How to Change Your Name in Hawaii: Petition, Costs, and Records

To change your name in Hawaii, you file a notarized petition with the Office of the Lieutenant Governor under Hawaii Revised Statutes §574-5, publish the signed notice in a newspaper, and register the final order with the Bureau of Conveyances. There is no courtroom hearing and no judge in the standard adult process. Budget at least $301 in filing, publication, and registration fees, plus additional costs to update your ID and records afterward.¹

Hawaii is unusual on this point. Most states run name changes through a circuit or district court; here, the lieutenant governor’s office handles them administratively. You can complete the entire application through the state’s online portal at namechange.ehawaii.gov, which walks you through the petition, payment, and follow-up steps.²

The Petition and What It Requires

Your petition has to be notarized by a Hawaii notary public within 30 days before you submit it. All forms must be typed. Petitions with missing information, typos, or formatting problems get rejected, and the fees are non-refundable, so accuracy on the first pass matters.³

The petition asks for:

Your full legal name as it appears on your birth certificate or naturalization certificate
Any other names you have used
Your parents’ names
Your current state of residence
The exact new name you want
Disclosure of any felony or sexual offense convictions

If you disclose a felony or sexual offense conviction, you have to explain the charges, the sentence, terms of probation or parole, the date of final discharge, and whether you received a pardon.³

Publication and Registration

Once the lieutenant governor signs your notice of name change, you have 60 calendar days to publish it in a newspaper of general circulation for a minimum of one day.⁴ Miss that window and the notice can expire, forcing you to restart portions of the process. Call your newspaper (the Honolulu Star-Advertiser is the common choice on Oahu) for a current publication quote before you commit.

After publication, you take proof of publication and file the name change order with the Bureau of Conveyances. That filing officially registers the change in state records and produces the document you’ll rely on for every downstream update.⁵

What It Costs

Through the online system, the fees break down as follows:

Filing fee: $50 per petition
Archive fee: $1
Service fee: $5
Publication fee: starting at $204.19, paid to the newspaper
Registration fee: $41, paid to the Bureau of Conveyances

That puts the minimum around $301. All fees are non-refundable, even if your petition is denied.⁶ Publication rates can run higher depending on the newspaper, so treat $301 as a floor rather than a fixed price.⁴

Updating your ID and records afterward adds more: driver’s license fees, passport fees if applicable, and any certified copies you need beyond what you receive initially.

Name Changes for Minors

A minor cannot file alone. Under HRS §574-5, the petition must be signed by both parents, by the custodial parent with the notarized consent of the noncustodial parent, or by the minor’s legal guardian.¹

If the child is 10 or older, the child must personally sign a consent form agreeing to the change, submitted alongside the parent’s petition.⁷ The petition must also list all of the petitioner’s minor children by name, even the ones whose names are not changing.³

When Family Court Handles It Instead

The lieutenant governor’s process does not cover every situation. Family court handles the name change directly when it comes up in:

An adoption, where the new name is included in the adoption decree
A divorce, where either spouse can ask to resume a prior name, or a parent can request a name change for a minor child if the court finds it in the child’s best interest
A contested minor name change, where one parent initiates the change but the other cannot be located or does not respond despite reasonable efforts

In the contested-minor situation, the family court can waive the notice requirement to the non-initiating, noncustodial parent if the court finds the waiver necessary to protect the child. The court then evaluates whether the name change serves the child’s best interest before ruling.¹

Grounds for Denial

The lieutenant governor’s office will not approve a name change if the proposed new name is intended to be used as a title rather than as a name. Petitions with incomplete information, formatting errors, or unresolved criminal disclosures can also be rejected. A hearing is required before a petition can be denied, so you’d have the chance to address the concerns before a final decision.¹

After Approval: Update Your Records in the Right Order

The order matters. Get Social Security updated first, because most other agencies verify names against SSA records. If those don’t match, applications for a REAL ID or other documents can be denied, and the IRS specifically advises that if you have not yet updated your name with SSA, you should file your tax return under your former name to avoid processing delays.⁸

Social Security Card

You can start the application online or visit a Social Security office in person. Bring the name change decree from the lieutenant governor’s office along with a photo identity document such as a driver’s license or passport. There is no fee for a replacement card.⁹

Driver’s License

You have to update your license in person at a county licensing office; this cannot be done online. Bring your current license, the certified name change document, and two documents showing your current address. You’ll surrender your old license when the new one is issued.¹⁰

The fee varies by county. Hawaii County charges $6 for a name change duplicate; Honolulu County charges $15. If you hold a REAL ID-compliant license (the one with a gold star), you’ll need connecting documents that prove the link between your old name and your new one. Acceptable options are a certified name change decree from the lieutenant governor’s office, a court order, a marriage certificate, or a naturalization certificate. Only originals or certified copies are accepted.¹¹

Passport

The path depends on timing. If your passport was issued less than a year ago and your name changed less than a year ago, you can use Form DS-5504 by mail at no cost, other than optional expedite fees. Include the name change decree and your current passport.¹²

If more than a year has passed since either the passport was issued or your name changed, you’ll renew by mail with Form DS-82 or apply in person with Form DS-11. A new adult passport book costs $130 in application fees, plus a $35 acceptance fee if you apply in person.¹³

Employer, Banks, and Others

Once SSA is updated, file a new Form W-4 with your employer. The W-4 instructions require the name on the form to match your Social Security card.¹⁴ Then notify each bank, credit card issuer, and loan holder. Most will ask for a copy of the decree or their own update form. You do not need to contact the credit bureaus yourself; creditors report your new name to Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, and your old name stays on file as an alias.

If you own real property in Hawaii, updating your name on a deed requires recording a new deed with the Bureau of Conveyances, which can carry tax implications when a mortgage is involved. The Bureau recommends working with a licensed attorney or title company on this step, because deed errors are far more expensive to fix than to prevent.¹⁵

1
Justia. Hawaii Revised Statutes 574-5 – Change of Name: Procedure
2
State of Hawaii. About the Name Change Application
3
Office of the Lieutenant Governor, State of Hawaii. Form F – Name Change of Parent and Minor Children
4
Office of the Lieutenant Governor, State of Hawaii. Instructions for Change of Name Using the Online System
5
State of Hawaii. FAQ – State of Hawaii Online Name Change System
6
State of Hawaii. Name Change Application
7
Legal Information Institute. Hawaii Code R. 2-2-3 – Consent to Change of Name of Minor and Form of Consent
8
Internal Revenue Service. Name Changes and Social Security Number Matching Issues
9
Social Security Administration. U.S. Citizen – Adult Name Change on Social Security Card
10
Hawaii County Vehicle Registration & Licensing. Hawaii County – Duplicate
11
Hawaii Department of Transportation. Acceptable Documents for a REAL ID Compliant (Star) DL/SID
12
U.S. Department of State. Name Change for U.S. Passport or Correct a Printing or Data Error
13
U.S. Department of State. Passport Fees
14
Internal Revenue Service. Form W-4 (2026) Employee’s Withholding Certificate
15
Hawaii Bureau of Conveyances. General Public