How to Clear a Dismissed Arrest from eCourt Kōkua Without a Lawyer

If a dismissed arrest is still showing up on your eCourt Kōkua record and you want to remove it without hiring a lawyer, the process has two stages: first, obtain an expungement certificate from the HCJDC by filing Form HCJDC 159(b) with the applicable $35 fee for a first-time application or $50 fee for a subsequent application (including a non-refundable $10 administrative charge); second, ensure the court receives that certificate and issues a sealing order to remove the case from public view. Since July 1, 2025, the second step happens automatically for new certificates — the HCJDC transmits them directly to the court under Act 159/Act 3. If you have a certificate issued before July 1, 2025 or if the automatic system fails, you'll need to file a written request with the court yourself. No lawyer is required for any of this.

The reason a dismissed arrest shows on eCourt Kōkua in the first place is that Hawaii's record systems don't automatically clear non-conviction data. A dismissal ends your criminal case. It doesn't touch the court's public database. The case sits there — fully visible to every employer, landlord, and licensing board that searches your name — until you actively file for expungement and the court seals it. This is by design, not a system error, and it's why people with arrests from ten or twenty years ago suddenly discover the record when a background check pulls it up.

The Full Process, Stage by Stage

Stage 1: Confirm Your Eligibility

Before filing anything, verify that your case qualifies for administrative expungement under HRS § 831-3.2. You're eligible if:

• Your arrest resulted in no conviction — the charges were dismissed, you were acquitted at trial, or the prosecutor declined to file charges within the statute of limitations
• You completed a deferred acceptance of guilty (DAG) or no contest (DANC) plea under HRS § 853-1 and the court dismissed the charges after successful completion, with the applicable waiting period elapsed
• Your case is fully resolved — no pending charges, no outstanding warrants, no open probation conditions

Search your own name on eCourt Kōkua (courts.state.hi.us) and note the case number, the charge(s), and the disposition. If the disposition shows "dismissed," "acquitted," "nolle prosequi," or "deferred acceptance completed" after the applicable waiting period, you're on the right track.

Critical check: the multi-charge trap. Under HRS § 831-3.2(f), if your case involved multiple charges and even one resulted in a conviction, the court cannot seal the entire case — not even the dismissed charges. Before filing, review every charge in your case. If one charge ended in conviction while others were dismissed, the standard administrative pathway won't seal the case from eCourt Kōkua, even if the HCJDC issues an expungement certificate for the dismissed charges. You'll need to explore whether the conviction qualifies for a separate statutory exception.

Stage 2: File Form 159(b) with the HCJDC

The Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center handles all administrative expungement applications. Here's what you need:

• Form 159(b) — available on the HCJDC website. Complete the applicable fields: full legal name, date of birth, Social Security Number (you may leave this field blank), case number(s), charge(s), and case disposition(s).
• $35 first-time or $50 subsequent filing fee — pay by cashier's check or money order payable to "State of Hawaii." Personal and business checks are not accepted. The fee includes a non-refundable $10 administrative charge.
• Supporting documentation — a copy of the court disposition, arrest receipt, or other proof that the case ended in a non-conviction. You can obtain certified court dispositions from the relevant circuit court's Records Division; court-record documents cost $3 for 1–30 pages, then $0.10 per additional page.

Mail everything to the HCJDC address listed on the form. Processing takes up to 120 days for standard non-conviction cases. The HCJDC reviews your criminal history, confirms the case outcome, and — if you qualify — issues an expungement certificate that orders the physical destruction or segregation of your arrest records from the state's criminal justice databases.

Stage 3: The Court Sealing Step

This is where the eCourt Kōkua record actually gets removed, and it's the step most people don't realize exists:

If your certificate is issued on or after July 1, 2025: Under Act 159/Act 3, the HCJDC automatically transmits the certificate to the originating court, provided the certificate contains a valid court case number. The court reviews the case file and, if eligible, issues an "Order to Seal" removing the record from eCourt Kōkua. You don't need to file anything additional.

If your certificate was issued before July 1, 2025 (or the automatic system doesn't work): You must file a separate written request directly with the court that handled your case, asking them to seal the associated records. This means identifying the correct circuit court:

• First Circuit (Oahu): Honolulu, Kapolei, Kāneʻohe
• Second Circuit (Maui County): Maui, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi — centered in Wailuku
• Third Circuit (Hawaiʻi Island): Hilo and Kona
• Fifth Circuit (Kauaʻi): Līhuʻe

If your arrest happened on a different island from where you live now, you file with the court where the arrest occurred, not where you currently reside. Include a copy of your HCJDC expungement certificate with the written request.

Stage 4: Verify the Record Is Actually Gone

After the sealing order issues, check eCourt Kōkua again. The case should no longer appear in search results. If it does:

• Check again after the sealing order is issued. If the case persists, contact the Records Division of the relevant circuit court to confirm the sealing order was received and executed
• Check for variant name spellings — eCourt Kōkua indexes by the name used at booking, which may differ from your current legal name

Stage 5: Handle Private Background Check Databases

State expungement removes records from HCJDC databases and (via sealing) from eCourt Kōkua. It does not reach the commercial screening companies that most employers and landlords use. Companies like Checkr, Sterling, First Advantage, and GoodHire maintain their own copies of court records, and these copies don't update automatically when a state expungement and sealing order issues.

You need to dispute the record directly with each company that reports it. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, screening companies generally have 30 days to investigate and correct inaccurate information after receiving a dispute. Send each company:

• A copy of your HCJDC expungement certificate
• A copy of the court's sealing order (or confirmation that the case no longer appears on eCourt Kōkua)
• A written dispute letter requesting removal of the expunged record from their database

The Hawaii Expungement & Record Sealing Guide includes pre-formatted purge letters for the major screening companies, which saves you from drafting these from scratch.

The Timeline You Should Expect

Total time from filing to complete clearance varies with the HCJDC's up-to-120-day process, court sealing, and how quickly private databases respond to disputes after the sealing order.

Who This Is For

• People with a dismissed arrest showing on eCourt Kōkua who need it removed for a job, rental application, or professional license
• Anyone who completed a deferred acceptance plea and assumed the record was gone, only to discover it's still publicly visible
• People who were arrested on a neighbor island and need to figure out which court to contact for the sealing step
• Anyone whose HCJDC expungement certificate issued before July 2025 and who still needs to complete the manual court sealing step
• People who've cleared their state record but are still getting flagged by commercial background check companies

Who This Is NOT For

• Anyone with an active or pending criminal case — expungement only applies to completed cases
• People whose arrests resulted in convictions (exceptions exist for first-time drug, first-time property, and under-21 DUI — but these require court petitions, not the standard administrative process)
• Non-citizens who need to consider how expungement interacts with federal immigration law — state expungement carries zero weight with USCIS, and failing to disclose an expunged arrest on immigration forms is treated as material misrepresentation

Common Pitfalls That Cause Delays

Filing with the wrong agency. The HCJDC handles the expungement certificate. The circuit court handles the sealing order. Sending a sealing request to the HCJDC, or an expungement application to the court, results in the paperwork being returned or ignored.

Wrong payment format. The HCJDC requires a cashier's check or money order. A personal or business check can result in denial, with the non-refundable $10 administrative charge retained. Correcting and resubmitting can add time to your timeline.

Missing the multi-charge problem. If you file for expungement on a case with mixed outcomes (some charges dismissed, one charge convicted), the HCJDC may still issue a certificate for the dismissed charges — but the court will deny the sealing order for the whole case under HRS § 831-3.2(f). You've now spent months and money with no change to your eCourt Kōkua record. Diagnose this before filing.

Not following up on eCourt Kōkua. Some people receive the expungement certificate, assume everything is done, and never check whether the court actually sealed the case. Under the old system, the court sealing was a separate step. Under the new system, the automatic transmission can fail if the certificate is missing a valid case number. Always verify.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know if my dismissed case is eligible for removal from eCourt Kōkua?

If the case ended with a dismissal, acquittal, nolle prosequi, or completed deferred acceptance plea after the applicable waiting period (one year after written discharge and dismissal, or four years for prostitution-related deferrals), and no other charge in the same case resulted in a conviction, you're eligible for the standard HCJDC expungement that leads to court sealing. Search your name on eCourt Kōkua, check the disposition for every charge in the case, and confirm there are no open warrants or pending matters.

My case was dismissed five years ago — is it too late to file?

No. There is no time limit for filing an administrative expungement with the HCJDC for ordinary non-conviction records. Whether your arrest was five years ago or thirty years ago, you can file Form 159(b) at any time. Deferred acceptance cases have a one-year waiting period after written discharge and dismissal, or four years for prostitution-related deferrals; bail-forfeiture cases have a five-year wait. The case must also be fully resolved (no pending charges or open conditions).

What if I can't find my case on eCourt Kōkua?

Some older cases — especially from the 1980s and 1990s — were never migrated into the electronic system. If you can't find your case online, contact the Records Division of the circuit court where your arrest occurred and request a certified disposition. The HCJDC can still process your expungement application using the paper records in their statewide repository.

Will clearing my eCourt Kōkua record also clear my FBI record?

No. State expungement removes records from Hawaii's databases. The HCJDC will request that the FBI remove expunged data from the NCIC and Interstate Identification Index, but the state cannot compel federal agencies to purge their files. For most civilian employment purposes, employers run state-level and commercial background checks, not FBI checks. Federal agencies, immigration authorities, and security-clearance investigators will still have access to the underlying records.

Do I need to clear my record from eCourt Kōkua and from private background check companies separately?

Yes. These are separate systems. eCourt Kōkua is the Hawaii State Judiciary's public database — it's cleared when the court issues a sealing order. Commercial background check companies maintain independent copies of court records. You need to dispute the expunged record directly with each company that reports it. The Hawaii Expungement & Record Sealing Guide includes the form letters and step-by-step procedures for these disputes.

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