Dismissed Charges Expungement Hawaii: How to Clear a Non-Conviction Arrest

Your case was dismissed. Charges were dropped. You were acquitted. Under any reasonable interpretation, you're innocent. But years later, that arrest still shows up on every background check — blocking job offers, apartment applications, and professional license renewals.

This is the most common scenario that brings people to Hawaii's expungement process, and it's also the most straightforward category. Non-conviction arrests are the one type of record Hawaii law actually mandates the Attorney General to expunge.

Why Dismissed Cases Still Show Up

Hawaii runs a dual-record system. The Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center (HCJDC) maintains the state's criminal history database. The judiciary maintains a separate online case database called eCourt Kōkua. When charges are dismissed, the court updates its docket — but neither system automatically purges the underlying arrest record.

That means your dismissed case sits in both systems, visible to anyone who runs a background check using your name. Employers, landlords, and licensing boards all see an arrest record. Many don't look closely enough to notice it ended in dismissal. The ones who do notice still flag it as a risk factor.

Your Eligibility for Expungement

Under HRS § 831-3.2, qualifying non-conviction records are eligible for expungement immediately. No waiting period applies if your case ended in:

• Dismissal — whether the prosecutor dropped charges or the judge dismissed the case, subject to statutory exclusions
• Acquittal — you went to trial and were found not guilty
• No charges filed — you were arrested but the prosecutor's office never filed formal charges

Charges without final dispositions, certain Chapter 704 dispositions, and cases where prosecution was made impossible by leaving the jurisdiction are also excluded. Bail forfeiture on a felony or misdemeanor is not eligible; bail forfeiture on a petty misdemeanor or violation requires a five-year crime-free window before you can apply.

The Filing Process

1. Get your certified court disposition from the circuit court clerk's office where the case was prosecuted (not from eCourt Kōkua — online printouts aren't certified). Cost: $3 flat for 1-30 pages.

2. Complete Form HCJDC 159(b) — the standard adult administrative expungement application. Include a copy of valid government-issued photo ID and a self-addressed stamped envelope.

3. Mail it to the HCJDC at 465 S. King Street, Room 102, Honolulu, HI 96813, with a certified check or money order for $35 (first-time) or $50 (subsequent application) payable to "State of Hawaii."

4. Wait up to 120 days for the HCJDC to process and issue your expungement certificate.

5. Automated court sealing follows. Since July 2025, the HCJDC automatically transmits your certificate to the judiciary, which removes the case from eCourt Kōkua without any additional filing from you.

The Multi-Charge Trap

Here's where straightforward cases get complicated. If your arrest involved multiple charges and at least one resulted in an adult conviction, the entire case is ineligible for standard administrative expungement under HRS § 831-3.2. Separately, under HRS § 831-3.2(f), the court cannot automatically seal the entire case record if any charge in the case isn't covered by an expungement certificate.

In practice, a person arrested on two charges — one dismissed, one resulting in conviction — does not receive a standard administrative expungement certificate for that case, and the conviction remains visible. A case with an uncovered charge can also remain visible on eCourt Kōkua even when an expungement certificate was issued.

This multi-offense exclusion is one of the most frustrating gaps in Hawaii's system, and it's exactly the kind of detail that doesn't appear anywhere on the state's official forms or instructions.

After Expungement: What Gets Cleared

Once your expungement is approved:

• The HCJDC purges the arrest from its criminal history database
• Your fingerprints and booking photographs are returned or destroyed
• eCourt Kōkua removes the case from public search
• County police departments segregate and secure their local arrest records

Under Hawaii law, you can legally state that the arrest never occurred — including under oath on job applications. But physical court files remain accessible at the courthouse under the State v. Rogan ruling, and federal databases (FBI/NCIC) may still retain the record.

The Hawaii Expungement & Record Sealing Guide covers the full non-conviction filing process, including how to handle multi-charge cases and verify that both the HCJDC database and eCourt Kōkua have been properly updated after your expungement is granted.

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