Hawaii Quitclaim Deed: Requirements, Recording and Conveyance Tax

A Hawaii quitclaim deed is an ordinary deed that the Bureau of Conveyances records like any other conveyance; Hawaii has no general statute that defines a quitclaim or gives it a short form. To be recorded, the deed needs an acknowledgment certificate in the form HRS 502-41 provides (or an authorized alternative), the grantee's address and the first-page details 502-31 requires, and it is recorded with the state Bureau of Conveyances in Honolulu, because "All deeds ... or other conveyances of real estate within the State, shall be recorded in the bureau of conveyances" (502-83). A Form P-64A or P-64B conveyance tax form goes with it. For other states, see our guide to quitclaim deed rules by state.

Information last verified on 2026-10-10. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers Hawaii law on quitclaim deeds: recording and acknowledgment under HRS Chapter 502 (Bureau of Conveyances), the conveyance tax under HRS Chapter 247 and the Department of Taxation's Forms P-64A and P-64B, the City and County of Honolulu's home exemption rules, and the transfer on death deed under HRS Chapter 527, with federal mortgage and gift-tax points where they affect a family transfer. It does not cover Land Court registration procedure in detail, title insurance, a lender's own rules, the home exemption rules of Hawaii, Maui and Kauai counties, or other states' laws.

What a quitclaim deed does in Hawaii

Hawaii does not define a "quitclaim deed" in a general statute, and Chapter 502, which governs the Bureau of Conveyances, has no deed-form section. The word appears only in specialized statutes, such as those on public lands and leasehold conversion. The Bureau itself treats a quitclaim as a recordable deed: asked what to submit for one, its FAQ answers, "Generally the quitclaim deed document, the correct recording fee and either the P64-A or P64-B conveyance tax forms should be submitted."

The case notes to HRS 502-41 cite an 1873 decision (4 H. 674) for the point that "Title to land is conveyed by delivery of deed without registry thereof or entry by grantee." Recording matters for a different reason, covered below: protecting the new owner against later buyers and lenders.

People use a quitclaim to add or remove a spouse, give a home to a child, move a home into a revocable living trust, or carry out a divorce decree. A quitclaim passes whatever interest the grantor holds without the title promises a seller usually gives; for how those deeds compare, see quitclaim vs. warranty deeds.

Hawaii quitclaim deed requirements

The Bureau of Conveyances does not supply deed forms: "The BOC does not provide pre-printed forms and suggests individuals work with an attorney or title company of their choice to ensure documents are properly prepared." The only official forms in a quitclaim are the Department of Taxation's conveyance tax forms.

Acknowledgment

Under 502-41, "to entitle any conveyance or other instrument to be recorded, there shall be endorsed, subjoined, or attached thereto an acknowledgment in the form provided or authorized in section 502-42, 502-43, or 502-45, or in substantially the following form." The statutory individual form recites that the signer "personally appeared" and "acknowledged that the person or persons executed the same as the person's or persons' free act and deed."

Under 502-42, the certificate "shall state in substance that the person who executed the instrument appeared before the notary public granting the certificate and acknowledged or stated that the person executed the same." It also states that the signer was personally known to the notary or proved by a credible witness or other satisfactory evidence of identity. Section 502-42 allows a remote acknowledgment by communication technology under 456-23 if the certificate says so, and a certificate cannot be rejected merely because it omits the "free act and deed" wording.

Page format

Section 502-31 sets the physical rules the registrar applies:

• "the top three and one-half inches of space of the first page shall be reserved for recording information," with the next inch for the return-to address;
• pages are single-sided, numbered and stapled once in the upper left corner, with no cover or backer;
• the registrar may refuse a document larger than 8.5 by 11 inches or one that will not reproduce legibly.

The registrar may accept an electronic instrument under rules of the Department of Land and Natural Resources.

Watch out: Hawaii's registrar will not record a deed that lacks the grantee's address (502-34). Put it on the first page with the tax map key number.

Does a spouse have to sign a Hawaii quitclaim deed?

Chapter 502 does not say whether a spouse who is not on title must sign a deed. If you are married, and especially if you and your spouse hold title together, ask a lawyer licensed in Hawaii whether your spouse must join the deed before you sign. Under HRS 509-2, one spouse holding as tenant by the entirety may deed all of that spouse's interest directly to the other spouse. If spouses holding as tenants by the entirety deed the home into their revocable trust, protection from each spouse's separate creditors continues only while the 509-2(c) conditions are met, including a recorded deed notice that refers to that section. If the deed carries out a divorce, see our guide to Hawaii divorce laws.

Recording a quitclaim deed with the Bureau of Conveyances

Hawaii records deeds at the state level, not with a county recorder. The Bureau of Conveyances, part of the Department of Land and Natural Resources in Honolulu, runs two systems: the Regular System and Land Court, which has its own assistant registrar and fee schedule. Under 502-83, "All deeds, leases for a term of more than one year, mortgages of any interest in real estate, or other conveyances of real estate within the State, shall be recorded in the bureau of conveyances."

What recording does

Section 502-83 states the consequence of not recording: "Every such conveyance not so recorded is void as against any subsequent purchaser, lessee, or mortgagee, in good faith and for a valuable consideration, not having actual notice of the conveyance of the same real estate, or any portion thereof, or interest therein, whose conveyance is first duly recorded." A later good-faith buyer or lender for value without notice who records first can take priority over an unrecorded quitclaim. Once recorded, the deed becomes part of the public land records; see our guide to Hawaii property records.

Recording is also permanent. The Bureau's FAQ says: "Once documents are recorded with the BOC, they cannot be removed from the public record as mandated by State statutes governing the BOC without a court order."

Recording fees

Recording fees are set by Department of Land and Natural Resources rules (502-25), not by the counties. The Bureau of Conveyances FAQ lists these fees per document:

The Bureau's fee page says these fees took effect February 27, 2017. A 2025 amendment to 502-25(b) directs the registrar to deposit "$18 for each document recorded" in the state general fund, so confirm the current fee with the Bureau of Conveyances before you submit the deed.

E-recording

Hawaii has adopted the Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act as Part XII of Chapter 502. For electronic recording, the Bureau's fee page says: "Check with your trusted submitter (e-recording vendor)."

Hawaii conveyance tax on a quitclaim deed

Hawaii's conveyance tax (HRS Chapter 247) is a state tax paid by the person conveying the property. Under 247-4, "The tax imposed by this chapter shall be paid by the grantor, lessor, sublessor, assignor, transferor, seller, conveyor, or any other person conveying realty," and it is due "no later than ninety days after the taxable transaction." The certificate filed under 247-6 sets out "the actual and full consideration of the property transferred, including any lien or encumbrance on the property."

Rates

Section 247-2 sets graduated rates by value, starting at "Ten cents per $100 for properties with a value of less than $600,000." The general schedule is:

A higher schedule, from 15 cents to $1.25 per $100, applies to the sale of a condominium or single-family home to a buyer who is not eligible for a county homeowner exemption. The minimum tax is $1 per transaction. A 2026 bill to restructure the conveyance tax, HB 2049, was deferred by the Senate Ways and Means Committee on April 6, 2026, and the legislature's status page shows no enactment.

Exemptions that fit common quitclaim situations

Section 247-3 exempts these documents, among others:

Section 247-3 also exempts a partition among co-owners at equal value. A gift to a sibling, a friend or an unmarried partner is not on this list, though a deed for $100 or less of consideration may fit 247-3(5). The tax base includes "any liens or encumbrances" on the property (247-2), and the Department of Taxation counts a release from or assumption of a mortgage as consideration, so a no-money quitclaim of a mortgaged home may not qualify; if the total is over $100, Form P-64A and the tax apply.

Forms P-64A and P-64B

An exempt deed still needs paperwork. Under 247-6(b), "No certificate is required to be filed for any document or instrument made exempt by section 247-3, except that in the following situations, a certificate shall be filed," and those situations include the 247-3(4) family exemption and the 247-3(5) small-consideration exemption. The Department of Taxation publishes two forms (both Rev. 2025) on its conveyance tax forms page:

• Form P-64A, Conveyance Tax Certificate, for a taxable transfer. It is filed with the Department of Taxation for its seal before the deed is recorded.
• Form P-64B, Exemption from Conveyance Tax. Where it goes depends on which part of the form the exemption appears in. According to the P-64B instructions, exemptions in Part III (corrective documents, partition, and $100-or-less transfers other than the family gifts listed in Part IV) go to the Department of Taxation's Technical Section for review, which takes about 10 business days, before recording. Exemptions in Part IV (nominal consideration between spouses, reciprocal beneficiaries or parent and child, a divorce order, a $100-or-less gift between grandparent and grandchild or between siblings, a testamentary trust, a revocable living trust) are filed directly with the Bureau of Conveyances: "If the exemption appears in Part IV, file the Form P-64B directly with the BOC at P.O. Box 2867, Honolulu, Hawaii 96803-2867, or at 1151 Punchbowl Street, in Honolulu."

No Form P-64B is needed for a transfer on death deed. Plan for the Part III review time if your exemption falls there.

Property tax after a quitclaim in Hawaii

Each county runs its own real property tax and home exemption. In the City and County of Honolulu, a home exemption does not move with a sale or transfer. The new owner has to claim it, and one condition is that "Your ownership is recorded at the Bureau of Conveyances, State Department of Land and Natural Resources, in Honolulu on or before September 30 preceding the tax year for which you claim the exemption." A transfer recorded after September 30 keeps the higher class (such as Residential A, for homes over $1,000,000) for the current and upcoming tax year. A child or beneficiary who lives in the home files their own claim. An owner whose property stops qualifying for the exemption must report it to the assessor within 30 days, and no later than November 1, according to the city's exemption FAQ.

If the property is in Hawaii, Maui or Kauai county, ask that county's real property tax office about its rules before you record.

Mortgages and quitclaim deeds

Hawaii's recording statutes deal with title, not the loan. A deed does not remove anyone from a mortgage; only the lender can release a borrower. Under 12 CFR 191.5(b)(4), if the lender and the new owner agree in writing, before the transfer, that the new owner will be obligated on the loan, then on that agreement "a lender shall release the existing borrower from all obligations under the loan instruments."

Federal law limits when a lender can call a home loan due because of a transfer. Under 12 U.S.C. 1701j-3(d), for a loan on residential property with fewer than five dwelling units, a lender may not use a due-on-sale clause for certain transfers, including a transfer where the borrower's spouse or children become an owner and a transfer on the death of a joint tenant or tenant by the entirety. The federal regulation, 12 CFR 191.5(b), applies these limits to a loan on a home occupied or to be occupied by the borrower, and covers:

• a transfer where the spouse or children become an owner, or a transfer from a divorce decree, legal separation agreement or property settlement by which the spouse becomes an owner, where the person taking title occupies or will occupy the property (12 CFR 191.5(b)(1)(v));
• a transfer into a living (inter vivos) trust in which the borrower is and remains the beneficiary and occupant, unless the borrower refuses to give the lender reasonable means of notice of later transfers (12 CFR 191.5(b)(1)(vi)).

These limits are conditional, and a lender keeps the right to enforce the clause if a later event disqualifies the transfer (12 CFR 191.5(b)(5)). Transfers outside the listed categories, such as to a sibling or friend, are not covered. Talk to the lender before signing. Federal servicing rules also recognize a "successor in interest," such as a spouse or child who receives an ownership interest from a borrower (12 CFR 1024.31).

Federal gift tax on a quitclaim to a family member

Giving property away by quitclaim can be a gift for federal tax purposes. The IRS says the gift tax "applies to the transfer by gift of any type of property." For 2026, "the annual exclusion for gifts remains at $19,000" per recipient. The IRS lists gifts to your spouse among gifts that are not taxable and says the donor is generally responsible for paying any gift tax. If your spouse is not a U.S. citizen, the IRS limits tax-free gifts to that spouse to an annual exclusion of $194,000 for 2026.

The IRS also says the recipient's basis in gifted property is generally the same as the donor's basis. Ask a tax professional before deeding a home as a gift; this page does not give tax advice.

Deed fraud protections in Hawaii

Because a recorded document "cannot be removed from the public record ... without a court order," a forged deed has to be undone through the courts. The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center advises owners to "Check if your County Recorder, Register of Deeds, County Appraisal District, or County Clerk’s Office offer notification services and send an automated email or text when a legal document is recorded using your name" (IC3 PSA I-061626-PSA). In Hawaii, the recording office is the state Bureau of Conveyances; ask it whether it offers any notification.

Transfer on death deeds and other alternatives

If the goal is to pass a home at death rather than now, Hawaii has adopted the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act (HRS Chapter 527). Under 527-9, a transfer on death deed "shall contain the essential elements and formalities of a properly recordable inter vivos deed," must state that the transfer occurs at the owner's death, and must be recorded with the Bureau of Conveyances or filed with the Land Court assistant registrar before the owner's death.

It is exempt from the conveyance tax (247-3(17)), and no Form P-64B is needed for it. For what happens when an owner dies without one, see our guide to Hawaii probate.

Common myths about Hawaii quitclaim deeds

• "An unrecorded quitclaim is void." Under 502-83, it is void only against a later good-faith purchaser, lessee or mortgagee for value, without actual notice, whose own conveyance is recorded first.
• "A gift deed is automatically tax-free with no paperwork." The exemptions are specific, such as nominal consideration between spouses, reciprocal beneficiaries or parent and child (247-3(4)), and a certificate must still be filed for those (247-6(b)), using Form P-64B.
• "I can pull the deed back if I change my mind." Once recorded, a document cannot be removed from the public record without a court order, according to the Bureau of Conveyances.
• "A quitclaim takes me off the mortgage." No. Only the lender can release a borrower (12 CFR 191.5(b)(4)).

Related

• Quitclaim deed rules by state
• Hawaii property records
• Quitclaim vs. warranty deeds
• Hawaii divorce laws
• Hawaii probate

This article provides general legal information about Hawaii law on quitclaim deeds, verified on 2026-10-10. It is not legal or tax advice. For your situation, contact the Bureau of Conveyances (which cannot give legal advice), a legal aid office, or a lawyer licensed in Hawaii.

Last updated: 2026-10-10.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I file a quitclaim deed in Hawaii?

Sign the deed before a notary who completes an acknowledgment certificate meeting HRS 502-41 and 502-42, follow the first-page and format rules in 502-31, include the grantee's address (502-34), and submit it to the Bureau of Conveyances with the recording fee and Form P-64A or P-64B. Part III exemptions on Form P-64B go to the Department of Taxation for review first.

Does a quitclaim deed need to be notarized in Hawaii?

Yes to be recorded. Under 502-41, a conveyance needs an acknowledgment certificate in the statutory form or one authorized by 502-42, 502-43 or 502-45, and 502-42 describes the certificate the notary gives.

Where do I record a quitclaim deed in Hawaii?

With the state Bureau of Conveyances (Department of Land and Natural Resources) in Honolulu, in either the Regular System or Land Court. Under 502-83, all deeds and other conveyances of real estate within the State are recorded there.

How much does it cost to record a quitclaim deed in Hawaii?

The Bureau of Conveyances FAQ lists $41 per document up to 50 pages in the Regular System and $36 in Land Court, or $106 and $101 for 51 pages or more. The fees are set by Department of Land and Natural Resources rules (502-25); confirm the current fee with the Bureau before you submit.

Do you pay conveyance tax on a quitclaim deed in Hawaii?

The grantor pays Hawaii's conveyance tax on the consideration for a taxable transfer (HRS 247-4, 247-6). Section 247-3 exempts, among others, documents between spouses, reciprocal beneficiaries or parent and child with only nominal consideration, documents with consideration of $100 or less (a mortgage released or assumed counts as consideration), divorce transfers under court order and transfers to or from the grantor's revocable living trust. Form P-64A or P-64B must still go with the deed.

Does a quitclaim deed remove me from the mortgage?

No. Under 12 CFR 191.5(b)(4), a lender releases a borrower only when the lender and the new owner agree in writing, before the transfer, that the new owner is obligated on the loan.

Does a quitclaim deed affect my Honolulu home exemption?

In the City and County of Honolulu, a home exemption does not move with a transfer. The new owner must be recorded at the Bureau of Conveyances on or before September 30 preceding the tax year and file their own claim.

Can a recorded quitclaim deed be removed in Hawaii?

According to the Bureau of Conveyances, once a document is recorded it cannot be removed from the public record without a court order.