaii allow nonjudicial foreclosure?
Yes, where the mortgage contains a power of sale. The foreclosure chapter provides for foreclosure by action and for a power of sale process that the statute describes as an alternative to foreclosure by action, and an owner-occupant of residential property facing nonjudicial foreclosure under part II may petition the circuit court to convert it to a judicial foreclosure.
How long does a Hawaii owner have to redeem after a county tax sale?
Real property tax sales are held by the county governments under their own codes. In Maui County the former owner may redeem within one year of the tax sale, or within one year of recording if the tax deed was not recorded within sixty days, by paying the purchaser the price paid plus costs and interest at twelve percent a year, with no interest added for a period extended by late recording.
Does Hawaii recognize a transfer on death deed?
Yes. Under Hawaii's Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act an individual may transfer property, effective at death, to one or more beneficiaries by a transfer on death deed. Where any portion of the property is registered in the Land Court, the transfer is subject to a requirement that a petition be submitted to the Land Court. A probate title search checks for the deed, any revocation and, on registered land, the petition.
Can a Hawaii condo association collect from a foreclosure buyer?
Partly. Under the Hawaii condominium statute the association's lien is subordinate to a mortgage recorded before the association recorded its notice of lien, but the board may specially assess a mortgagee or other purchaser at a judicial or nonjudicial power of sale foreclosure for unpaid regular monthly common assessments, capped at the amount assessed during the six months before the foreclosure was completed.