Recording a deed in City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii

Recording a deed in City and County of Honolulu

Deeds affecting property in City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii are recorded with the Bureau of Conveyances in Honolulu, the only recording office in the state. Recording is what puts the world on notice of your ownership and fixes the priority date. An unrecorded deed of Regular System property can still transfer title between the parties, but it leaves you exposed to anyone who records first. Land Court property passes only when the Assistant Registrar registers the deed (HRS § 501-101).

The recording rules the office applies come from Haw. Rev. Stat. § 502-31. Deeds themselves are governed by Haw. Rev. Stat. ch. 502.

What to bring

• The original signed and notarized deed. Recorders do not record photocopies handed over the counter.
• A completed notarial acknowledgment, with the date, the place where you signed, and the commission expiry all filled in.
• Form P-64A (Conveyance Tax Certificate) when tax is due, or Form P-64B (Exemption from Conveyance Tax), which Hawaii requires alongside the deed.
• Payment for the recording fee, $41 per document. Pay by check or money order payable to "Bureau of Conveyances". In person, the Bureau also takes cash and credit cards.

Formatting

• The top 3.5 inches of page one are reserved for the Bureau of Conveyances: the left half for Land Court and the right half for the Regular System. The next inch is reserved for the name and address the recorded document is returned to, beginning 1.5 inches from the left margin, with no line longer than 3.5 inches (HRS §§ 501-108(b), 502-31(e)).
• Page one must also show the names of the grantors, the names and addresses of the grantees, the type of document, the tax map key and the total number of pages. Pages are single-sided, numbered, and stapled once in the upper left corner, with no cover or backer (HRS § 502-31(e); HAR § 13-16-7).
• A document whose page one does not meet these rules can be recorded with the Bureau's Recordation Cover Sheet attached on top as a conforming fly sheet (HAR § 13-16-2). The cover sheet counts as a page. Deedly prints the return address at the left margin rather than 1.5 inches in, so put the cover sheet on top of a Deedly deed.
• Deedly's layout, which suits this office: 8.5 × 11 inch paper, a 3.5-inch clear space at the top of page one for the recording stamp, 1-inch margins on the other edges, and type no smaller than 10 point. Deedly formats every document this way automatically.
• A legal description. A street address alone is not enough.
• A 'when recorded, return to' block so the stamped original comes back to you.

How to file

1. 1In personTake the original to the Bureau of Conveyances, Kalanimoku Building, 1151 Punchbowl Street, Room 120, Honolulu (recording 8:01 a.m. to 3:29 p.m. on state business days). It is the only recording office in Hawaii and records deeds for property on every island. This is the fastest route. You usually walk out with the recording information the same day.
2. 2By mailPrint on one side only and staple once in the upper left corner. Do not add a folder cover or a backing sheet; the Bureau's own Recordation Cover Sheet is allowed. To record by mail, send the original, one copy, the P-64A or P-64B if your deed needs one, a check or money order payable to "Bureau of Conveyances", and two self-addressed stamped envelopes to Bureau of Conveyances, P.O. Box 2867, Honolulu, HI 96803. The Bureau may refuse a document sent without a return envelope.
3. 3E-recordingThe Bureau of Conveyances accepts e-recording of Regular System and Land Court documents through its approved vendors (Simplifile, CSC, Indecomm and ePN). Vendors charge their own fees on top of the recording fee, and some require a subscription or a set-up charge, so for a single deed recording in person or by mail is usually simpler. A P-64A or P-64B still goes with the deed where one applies.