Hawaii Expungement by Island — Circuit-by-Circuit Filing Guide

Why Your Island Matters for Expungement

Hawaii's expungement process is centralized at the state level — you mail your Form 159(b) to the HCJDC in Honolulu regardless of where you live. But the practical execution of gathering documents, obtaining certified court dispositions, and verifying that records have been sealed varies significantly by island and judicial circuit.

The court that holds your records is the court where your case was prosecuted — not where you live today. If you were arrested during a trip to Maui but now live on Oahu, you'll need to navigate the Second Circuit's records system from across the water.

First Circuit — Oahu (City & County of Honolulu)

The First Circuit handles the highest volume of expungement-related records requests. The HCJDC central office is located at 465 S. King Street, Room 102, Honolulu — making in-person visits straightforward for Oahu residents.

Advantages: Same-island access to the HCJDC headquarters. The Honolulu Police Department (HPD) processes are well-established and can handle records requests relatively efficiently. Court dispositions from Kaʻahumanu Hale (777 Punchbowl Street) are typically available the same day for in-person requests.

Watch out for: Processing times at HPD can still approach the statutory 120-day maximum for the HCJDC review. High application volume means there's no shortcut.

Second Circuit — Maui County (Maui, Molokai, Lanai)

The Second Circuit is centered in Wailuku, Maui, at Hoapili Hale (2145 Main Street). This circuit covers Maui, Molokai, and Lanai, with district court locations on Molokai and Lanai in addition to the Second Circuit Court in Wailuku.

Practical considerations: If you were arrested on Maui but now live on Oahu or the mainland, certified court dispositions need to be requested from the Wailuku court clerk. Mail requests typically take one to two weeks. Phone the records room first to confirm your case records are available — some older cases may require a manual search of physical archives.

For juvenile cases in Maui County, records go through the Maui Family Court, which operates on a separate schedule from the adult court records room.

Third Circuit — Hawaii County (Big Island)

The Third Circuit covers all of Hawaii Island, with Hale Kaulike in Hilo (777 Kilauea Avenue) and Keahuolū Courthouse in Kailua-Kona. Which courthouse has your records depends on where on the island the case was prosecuted — Hilo generally handles East Hawaii cases and Kona handles West Hawaii.

Unique to this circuit: Hawaii County is the only location where the state-initiated cannabis expungement pilot (Act 62/Act 5) operates. If your arrest occurred before January 11, 2020 and involved qualifying possession under HRS § 712-1249, you may be eligible for automatic, cost-free expungement initiated by the Attorney General — no application needed.

The Hawaii County Police Department has reported that processing an expungement notification from the HCJDC takes two to three weeks on their end to purge from internal systems. That's on top of the HCJDC's 120-day review.

Fifth Circuit — Kauai County

The Fifth Circuit operates out of the Puʻuhonua Kaulike Building at 3970 Kaʻana Street, Lihue. Kauai's lower case volume offers a practical advantage: courthouse verification and document requests tend to move faster than on Oahu.

The physical records reality: The State v. Rogan (2025) decision means that even after a successful expungement removes your case from eCourt Kōkua, the original paper files remain accessible for in-person review at the Lihue Courthouse. On a small island with a tight community, this can matter — though automated background checks won't find the record.

Inter-Island Filing Logistics

The most common friction point: you were arrested on one island but now live on another. Here's how to handle it:

1. Mail your Form 159(b) to the HCJDC in Honolulu regardless of which island the arrest occurred on. The HCJDC handles all administrative expungements centrally.
2. Request certified court dispositions from the circuit where the case was prosecuted. This is the step that requires inter-island coordination. Contact the court clerk's records room by phone first, then submit a written request with the document fee ($3 for 1-30 pages).
3. County police records requests go to the county where you were arrested. If HPD arrested you on Oahu, the request goes to HPD. If MPD arrested you on Maui, it goes to MPD.
4. Post-expungement verification — check eCourt Kōkua to confirm the case has been removed from the online database. This step is the same regardless of circuit.

Our Hawaii Expungement Guide maps every agency contact, mailing address, and records-request procedure across all four judicial circuits, so you can coordinate the full process from wherever you are — whether that's across the water or on the mainland.

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