How it works in Hawaii

The steps

1. Request your record

   Complete and submit your application to request an official copy of your criminal history record from the Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center.

   Cost: $35.00 to $55.00 — $35.00 by mail or $55.00 in the office; in-office fingerprinting is by appointment at (808) 587-3279

2. Review your record

   Confirm there is no disqualifying information in your history. If there is something incorrect, follow the process to challenge the issue. If everything is accurate, make a copy for your file and keep the original somewhere safe.

3. Request certified documents

   Gather the court papers the Data Center asks for. For a conviction, it requires a copy of the court's order granting the expungement, and denies an application without one. For an arrest with no conviction, no court papers are required, but a copy of your certified dismissal order helps. You can request court records through the Judiciary's Communication and Community Relations Office at (808) 539-4909.

   Certified copy fee: $2.00 to certify; $1.00 first page; $0.50 each subsequent page

4. Verify the final documents

   Review each document for accuracy. Confirm each one is certified and clearly shows you completed your obligations. Make copies of every original.

5. Apply to the court for an order

   If you are expunging a conviction, first apply in writing to the court for an order expunging the record of conviction. Under Haw. Rev. Stat. § 706-622.5, the court must issue it for a drug offense sentenced to probation under that section. You must have completed the substance abuse treatment program and the other terms of probation, and this expungement comes one time only. A person sentenced before July 1, 2004 applies under Haw. Rev. Stat. § 706-622.8. Under Haw. Rev. Stat. § 706-622.9, the same rule covers a first class C felony property offense, if you have no earlier felony conviction here or elsewhere. A sentence before June 22, 2006 can qualify too. For possession of three grams or less of marijuana with no other charge, the court must grant the order on your motion. Under Haw. Rev. Stat. § 291E-64, a first under-21 violation for driving with a measurable amount of alcohol can be expunged once you turn 21. You must have met your sentence and had no later alcohol or drug enforcement contact, and the rule does not apply if you hold a commercial learner's permit or commercial driver's license, or were convicted in a commercial motor vehicle or while transporting hazardous materials.

6. Prepare your application

   Fill in the Data Center's Expungement Application and initial the part that applies: non-conviction information, or a first-time drug, property or under-21 alcohol conviction. A person found eligible for redress under chapter 661B applies for non-conviction information too. Note the timing rules under Haw. Rev. Stat. § 831-3.2. A deferred guilty or no-contest plea waits one year after your discharge and the dismissal of the charge. A petty misdemeanor or violation with no conviction because of a bail forfeiture waits five years after the arrest or citation. No order issues for a felony or misdemeanor with no conviction because of a bail forfeiture. None issues if you left the jurisdiction to avoid prosecution. None issues if you were involuntarily hospitalized, or acquitted or dismissed for a physical or mental disease, disorder or defect.

7. Finalize your application

   Take the completed application from Step 6. The Data Center asks for the application, the fee, a copy of a valid government-issued ID and a self-addressed stamped envelope (Step 8); keep the record from Step 1 and the documents from Step 3 in case it asks for them, and keep a copy of the complete package for your own file.

8. File your expungement application

   Once you have everything, file the application with the Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center. Put the application, the fee, a copy of a valid government-issued ID and a self-addressed stamped envelope in a sealed envelope. Drop it in the box at the front counter of Room 102, 465 South King Street, Honolulu. Or mail it to the Expungement Section at that address. Pay by cashier's check or money order payable to "State of Hawaii"; a business or personal check gets the application denied. For a conviction, attach the court's order.

   Cost: $35.00 to $50.00 — depending on whether it is your first expungement or a subsequent one

9. Work with the Data Center

   The Data Center does not confirm receipt, and it gives no status by phone or email, because the records are confidential. Send the application by certified mail or another tracked service if you want proof it arrived. The process takes up to 120 days. The certificate comes by mail to the address on your application. A denial comes by mail too, with the fee refunded minus the non-refundable processing fee.

10. Receive your expungement certificate

    When the order issues, the attorney general's Data Center mails you a certificate. It states that the order was issued and that it annuls the record of that specific arrest. It lets you answer any question, even under oath, that you have no record of that arrest, and no action can be taken against you for saying so. It names the arrests that were expunged. Keep it safe; a duplicate costs a fee and takes up to 30 days.

11. Verify the record update

    Under Haw. Rev. Stat. § 831-3.2, once the order issues, every state or county law enforcement agency forwards its records of the arrest to the attorney general's confidential file. Those records are released in three cases only. One is a court preparing a presentence report. One is a government agency considering you for a position directly affecting national or state security. One is a law enforcement agency acting within its duties. Any other inquiry gets the same answer as for someone with no arrest record. If your order carries a court case number, the Data Center sends it to the Judiciary. The Judiciary must then seal or remove the case from its public electronic databases. It need not if the case charged you with another offense not in the order, or had another defendant without an expungement order. For an order issued before July 1, 2025, contact the Judiciary yourself. A conviction expungement clears the statewide repository only; the arresting agency and the courts may still keep and share their records. Keep your certificate as your proof.

If you have to mail anything, remember to keep a copy of whatever you send and to use a method with a tracking number like the USPS Flat Rate Envelope.