Hawaii Juvenile Record Expungement: How to Seal a Juvenile Arrest Under HRS § 571-88

Juvenile records in Hawaii follow a completely different legal pathway than adult records. The process doesn't go through the HCJDC or use Form 159(b) — it runs entirely through Family Court under HRS Chapter 571. Understanding this distinction saves you from filing in the wrong place and wasting weeks.

How Juvenile Records Work in Hawaii

When a minor is arrested in Hawaii, several things can happen:

• Counseled and released — the officer handles the situation informally without a formal arrest report being filed with the courts
• Referred to Family Court — the case enters the juvenile justice system
• Adjudicated (found delinquent) — the Family Court equivalent of a conviction
• Dismissed — the case is thrown out

Regardless of the outcome, the arrest generates records held by the county police department and potentially the HCJDC and Family Court. These records don't automatically disappear when the minor turns 18.

Eligibility for Juvenile Record Sealing

Under HRS § 571-88, a person can petition to expunge qualifying juvenile arrest records under the following circumstances:

Juvenile arrest with no court referral (counseled and released): Eligible immediately once the person turns 18. The rationale is that the matter was handled informally and never entered the court system.

Family Court dismissal: Eligible immediately upon the dismissal order being entered, if the dismissal was with prejudice (meaning the case cannot be refiled).

Adjudicated cases: If the person was adjudicated responsible, HRS § 571-88 does not authorize expungement of the juvenile arrest record.

The Filing Process

Juvenile sealing petitions go to the Family Court in the circuit where the original adjudication or arrest occurred — not to the HCJDC in Honolulu.

The four judicial circuits:

• First Circuit — Oahu (Kapolei Family Court)
• Second Circuit — Maui County (Wailuku Family Court, covering Maui, Molokai, and Lanai)
• Third Circuit — Hawaii Island (Hilo and Kona Family Court)
• Fifth Circuit — Kauai (Lihue Family Court)

There is no state filing fee for juvenile record sealing petitions, unlike the $35-$50 adult expungement fee.

The petition should include your identifying information, the case number or approximate arrest date, and the basis for your request. The court may schedule a hearing or rule on the petition without one, depending on the circuit and the complexity of the case.

What Sealing Accomplishes

When the Family Court issues a sealing order:

• The HCJDC purges the juvenile arrest from its criminal history database
• County police departments destroy or segregate fingerprints, photographs, and arrest reports
• Court records are restricted from public view
• The sealed records are destroyed five years after the individual reaches the age of majority (age 18 in Hawaii), permanently eliminating them

After a qualifying arrest record is expunged, the individual may state that they have no record regarding that specific arrest, including under oath. Hawaii law protects that statement from perjury, civil suit, discharge from employment, or other adverse action.

The Exception: Records That Don't Seal

Juvenile records for certain serious offenses — particularly those where the minor was waived to adult court — follow adult record rules rather than juvenile sealing procedures. If the case was transferred to adult court, the adult expungement process under HRS § 831-3.2 applies instead.

Additionally, even sealed juvenile records may be accessible to law enforcement agencies acting within the scope of their duties and to agencies evaluating applicants for positions affecting national security.

Practical Considerations

If you were arrested as a juvenile on one island but now live on another, you'll need to coordinate with the Family Court in the original circuit. This can be handled by mail, but it requires knowing exactly which court handled your case and having the case number or enough identifying details for the clerk to locate the file.

For cases from the 1990s or earlier, records may be incomplete in electronic systems. Some dispositions were never entered digitally, so the county police department may hold records that don't appear in any searchable database. A fingerprint-based HCJDC record check ($25) confirms whether any juvenile arrest data still exists in the state system.

The Hawaii Expungement & Record Sealing Guide includes the juvenile sealing process alongside the adult pathway, with circuit-by-circuit contact information and instructions for locating and requesting records from Family Court archives.

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