How a Background Check Works in Hawaii

Hawaii treats an adult arrest that ended in a conviction as a public record and keeps everything else confidential. The Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center, an agency of the Department of the Attorney General that runs the statewide criminal history system, the fingerprint system, the covered offender registry and the eCrim website, issues what it calls a criminal history record check, also known as a police clearance or police abstract, for the State of Hawaii only.

The choice is between instant and official. eCrim answers a name search online for $5 with a $12 certified record by email; the center's own counter and mail service return a check under its embossed department seal, by name for $30 or by fingerprint for $55 in office or $35 by mail, in three to five business days.

  • Online: eCrim, $5.00 per unique search and $12 for an official report, searched by name, Social Security number, date of birth or gender, paid by credit or debit card.
  • Official name check: $30 at the HCJDC counter at 465 S. King Street, Room 102, Honolulu, with no appointment, or by mail on form HCJDC-073; certification adds $20, a notary nothing.
  • Fingerprint check: $55 in office by appointment at (808) 587-3279 or $35 by mail with fingerprint cards; Hawaii records only, the FBI for a national check.
  • Confidential: arrests that ended without a conviction or are still pending, and juvenile records, which only criminal justice and authorized agencies may see.

Written by SearchSystems.net from Hawaii's own systems: the Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center home page, the HCJDC Criminal History Record Check page, the HCJDC name based background check page, the HCJDC fingerprint based background check page, the HCJDC criminal history frequently asked questions, the eCrim adult criminal information site, each read on October 14, 2026 by the SearchSystems editorial team.

What is public in Hawaii and what is not

The center's record check page draws the line. Arrest records that resulted in a conviction are public record, available at public access sites across the state and on eCrim; the FAQ adds acquittals and dismissals by reason of physical or mental disease, disorder or defect under Chapter 704 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes to the public side. Arrest records that ended in a non conviction or are still pending are confidential and not available to the general public; only criminal justice agencies and agencies that Hawaii law authorizes, such as the Department of Human Services for its child care program, may see non conviction information. A Hawaii check includes only Hawaii arrests, never another state's or federal records, and only adult information unless a juvenile case was transferred to adult court; juvenile record checks come from the Hawaii State Judiciary's Family Court juvenile records department at 808-954-8190.

eCrim: the $5 online search

eCrim, Hawaii's Adult Criminal Information site, lets anyone view an individual's conviction information from the center's criminal history files. The search criteria may be a name, Social Security number, date of birth or gender; the user enters the criteria, pays for the search, views the results from the receipt screen and, to buy a record, adds it to the cart and pays again, all in one logged in session, since a session is cleared after 30 minutes of inactivity. Each unique search costs $5.00 and an official eCrim report costs $12; searches can be reused in the same session. The site notes that No Criminal Convictions Found is a valid result, that covered offender registration is not included, and that its information is updated regularly without guarantee. The report is emailed once payment clears, and the center warns requesters to confirm that the agency receiving the clearance accepts online printouts; if it does not, the official checks below are the answer. Questions about data or accuracy go to (808) 587-3279 and technical questions to (808) 695-4620.

Public access sites

Conviction records are also available at public access sites around the state at $25.00 per printout or search, paid by money order or cashier's check, with the subject's name, Social Security number, sex and date of birth; the center publishes the list of sites and asks callers to confirm each location's hours.

The official name based check: $30

A name based check processed by the center's Criminal History Record Checks Unit carries its embossed department seal and states that the check was name based. In office it needs no appointment: the requester brings or downloads form HCJDC-073 to 465 S. King Street, Room 102, Honolulu, HI 96813, pays the $30 service fee, and may add certification for $20 and a notary at no charge. By mail the same form and fee go to the center, attention CHRC Unit, at that address, paid by money order or cashier's check payable to the State of Hawaii. Turnaround is three to five business days, or seven to ten with a notary. A requester who wants the results back by certified mail encloses a postage paid USPS certified envelope.

The fingerprint based check: $55 in office, $35 by mail

The center says Hawaii's records are supported by the fingerprints of the people arrested, and because an arrestee may give an alias, a fingerprint comparison with other identifiers is the only way to be sure whether a person has a record. A fingerprint based check covers the State of Hawaii only; a national check comes from the FBI's Identity History Summary. In office, all fingerprinting is by appointment through the CHRC Unit at (808) 587-3279, with form HCJDC-073, a $55 service fee, certification at $20 extra and a notary free, under the embossed seal, in three to five business days or seven to ten with a notary. By mail, the requester completes parts 1, 2 and 3 of the form and sends it with a complete set of fingerprint cards to the CHRC Unit at 465 S. King Street, Room 102, for a $35 fee by money order or cashier's check. Rolling fingerprints costs $25 and a duplicate certificate $20.

Your own record: Access and Review

Everyone has the right to see their own record and to challenge its completeness and accuracy, through a fingerprint check the center calls Access and Review, listed with the fingerprint card services and the wrongful use of a name or Social Security number among the center's other services. The center's office hours are 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, closed from noon to 1:00 p.m. and on state holidays, with parking at metered stalls that take quarters only. In office payments take credit, debit, Apple Pay, money orders or cashier's checks payable to the State of Hawaii, never cash, and card payments add a 3 percent non refundable service fee; mailed payments must be a money order or cashier's check, with no personal checks.

Expungement

A person arrested or charged but not convicted may apply to have the arrest expunged, that is erased, from their record, if it meets the criteria in Hawaii Revised Statutes section 831-3.2. Expunged arrests are confidential and unavailable to the public. A first expungement costs $35.00 including a $10 non refundable processing fee, and a second or later expungement $50.00 with the same processing fee; the expungement line is (808) 587-3348 and the center keeps a separate expungement FAQ.

One warning the center repeats

Under Hawaii Revised Statutes 134-84(f), the name based background check required to buy an electric gun or taser must be run by the licensed distributor or seller, not by the buyer. The center states on its home page and on eCrim that a name based check bought from HCJDC or online cannot serve that purpose and that no refund is given to a buyer who orders one by mistake.

Reading a Hawaii check

A Hawaii criminal history record check is a conviction record for Hawaii alone. A clean eCrim result means no Hawaii conviction under that name, not no arrest and not no record elsewhere; a fingerprint check settles identity where the name is common or an alias is possible; and the embossed, certified version from the center is the one an agency that rejects online printouts will accept. The general inquiry line at the center is (808) 587-3100.

Questions about background checks in Hawaii

Can anyone look up a person's criminal record in Hawaii?
Yes, for adult convictions. They are public record, searchable on eCrim for $5.00 a search and $12 an official report, at public access sites for $25 a printout, or through the center's $30 name based check. Non conviction and pending arrests are confidential.
How much does a Hawaii criminal history record check cost?
$5.00 per eCrim search plus $12 per report; $25.00 per public access printout; $30.00 for the center's name based check; $55.00 for a fingerprint check in office or $35 by mail; certification $20.00 more, notary free.
How long does the official check take?
Three to five business days for a name based or fingerprint based check processed by the Criminal History Record Checks Unit, or seven to ten business days when a notary is added.
Does a Hawaii check include other states or federal records?
No. Only Hawaii arrests are included; the center points to the FBI Identity History Summary for a national check.
Do I need an appointment at the HCJDC office?
Not for a name based check. Fingerprinting in office is by appointment only, booked through the CHRC Unit at (808) 587-3279.
How do I expunge a Hawaii arrest that did not lead to a conviction?
Apply to the center under HRS 831-3.2: $35.00 for a first expungement and $50.00 for a second or later one, each including a $10 non refundable processing fee. Expunged arrests become confidential.

Related Hawaii records

The conviction record is one of the Hawaii records this site covers: the Hawaii court records guide explains the Judiciary's own case files, the arrest records guide covers what an arrest makes public, the sex offender registry guide covers the covered offender site the center also runs, and the Hawaii county pages list the police departments of Honolulu, Hawaii, Maui and Kauai.