Hawaii general warranty deed

What a general warranty deed does in Hawaii

A general warranty deed transfers ownership and adds the full set of title covenants: the grantor promises they own the property, have the right to sell it, that it is free of undisclosed encumbrances, and that they will defend the title against any claim, including claims that arose long before they owned it. It is the standard instrument for an arm's-length sale between private parties.

The Hawaii law behind this deed

Hawaii has no section written specifically for general warranty deeds. The instrument runs on the general conveyancing and recording statutes below, which is why the requirements here look like those for any other deed in the state.

When Hawaii property owners use a general warranty deed

• Sell a property directly to a buyer without an agent
• Transfer a property where the buyer expects full title protection
• Satisfy a purchase contract that calls for a warranty deed
• Convey property where a title company requires warranty covenants

What Hawaii requires on the deed

These are the execution and formatting rules the Bureau of Conveyances enforce. Getting any of them wrong is the usual reason a deed comes back in the mail.

How to complete and record it in Hawaii

1. 1Find your current deedYou need the legal description from it, word for word. If you can't find your copy, the Bureau of Conveyances (statewide) can provide one, usually for a few dollars.
2. 2Identify everyone by full legal nameNames must match the current deed and government ID exactly, middle names included. A mismatch creates a gap in the chain of title that shows up years later at closing.
3. 3Complete the deedDeedly builds it with the wording, notary certificate, and 3.5-inch first-page margin used for Hawaii deeds.
4. 4Sign in front of a notaryBring photo ID. Wait to sign until you are in front of the notary: you have to appear before the notary anyway, and signing there leaves no question about who signed.
5. 5Complete Form P-64A (Conveyance Tax Certificate) when tax is due, or Form P-64B (Exemption from Conveyance Tax)Hawaii requires this alongside the deed, including for exempt transfers. Your filing packet explains which boxes apply to your situation.
6. 6Record it with the Bureau of Conveyances (statewide)File it with the Bureau of Conveyances in Honolulu, which records deeds for property on every island, and pay the recording fee. The 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. Keep the stamped receipt. It fixes your priority date.
7. 7Update insurance and tax recordsA change of ownership can affect your homeowner's policy, your homestead or senior exemption, and in some states the assessed value. Do this within a few weeks.

What it costs in Hawaii

Hawaii charges a conveyance tax of $0.10 to $1.25 per $100, rising with the price and higher for a condominium or single-family home when the buyer is not eligible for a county homeowner's exemption. Paid by the grantor, by law (HRS § 247-4). A sale contract can shift the cost to the buyer. The tax is on the full consideration, including any mortgage or lien on the property (HRS § 247-2).

Exemptions that commonly apply to a transfer like this: transfers between spouses or civil union partners, reciprocal beneficiaries, or a parent and child, where only nominal consideration is paid (HRS § 247-3(4)), transfers where the whole consideration, counting any mortgage or lien on the property, is $100 or less (HRS § 247-3(5)), transfers from you to your own revocable living trust, or from that trust back to you (HRS § 247-3(14)), and transfer on death deeds (HRS § 247-3(17)). You have to claim the exemption. The recorder won't apply it for you.

Where to record it in Hawaii

Deeds for property anywhere in Hawaii are recorded with the statewide Bureau of Conveyances in Honolulu. There are 5 counties in Hawaii, and none of them records deeds.

The 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.

Recording offices we cover in Hawaii: Honolulu, Hawaii, Maui, Kauai. See all Hawaii recording offices.

What a general warranty deed does NOT do

Being honest about the limits is more useful than a sales pitch. Every one of these catches somebody out.

• The covenants only bind the grantor personally. If they have no assets, a covenant claim may be worth little.
• It does not replace title insurance or a title search. It gives you a claim after the fact, not clean title today.
• It does not avoid probate and cannot be revoked once delivered and recorded.
• Signing one when you don't actually know the property's history exposes you to real liability. Where that is a concern, a special warranty deed is the safer instrument.

Quirks of Hawaii law that catch people out

• Hawaii records every deed in a single statewide Bureau of Conveyances in Honolulu, for property on every island. There are no county recorders.
• Hawaii runs two parallel systems: the Regular System (recording) and Land Court (Torrens registration). Check your current deed. A Land Court deed shows a Transfer Certificate of Title number, its document number starts with T, and its recording label sits in the top left corner. Land Court deeds must cite that certificate number and state whether each new owner is married, and if so the spouse's full name (HRS §§ 501-105, 501-108). Deedly's Hawaii deed is written for Regular System property.
• Most deeds must travel with a conveyance tax form: Form P-64A when tax is due, or Form P-64B to claim an exemption, including for gifts. A transfer on death deed needs neither (HRS § 247-3(17), § 247-6(b)).
• The top 3.5 inches of page one must be blank, and the next inch holds only the return address. Page one must also show the tax map key and the total number of pages (HRS § 502-31(e); HAR § 13-16-7).
• The Bureau of Conveyances will not record a deed that does not cite the document number of the deed the grantor took title under (HAR § 13-16-6).
• Hawaii recognizes transfer-on-death deeds under chapter 527. For Land Court property, the beneficiaries must petition the Land Court after the owner's death before the property passes to them (HRS § 527-13(a)(1)).

How to hold title in Hawaii

When two or more people take title in Hawaii and the deed says nothing more, the law presumes a tenancy in common, which means no automatic survivorship. If you want the survivor to take the whole property, the words have to be on the deed. Forms of co-ownership available in Hawaii: tenancy by the entirety (spouses, civil union partners and registered reciprocal beneficiaries), joint tenancy with right of survivorship, and tenancy in common.

In Hawaii, spouses, civil union partners and registered reciprocal beneficiaries can hold as tenants by the entirety, with automatic survivorship and protection from the creditors of only one of them (HRS §§ 509-2, 572B-9). Deedly's entirety clause describes the owners as married to each other, so it is written for spouses.