Adult Legal Name Change Requirements in Hawaii

At a glance

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).