Hawaii: Adult Legal Name Change Requirements
The short answer
A Hawaii resident ordinarily applies to the Lieutenant Governor, not a court, using a Hawaii-notarized petition filed within 30 days of notarization. After approval, the signed notice must be published once statewide and the affidavit timely returned; the later signed order must be recorded with the Bureau of Conveyances. The online charge is $56, publication and $41 recording are extra, ordinary petition files are confidential, and a narrow prosecutor-affidavit safety route removes publication and recording.
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This is the general rule in Hawaii. Ezel applies current Hawaii law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law and court | Haw. Rev. Stat. §§ 574-5 to -6 and Haw. Admin. R. ch. 2-2; ordinary stand-alone change is by Lieutenant Governor order, not court. Covered offender needs a court determination |
|---|---|
| Who may petition and residency | Lieutenant Governor describes the process as for Hawaii residents; rules require state of residency and residence address. No minimum residence duration is stated |
| Petition contents and oath | Current/form-rule data include present/prior names and changes, birth, marriages/divorces, parents, children, residence, felony details, no creditor fraud, reasons, requested name, and record-name data. Hawaii-notarized petition due within 30 days; newly issued birth certificate generally ≤90 days |
| Criminal background check | No applicant-supplied fingerprints or state/FBI report in the statute, rules, or current instructions; felony conviction, sentence, supervision, discharge, delayed-plea, and pardon details are disclosed (Haw. Admin. R. § 2-2-2(a)(7)) |
| Publication or notice | Publish the Lieutenant Governor-signed notice once in a statewide general-circulation newspaper within 60 days; affidavit and clipping must be properly received by the office within that period or petition is void (§ 574-5(d); Haw. Admin. R. § 2-2-5) |
| Safety, confidentiality, and special tracks | Ordinary petitions on file are confidential, but notice is published and order recorded. A Hawaii prosecutor's protection affidavit removes both steps and makes petition, affidavit, and order confidential. No express gender-identity track (§ 574-5(e); Haw. Admin. R. § 2-2-6.1) |
| Hearing and grant standard | No hearing required for ordinary approval. After intent to deny, petitioner has 10 days to request a confidential hearing; hearing within 20 days and decision within 7 days. Covered offender needs best-interest-of-justice and no-adverse-public-safety court findings |
| Grounds for denial or restriction | Rules reject noncompliant petitions; petition must deny creditor fraud and disclose felony history. Covered offender cannot use ordinary route without court findings. No categorical general felony bar appears (§ 574-5(a); Haw. Admin. R. §§ 2-2-2, -5.1, -6) |
| Fee and post-order effect | $56 online ($50 statutory filing + $1 archive + $5 service), plus publication and $41 recording; no ordinary waiver identified. Ordinary change is effective on publication; record signed order with Bureau of Conveyances within 60 days (§§ 574-5(c), 574-6) |
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Requirements one by one
Apply to the Lieutenant Governor as a Hawaii resident
Hawaii's ordinary stand-alone procedure is administrative. Under § 574-5(a),
the change comes from an order of the Lieutenant Governor rather than a court
petition. The office describes the process as serving Hawaii residents. The
rules require the applicant's state of residency and residence address but set
no minimum period of residence.
Under Haw. Admin. R. § 2-2-2(a), the prescribed petition collects present
and prior names and prior changes; birth facts; marriage, civil-union, and
divorce history; parent and child information; residence; felony details; a
statement that the change is not to defraud creditors; reasons; and the
requested name. The March 2026 instructions also collect names shown on Social
Security, employment, marriage, divorce, naturalization, driver's-license,
state-ID, and other records.
Under Haw. Admin. R. § 2-2-2(b)-(c), the adult signs before a notary
commissioned in Hawaii and submits the paperwork within 30 days after
notarization. A United States-born applicant generally must include a newly
issued certified birth certificate no more than 90 days old; the instructions
give separate documentation routes for applicants born abroad.
No fingerprint card or state/FBI report appears in the current statute, rules,
or instructions. Instead, a felony applicant discloses the conviction, charges,
sentence, parole or probation, final discharge, delayed-acceptance status, and
any pardon.
Complete the publication and recording sequence
After approval, the Lieutenant Governor signs and returns a notice.
§ 574-5(b)-(e) and Haw. Admin. R. § 2-2-5 require one publication in a
newspaper of general circulation statewide. The current instructions direct
publication through the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
The notice must be published and the newspaper affidavit properly received by
the office within 60 days after the notice was signed. The statute also requires
a clipping. Missing that deadline voids the petition. After the affidavit
arrives, the Lieutenant Governor signs the order. The applicant then has a
separate 60-day period after the order's signature to record the original order
with the Bureau of Conveyances.
Separate petition confidentiality from public notice
Under Haw. Admin. R. § 2-2-6.1, petitions on file with the office are
confidential and not public records. That ordinary confidentiality does not
remove the published notice or Bureau of Conveyances recording.
The narrower protection route in § 574-5(e) requires an affidavit from a
Hawaii prosecuting attorney showing that publication and recordation are not
necessary to protect the applicant. In that track, the petition, prosecutor's
affidavit, and order are confidential. The statute and rules create no separate
gender-identity name-change procedure.
Use the denial-hearing route only if needed
The official § 574-5 annotation states that the ordinary approval process
does not require a hearing. If the Lieutenant Governor sends a notice of intent
to deny, the applicant has until 4:30 p.m. on the tenth day after receipt to
file facts and arguments requesting a hearing.
The rules require the hearing within 20 days after that filing and a final
decision within seven days after the hearing. The hearing is confidential.
Covered offenders subject to § 846E-2 face a different restriction. Outside
the statute's listed family-court, marriage, legitimation, or out-of-state-order
routes, the person cannot obtain the change unless a court finds it is in the
best interest of justice and will not adversely affect public safety. The
statute does not impose a categorical name-change bar on every other person
with a felony conviction. Separately, Haw. Admin. R. § 2-2-5.1 permits the
office to decline processing when a petition does not meet the rules.
Budget for three separate charges
The current online total is $56: the $50 nonrefundable statutory filing fee,
a $1 archive fee, and a $5 service fee. Publication costs extra, and recording
the order costs $41. No ordinary indigency waiver appears in the name-change
statute, current rules, or March 2026 instructions.
For the ordinary route, § 574-6(a)-(b) makes the change effective on the
date of publication and requires recording the later signed order within 60
days.
What trips people up
- The ordinary application does not start in court. It goes to the
Lieutenant Governor; the covered-offender finding is the notable court
exception. - A confidential petition does not make the whole ordinary process secret.
The notice is still published and the order still recorded unless the
prosecutor-affidavit protection route applies. - There are two separate 60-day clocks. One runs from the signed notice for
publication and affidavit receipt; the next runs from the signed order for
Bureau recording. - Publication controls the ordinary effective date. The order is signed
afterward, but recording it is still mandatory.
Common questions
Do I need to schedule a court hearing?
Not for the ordinary Lieutenant Governor application. A confidential hearing
is available after an intent to deny, and a covered offender needs the separate
court findings stated in § 574-5(a).
Does Hawaii require fingerprints?
No applicant-supplied fingerprint or background-report package appears in the
current name-change statute, rules, or instructions. The petition does require
detailed felony information when applicable.
Can the $56 online charge be waived?
No ordinary waiver is stated in the current name-change statute, rules, or
instructions. Publication and the $41 Bureau recording fee are additional.
Statutes and sources
- Haw. Rev. Stat. §§ 574-5 to -6. Lieutenant Governor route, notarized
petition, covered-offender restriction, $50 filing fee, one publication,
prosecutor-affidavit protection, effective date, and recording. Official
§ 574-5
and official § 574-6
(accessed July 26, 2026). - Haw. Admin. R. chapter 2-2. Petition fields, documents, notarization and
submission deadline, publication proof, nonacceptance, denial hearing, and
confidentiality. Official rules PDF
(accessed July 26, 2026). - Hawaii Office of the Lieutenant Governor online materials. Current
application fields, $56 online total, Hawaii-notary instruction, supporting
documents, newspaper workflow, $41 recording fee, and Hawaii-resident scope.
March 2026 instructions
and official role description
(accessed July 26, 2026).
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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