Certificate of Service — Hawaii

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

State of Hawai'i

COURT CAPTION

Circuit Court:

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE [FIRST / SECOND / THIRD / FIFTH] CIRCUIT
STATE OF HAWAI'I

________________________________________,
                              Plaintiff,

v.                                              Civil No. [____________________]
                                                Judge: [________________________]
________________________________________,
                              Defendant.

District Court:

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE [FIRST / SECOND / THIRD / FIFTH] CIRCUIT
[DIVISION] DIVISION
STATE OF HAWAI'I

________________________________________,
                              Plaintiff,

v.                                              Case No.: [____________________]

________________________________________,
                              Defendant.

Family Court:

IN THE FAMILY COURT OF THE [FIRST / SECOND / THIRD / FIFTH] CIRCUIT
STATE OF HAWAI'I

In the Matter of: [________________________________]

                                                FC-[____________________]

(Hawai'i has four judicial circuits: First = Honolulu; Second = Maui County;
Third = Hawai'i Island (Big Island); Fifth = Kaua'i County. Select the
appropriate circuit and court; delete captions not used.)

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I, [________________________________], hereby certify that on [__/__/____],
I served a true and correct copy of the following document(s):

Document(s) Served:

1. [________________________________]
2. [________________________________]
3. [________________________________]
   (add rows as needed)

upon all parties or their counsel of record as identified below, in accordance
with Rule 5 of the Hawai'i Rules of Civil Procedure and the Hawai'i Electronic
Filing and Service Rules (HEFSR), by the method(s) indicated.

SECTION I — PARTIES / COUNSEL SERVED

Party / Counsel No. 1

Method of Service (check all that apply):

☐ JEFS Electronic Service (HEFSR Rule 6) — Filed and served through the
Judiciary Electronic Filing System (JEFS); service is automatic upon
acceptance of the filing for all registered JEFS participants.

• JEFS Transaction / Confirmation No.: [________________________________]
• Date/Time of JEFS Acceptance: [__/__/____] at [________] ☐ AM ☐ PM
• JEFS service is deemed complete on the date shown in the JEFS Notice of
  Electronic Filing (NEF) transmitted to registered participants.

☐ Electronic Mail (Email) — Served by email pursuant to HRCP Rule
5(b)(2)(E) with consent of the receiving party.

• Email address(es) served: [________________________________]
• Date/Time Transmitted: [__/__/____] at [________] ☐ AM ☐ PM
• ☐ Consent confirmed in writing; consent date: [__/__/____]
• ☐ Delivery receipt / read receipt obtained

☐ Hand Delivery / Personal Service — Delivered in person.

• Person who received delivery: [________________________________]
• Date/Time: [__/__/____] at [________] ☐ AM ☐ PM
• Location: [________________________________]

☐ U.S. First-Class Mail, Postage Prepaid

• Mailed from: [________________________________], Hawai'i
• Date Mailed: [__/__/____]
• Note: Under HRCP Rule 6(e), 3 additional days are added to any response
  period triggered by mail service.

☐ Certified Mail

• USPS Tracking No.: [________________________________]
• Date Mailed: [__/__/____]

☐ Overnight / Commercial Courier

• Carrier: [________________________________]
• Tracking No.: [________________________________]
• Date Tendered: [__/__/____]

☐ Other (describe): [________________________________]

Party / Counsel No. 2

Method of Service (check all that apply):

☐ JEFS Electronic Service

• JEFS Confirmation No.: [________________________________]
• Date/Time: [__/__/____] at [________] ☐ AM ☐ PM

☐ Electronic Mail (Email)

• Email address(es) served: [________________________________]
• Date/Time Transmitted: [__/__/____] at [________] ☐ AM ☐ PM

☐ Hand Delivery / Personal Service

• Date/Time: [__/__/____] at [________]
• Location: [________________________________]

☐ U.S. First-Class Mail

• Mailed from: [________________________________], Hawai'i
• Date Mailed: [__/__/____]

☐ Certified Mail

• USPS Tracking No.: [________________________________]

☐ Overnight / Commercial Courier

• Carrier: [________________] Tracking No.: [________________]

☐ Other: [________________________________]

(Duplicate Party / Counsel block as needed for additional parties)

SECTION II — MULTIPLE-PARTY SERVICE TABLE

(Use when serving three or more parties; attach continuation sheets if needed)

SECTION III — NON-JEFS PARTY SERVICE

Under HEFSR Rule 3, registered JEFS Users must file electronically. However,
parties who are not registered JEFS Users must be served conventionally
(i.e., by non-electronic means per HRCP Rule 5) unless they have separately
consented to email service.

☐ The following party is a Non-JEFS User and was served by conventional means:

• Party Name: [________________________________]
• Last Known Address: [________________________________]
• City, State, Zip: [________________________________]

• Method of Service:
  ☐ U.S. First-Class Mail — Date Mailed: [__/__/____]
  ☐ Hand Delivery — Date/Time: [__/__/____] at [________]
  ☐ Certified Mail — Tracking No.: [________________________________]
  ☐ Email (with written consent) — Date: [__/__/____]

• Notes: [________________________________]

SECTION IV — JEFS SYSTEM NOTES

JEFS Auto-Service: When a document is accepted through JEFS, the system
automatically generates and transmits a Notice of Electronic Filing (NEF) to
all registered JEFS participants in the case, serving as electronic service.
The NEF constitutes proof of service for JEFS Users (HEFSR Rule 6).

Proof of Service: Under HRCP Rule 5, the requestor must demonstrate proof
of service either by the JEFS Notice of Electronic Filing or a separate
Certificate of Service for conventionally served parties (HEFSR Rule 6).

Technical Failure (HEFSR Rule 8): If JEFS experiences a technical failure
at the time of filing or service, note the failure and retain documentation
of the technical difficulty. The rules provide relief from deadlines when
technical failure prevents timely electronic filing or service.

Circuit-Specific Notes:
- First Circuit (Honolulu): Highest volume of civil cases; JEFS is
operational for virtually all civil matters.
- Second Circuit (Maui): Confirm JEFS availability for specific case types.
- Third Circuit (Hawai'i Island): Confirm JEFS availability.
- Fifth Circuit (Kaua'i): Confirm JEFS availability for the specific matter.

SECTION V — TIME COMPUTATION / MAIL RULE

Under HRCP Rule 6(e), when a party must act within a prescribed period after
service and service is made by U.S. Mail, three (3) additional calendar days
are added to the prescribed period. This extension does not apply to JEFS
electronic service.

Example: A 20-day response period triggered by mail service becomes
23 days from the date of mailing.

If the last day of the period falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the
deadline extends to the next court day pursuant to HRCP Rule 6(a).

DECLARATION

I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing Certificate of Service is
true and correct.

DATED: [________________________________], Hawai'i, [__/__/____].

_____________________________________________
[________________________________]
Hawai'i Bar No.: [____________________]
[________________________________] (Firm Name)
[________________________________] (Street Address)
[________________________________] (City, State, Zip)
Telephone: ([____]) [____]-[________]
Facsimile:  ([____]) [____]-[________]
Email:      [________________________________]
Attorney for [________________________________]

PRACTITIONER NOTES

1. JEFS Mandatory E-Filing. Attorneys admitted to practice in Hawai'i are
generally required to file through JEFS in circuit court civil matters. Confirm
whether JEFS is mandatory for your specific case type, court level (district,
family, circuit), and circuit.

2. HEFSR Rule 6 — Service by JEFS. Registered JEFS Users are served via the
NEF automatically generated upon filing acceptance. Retain JEFS transaction IDs
and NEFs in the litigation file as proof of service.

3. HEFSR Rule 8 — Technical Failure. If JEFS is unavailable due to technical
failure, document the failure (screenshot, time stamp) and contact the clerk's
office for guidance. Rules provide relief from missed deadlines caused by JEFS
technical failures.

4. Non-JEFS Users. If any party or counsel is not a registered JEFS user,
the JEFS NEF does not serve as service on that party. Serve by hand delivery,
mail, or email with consent, and document carefully in this certificate.

5. Three-Day Mail Rule. HRCP Rule 6(e) adds 3 days to response periods
triggered by mail service. Note that this does not apply to JEFS or email service
(unless consent was required and not obtained).

6. District Court and Family Court. District Court civil cases (small claims,
civil under jurisdictional limit) and Family Court matters may have different
e-filing requirements. Confirm with the applicable court clerk whether JEFS
applies and what certificate format is expected.

7. Hawai'i Spelling. The state's official name uses the 'okina (') before
the final "i." Use "Hawai'i" in formal pleadings.

8. Protective Orders / Confidential Filings. For matters under a protective
order, confirm that service of confidential documents complies with the order's
terms before transmitting through JEFS or email.

Sources and References

• Hawaii Electronic Filing and Service Rules (HEFSR): https://www.courts.state.hi.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/hefsr_ada.htm
• Hawai'i Rules of Civil Procedure (HRCP): https://www.courts.state.hi.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/hrcp_ada.pdf
• Hawaii Judiciary eFiling: https://www.courts.state.hi.us/legal_references/efiling
• Rules of the Circuit Courts of Hawaii: https://www.courts.state.hi.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/rcch.htm