Hawaii Deed Recording Requirements: Conveyance Tax, Fees, and HARPTA

To record a deed in Hawaii, you file it with the state Bureau of Conveyances in Honolulu, either in the Land Court system or the Regular System depending on the property’s history. The Hawaii deed recording requirements are specific: the deed must be properly acknowledged before a notary, formatted to the Bureau’s page and margin rules, accompanied by a conveyance tax certificate (Form P-64A), and submitted with the correct fee. Miss any one of those and the Bureau will reject the document rather than record it with a defect.¹

Recording matters because an unrecorded deed is treated as void against any later good-faith buyer who pays value and records first.² Everything below is what it takes to get that protection.

Which Recording System Applies to Your Property

Hawaii runs two parallel recording systems under one Bureau. The system decides your fee and some of the paperwork, so figure this out first.

Land Court (Torrens) system covers property that was registered with the state at some point since the early 1900s. Land Court registration provides state-certified ownership: the government vouches for the title reflected on the certificate.
Regular System covers everything else. Recording puts the public on notice that a document exists, but it doesn’t carry the same state certification.
Double System properties require the document to be recorded in both. You can spot these by the recording labels on the document: a label in both the upper-left and upper-right corners means Double System.³

If you’re not sure which system covers your parcel, the Bureau can look it up by tax map key number.

What the Deed Itself Must Contain

Acknowledgment Before a Notary

Every conveyance must carry a formal acknowledgment before it can be recorded. Under HRS Section 502-41, the person signing has to appear before a notary or other authorized official who confirms the signer’s identity and that the signing was voluntary.⁴ The statute sets out separate acknowledgment forms for individuals, attorneys-in-fact, corporations, and partnerships. A deed without a proper acknowledgment gets rejected.

Document Formatting

The Bureau enforces strict physical rules and the registrar can refuse anything that doesn’t comply. Documents must be on standard 8.5-by-11-inch paper, single-sided, with pages numbered consecutively and the total page count shown on the first page. Fasten with a single staple in the upper-left corner. No cover sheets, no backers.

The first page has its own layout. Leave the top three-and-a-half inches blank for the Bureau’s recording stamps. The next one inch is reserved for the return address. Below that, the first page must identify all grantors and grantees with addresses, name the type of document, and give the tax map key number.¹ If you mail the document in, include a self-addressed stamped envelope for the return of the recorded original.

Conveyance Tax Certificate

No deed is accepted without a completed Form P-64A conveyance tax certificate attached. The certificate declares the full consideration paid, including any liens or encumbrances assumed, and is filed with the Director of Taxation at the time of recording.⁵ The statements on it are made under penalty of law. Exempt transactions still need the certificate; you check the applicable exemption box instead of paying tax.

Conveyance Tax You’ll Owe

Hawaii’s conveyance tax is tiered by property value, and there are two rate schedules. The standard schedule applies when the buyer qualifies for a county homeowner’s exemption on property tax. A higher schedule applies to condominiums and single-family homes bought by someone who doesn’t qualify for that exemption, which generally captures investor and vacation-property purchases.

Standard rates per $100 of value:

Under $600,000: $0.10
$600,000 to under $1,000,000: $0.20
$1,000,000 to under $2,000,000: $0.30
$2,000,000 to under $4,000,000: $0.50
$4,000,000 to under $6,000,000: $0.70
$6,000,000 to under $10,000,000: $0.90
$10,000,000 or more: $1.00

Non-homeowner-exempt rates per $100 of value:

Under $600,000: $0.15
$600,000 to under $1,000,000: $0.25
$1,000,000 to under $2,000,000: $0.40
$2,000,000 to under $4,000,000: $0.60
$4,000,000 to under $6,000,000: $0.85
$6,000,000 to under $10,000,000: $1.10
$10,000,000 or more: $1.25

A $500,000 home bought by an owner-occupant who will claim the homeowner’s exemption would owe $500 in conveyance tax. The same property bought as an investment would owe $750. The minimum tax on any recorded transaction is $1.⁶

Transfers That Are Exempt

Some transfers are exempt from conveyance tax entirely. The ones most common in residential deals:

Family transfers between spouses, reciprocal beneficiaries, or a parent and child, when only nominal consideration is paid. This exemption sits in HRS Section 247-3(4). It does not extend to grandparents and grandchildren or to siblings.
Corrective deeds that only confirm or fix an earlier recording, such as a typo in a name or an error in the property description, under HRS Section 247-3(3). The correction cannot change the substantive terms.
Security instruments given solely to secure a debt, such as a mortgage.
Transfers into or out of your own revocable living trust.
Conveyances from a testamentary trust to a beneficiary under the trust.
Any transfer where the total consideration is $100 or less.⁷

Recording Fees

Recording fees depend on the system and the document’s page count, not the property’s value. As of 2026:

Land Court, 50 pages or fewer: $36 per document
Land Court, 51 pages or more: $101 per document
Regular System, 50 pages or fewer: $41 per document
Regular System, 51 pages or more: $106 per document

Land Court recordings also carry a $50 fee for issuing a new certificate of title, plus $5 for each additional memorandum required by the instrument. Fees are payable by check or money order, or by cash or credit card if you walk in.⁸

How to Submit the Deed

The Bureau accepts documents four ways: walk-in, mail, messenger, and electronic recording. The office is at the Kalanimoku Building, 1151 Punchbowl Street in Honolulu. Walk-in recording runs 8:01 a.m. to 3:29 p.m. Monday through Friday, though hours can change on short notice due to staffing.⁸

Electronic recording goes through approved vendors, including Simplifile, CSC E-Recording Solutions, Indecomm, and eRecording Partners Network. You scan the original and transmit the image through the vendor’s platform. The vendor charges its own fees on top of the Bureau’s recording fees, typically a per-document submission fee and sometimes a subscription or setup charge. Confirm which document types your chosen vendor supports before you rely on e-recording.⁹

HARPTA Withholding if the Seller Is a Nonresident

One requirement sits outside the recording paperwork but catches people at closing. Under the Hawaii Real Property Tax Act (HARPTA), HRS Section 235-68, when the seller is not a Hawaii resident the buyer must withhold 7.25% of the total amount realized and remit it to the Hawaii Department of Taxation. On a $1,000,000 sale, that’s $72,500 held back from the seller’s proceeds.¹⁰

Withholding is not required if the seller gives the buyer a Form N-289 certifying one of the following:

The seller is a Hawaii resident.
The transfer qualifies for nonrecognition treatment under the Internal Revenue Code, such as a like-kind exchange.
The property was the seller’s principal residence for the year before the sale and the sale price does not exceed $300,000.

HARPTA is separate from federal FIRPTA withholding. A mainland U.S. seller who is not a Hawaii resident can owe HARPTA even though FIRPTA does not apply. Buyers who fail to withhold when required become personally liable for the tax, so both sides need to work through HARPTA before closing.¹⁰

What Happens if You Delay

An unrecorded deed is still valid between the original buyer and seller. It offers no protection against anyone else. HRS Section 502-83 declares an unrecorded conveyance “void” against any later buyer, lessee, or mortgagee who pays value in good faith, has no actual knowledge of the earlier transfer, and records first.² A seller who already conveyed the property to you could sell it again, and if that second buyer records before you do, the second buyer wins.

Late conveyance tax compounds fast. Interest accrues at two-thirds of one percent per month on the unpaid amount, and the late-payment penalty runs 5% per month up to a maximum of 25% of the tax due.¹¹ On a $10,000 tax bill, five months of delay adds roughly $333 in interest and $2,500 in penalties. Record promptly, pay the tax with the recording, and both problems disappear.

1
Justia. Hawaii Code 502-31 – Recording, Method
2
Justia. Hawaii Code 502-83 – Effect of Not Recording
3
Bureau of Conveyances. FAQs
4
Justia. Hawaii Code 502-41 – Certificate of Acknowledgment
5
Justia. Hawaii Code 247-6 – Certificate of Conveyance Required
6
Justia. Hawaii Code 247-2 – Basis and Rate of Tax
7
Justia. Hawaii Code 247-3 – Exemptions
8
Bureau of Conveyances. Recording Fees
9
Bureau of Conveyances. e-Recording
10
Justia. Hawaii Code 235-68 – Withholding of Tax on the Disposition of Hawaii Real Property
11
Hawaii Department of Taxation. Frequently Asked Questions