Can You Expunge a Conviction in Hawaii? What the Law Actually Allows

The short answer is almost always no. Hawaii is one of the most restrictive states in the country when it comes to clearing actual convictions from your record.

If you've been reading about "Clean Slate" laws or automatic conviction expungement in other states and hoping Hawaii follows the same model — it doesn't. Not yet, and possibly not for years.

Why Standard Convictions Can't Be Expunged

Hawaii's expungement statute, HRS § 831-3.2, primarily addresses non-conviction records. The Attorney General is mandated to expunge qualifying arrests that ended in dismissal, acquittal, or non-filing. But the statute contains no provision for expunging standard adult convictions — felonies or misdemeanors — regardless of how old they are or how much time has passed.

No waiting period, no rehabilitation program, and no amount of community service opens a general expungement pathway for a Hawaii conviction. This is fundamentally different from states like Utah, Pennsylvania, or Michigan, where certain convictions become eligible for sealing or expungement after crime-free waiting periods.

The Three Narrow Exceptions

The legislature carved out exactly three statutory exceptions. Each one requires specific circumstances that most people with convictions don't meet:

First-time drug possession (HRS § 706-622.5). If you were convicted of possessing a controlled substance for the first time and successfully completed the court-ordered probation program, you can petition the court for an expungement order. This only applies to simple possession — manufacturing, distribution, and possession with intent to distribute are excluded.

First-time property offenses (HRS § 706-622.9). Certain first-time convictions for minor theft, vandalism, or burglary may qualify for expungement after successful completion of probation. The offense must be the individual's first property-crime conviction.

Under-21 DUI (HRS § 291E-64(e)). If you were convicted of operating a vehicle after consuming a measurable amount of alcohol while under the age of 21, you can petition for expungement of that conviction. Standard adult DUI convictions (age 21+) do not qualify.

If your conviction doesn't fit any of these three categories, expungement under Hawaii statute is not available to you.

The Gubernatorial Pardon: What It Does and Doesn't Do

For everyone else with a conviction, the only option is a gubernatorial pardon through the Hawaii Paroling Authority. But there's a critical misconception about what a pardon accomplishes.

A pardon restores civil rights — the right to serve on a jury and hold public office. It serves as official recognition that the governor considers you rehabilitated.

A pardon does not expunge, seal, or erase the conviction. Under Hawaii law, a pardoned conviction remains fully visible on your criminal history record. The only change is an administrative notation that reads "Pardoned." A background check can still show the original conviction.

The pardon application process goes through the Hawaii Paroling Authority, which conducts a formal field investigation, interviews the applicant and references, and issues a recommendation to the governor. There's no state filing fee, but the process is often lengthy and highly discretionary — the governor has absolute constitutional authority to grant or deny.

What About Hawaii's Clean Slate Efforts?

The legislature considered a broad automatic conviction-sealing bill (HB 1663) in 2024 that would have made misdemeanors eligible after five crime-free years and non-violent Class C felonies eligible after seven years. It failed.

Instead, the legislature passed Act 241, creating the Clean Slate Expungement Task Force to study the feasibility of automatic record clearance. The task force is scheduled to deliver its final legislative recommendations before the 2027 session and dissolves on June 1, 2027.

Until the task force's recommendations turn into law — which hasn't happened yet — general conviction expungement remains unavailable in Hawaii.

Figuring Out Your Actual Options

If you're unsure whether your record counts as a conviction or a non-conviction — particularly if your case involved a deferred acceptance plea — the distinction matters enormously. A completed DAG or DANC plea under HRS § 853-1 is legally a non-conviction dismissal, which means it's eligible for standard administrative expungement (after a one-year waiting period). Many people with deferred pleas mistakenly believe they have a conviction when they actually have a dismissal.

The Hawaii Expungement & Record Sealing Guide includes a diagnostic decision tree that walks you through identifying your exact case disposition and maps it to the correct legal pathway — whether that's standard expungement, one of the three conviction exceptions, or the pardon process.

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