How to Get a Hawaii Death Certificate (2026)

You get a Hawaii death certificate from the State Department of Health, Office of Health Status Monitoring. A certified copy costs $12.50 for the first copy, which is a $10 record fee plus a $2.50 search and processing fee, and $4 for each additional copy of the same record ordered at the same time. Only applicants with a direct and tangible interest, such as family or an estate representative, may order one.

How Do You Get a Death Certificate in Hawaii?

You get a Hawaii death certificate from the State Department of Health, Office of Health Status Monitoring, Issuance/Vital Statistics Section. Hawaii is a centralized state, so all death records are issued by the state office rather than by individual counties.

There are three ways to request a certified copy.

Order Online

The fastest method is the official state portal at vitrec.ehawaii.gov. You complete the order form, upload a copy of your government-issued photo ID and documents proving your eligibility, and pay by credit or debit card. This is the method the Department of Health recommends.

Order by Mail

You can mail a completed Request for Certified Copy of Death Record form to the State Department of Health, P.O. Box 3378, Honolulu, HI 96801. Include a copy of your photo ID, proof of eligibility, and payment by cashier's check, certified check, or money order.

Request in Person

In-person service is available at 1250 Punchbowl Street, Room 103, in Honolulu, Monday through Friday from 7:45 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Appointments are encouraged, but walk-in service is available between appointments, and neighbor-island District Health Offices in Hawaii County, Maui County, and Kauai also provide in-person service. Bring your completed form, photo ID, eligibility documents, and payment.

Who Is Eligible to Request a Hawaii Death Certificate?

Only an applicant with a direct and tangible interest in the record may obtain a certified copy of a Hawaii death certificate. Hawaii restricts access to protect the privacy of the deceased and surviving family.

People who generally qualify include:

• The spouse, a parent, or a descendant (child or grandchild) of the deceased
• A relative who shares a common ancestor, such as a sibling, grandparent, aunt, uncle, or cousin
• A legal guardian or the personal representative of the estate
• A person authorized by a court order
• A person needing the record to settle a credit insurance claim or determine property rights

You must provide documentation showing your relationship or interest, and the office may deny a request if eligibility is not established.

Hawaii Death Certificate Cost and Processing Time

A certified Hawaii death certificate costs $12.50 for the first copy, which the state breaks down as a $10 record fee plus a $2.50 search and processing fee. Each additional copy of the same record ordered at the same time is $4. The $2.50 fee covers an order of up to five certificates, and another $2.50 applies for each additional set of five.

Processing time averages roughly 6 to 8 weeks for mail and online orders. The Department of Health notes that orders filled out correctly with the right payment are usually processed and mailed within about 10 business days, so accuracy speeds things up considerably. In-person requests may still require pickup or mailing rather than same-day issuance.

Certified vs Informational Copy in Hawaii

Hawaii primarily issues certified copies of death certificates. A certified copy is the official document bearing the state seal that you use for estate settlement, insurance claims, property transfers, and closing financial accounts.

Hawaii does not market a separate "informational" (non-certified) death certificate to the general public the way some mainland states do. Because access is already limited to those with a direct and tangible interest, the standard product is the certified copy. If you only need to confirm that a death occurred for genealogy purposes, the Department of Health handles older records through its separate genealogy request process.

How to Get Additional or Replacement Copies

To get additional or replacement copies, you submit a new request to the State Department of Health using the same online, mail, or in-person methods. There is no special "replacement" process; each request is treated as a fresh order.

Ordering several copies at once is the most economical approach, since each additional copy of the same record is only $4 when ordered together. If you later discover you need more copies, you must reapply, prove your eligibility again, and pay the $12.50 first-copy fee ($10 record fee plus the $2.50 processing fee) plus $4 for each additional copy on that new order.

Disclaimer: This page provides general information, not legal advice. Fees, eligibility rules, and processing times can change. Always verify current requirements with the Hawaii State Department of Health before submitting a request.

Sources

This page draws on the Hawaii State Department of Health, Office of Health Status Monitoring, and the official state vital records ordering portal.

Related: Hawaii Death Records and Death Records by State.