Honolulu County Property Records Search
Honolulu County property records cover every parcel on the island of Oahu, and searching them gives you ownership details, assessed values, tax history, and exemption status for any piece of land or building in the county. This guide walks you through the main portals, the offices that handle records, and the steps for getting the data you need, whether you search online or visit in person.
Honolulu County Overview
Search Honolulu County Property Records Online
The fastest way to look up Honolulu County property records is through the qPublic search portal at qpublic.net/hi/honolulu. This tool updates every Monday morning Hawaii Standard Time, so data stays current week to week. You can search by owner name, address, or parcel number. Results show ownership history, assessed values, exemption status, tax history, and key property characteristics like lot size and building type.
For a map-based approach, the GIS Parcel Search tool run by Schneider Corporation gives you an interactive view of parcel boundaries and zoning across Oahu. You can zoom in, click a parcel, and pull up ownership and value data tied directly to the map layer. Assessed values posted here reflect the annual roll after certification by the Director of Finance. Both portals are free to use with no login required.
The Honolulu County GIS parcel search portal is the main interactive map tool for viewing property boundaries and ownership data on Oahu.
The GIS viewer layers parcel boundaries over aerial imagery, making it easy to confirm lot lines and locate neighboring parcels in any part of the island.
Note: Parcel numbers in Honolulu County use a 16-digit Tax Map Key (TMK) format, which you will need when paying taxes online or filing certain forms.
Honolulu County Real Property Assessment Division
The Real Property Assessment Division, part of the Department of Budget and Fiscal Services, is the main office for all Honolulu County property records tied to assessment and taxation. RPAD has 111 permanent employees spread across four branches: Administrative and Property Technical (13 staff), Assessment (56 staff, with 16 based in Kapolei), Tax Maps and Records and Mapping (23 staff, 6 in Kapolei), and Support Services.
The Honolulu Real Property Assessment Division website is the central hub for online services, exemption forms, appeal filings, and official records.
From the RPAD site you can file a home exemption, submit an appeal using the unique ID on your assessment notice, sign up for email notices, pay taxes online, or update your mailing address without visiting an office.
| Main Office | 842 Bethel Street, Basement, Honolulu, HI 96813 |
|---|---|
| Main Phone | (808) 768-3799 |
| Kapolei Branch | 1000 Ulu`ohi`a Street, #206, Kapolei, HI 96707 |
| Kapolei Phone | (808) 768-3799 |
| City Hall | 530 South King St, Room 115, Honolulu, HI 96813 |
| City Hall Phone | (808) 768-3980 |
| Official Website | realproperty.honolulu.gov |
You can visit the main Bethel Street office or the Kapolei branch on the west side of Oahu. Both handle the same requests. If you live or own property near Kapolei, the branch there can save you a long drive into town.
More details about the division's structure and services are on the RPAD About Us page, which covers staffing, branch locations, and department responsibilities.
The division follows standards set by the International Association of Assessing Officers and conducts mass appraisals each year using market data and cost approaches based on fair market value and highest and best use.
Key Dates for Honolulu County Property Records
Honolulu County runs on a July 1 tax year. Missing key deadlines can affect your tax bill, exemption status, or right to appeal, so it helps to have the full calendar in one place.
| July 1 | Tax year begins |
|---|---|
| July 20 | First-half tax bills mailed |
| August 20 | First-half taxes due |
| September 1 | Dedication petition deadline |
| September 30 | Exemption claim deadline |
| December 15 | Assessment notices mailed |
| January 15 | Appeal deadline to Board of Review |
| January 20 | Second-half bills mailed |
| February 1 | Assessment roll sent to City Council |
| February 20 | Second-half taxes due |
Assessment notices go out in mid-December each year. You have until January 15 to file an appeal. That is a tight window, so act quickly once your notice arrives. You can pay taxes online at the eHawaii property tax payment portal using your 16-digit TMK parcel number.
Note: Taxes must be paid by their due dates even if you have a pending appeal; nonpayment can result in penalties regardless of appeal outcome.
Home Exemption and Tax Relief in Honolulu County
Owner-occupants can reduce their property's net taxable value through the home exemption program under Revised Ordinances of Honolulu Article 8. The standard deduction is $100,000 off assessed value. Homeowners age 65 and older qualify for a larger deduction of $140,000. This can mean a meaningful cut to the annual tax bill for long-term residents who live in the home they own.
To qualify, you must own the property, use it as your principal home, have ownership recorded at the Bureau of Conveyances by September 30, file an exemption claim by September 30, and file a State of Hawaii income tax return as a resident. First-time applicants can file online through the RPAD portal. Once granted, the exemption continues automatically each year as long as you still occupy the property. If you move, rent it out, or sell, you must report that change within 30 days.
Forms are available on the RPAD exemption forms page, including Form E-8-10.3 for the standard home exemption, E-8-10.3A for care homes, E-8-10.3B for hospitalization cases, and E-8-10.6 and E-8-10.7 for disability situations.
Each form includes instructions on the back; read them fully before submitting, since incomplete claims get rejected and must be refiled before the September 30 cutoff.
Properties with total assessed value over $1,000,000 that do not qualify for the home exemption fall into the Residential A classification. This applies to investment properties and high-value non-owner-occupied homes. The rate splits into two tiers: $4.50 per $1,000 of net taxable value up to $1 million, and $10.50 per $1,000 on value above $1 million. Owners who rent out high-value properties should review whether they qualify for any offsetting relief programs.
Appealing a Honolulu County Property Assessment
If your assessment notice shows a value you believe is wrong, you can appeal to the Board of Review. The law presumes the assessment is correct, so the burden is on you to show why it should change. There are four accepted grounds for appeal under ROH 8-12.3: the assessed value exceeds market value by more than 10%; the assessment lacks uniformity compared to similar properties; an exemption was wrongly denied; or the assessment is illegal for some reason.
File online or submit Form BFS-RPA-M-8-12 by the January 15 deadline. You can mail it to either office (USPS postmark date controls timeliness for mailed submissions) or drop it off in person. Helpful supporting documents include comparable recent sales of similar fee simple properties or contractor estimates if you are disputing a building's condition. Vague objections without supporting data rarely succeed, so gather your evidence before filing.
The RPAD appeal information page lays out the process step by step, and the online appeal filing page lets you submit directly using the unique ID printed on your assessment notice.
The Oahu Real Property Tax Advisory Commission also conducts bi-annual reviews of the overall assessment system, so systemic concerns about methodology can be raised through that body as well.
Deed and Conveyance Records for Honolulu County
Deeds, mortgages, and liens for Honolulu County property are not recorded at the county level. Hawaii uses a statewide recording system through the Bureau of Conveyances, a division of the Department of Land and Natural Resources. This applies to all four counties in the state.
The Bureau of Conveyances office sits at the Kalanimoku Building, 1151 Punchbowl Street, Room 120, Honolulu. The official site is at dlnr.hawaii.gov/boc. You can search recorded documents online through RecordEASE at bocdataext.hi.wcicloud.com. This system covers deeds, mortgages, easements, and other instruments recorded under HRS Chapter 502.
Hawaii uses two parallel recording systems: the Regular System (common law recording) and the Land Court System (Torrens title). Some parcels are registered under Land Court, which means their title history is handled through a different set of records. When searching, check which system the parcel falls under, since documents recorded in one system do not automatically appear in searches of the other.
Note: The Bureau of Conveyances handles all statewide deed recording, so you will not find deed records at the Honolulu County RPAD offices.
Court Records Involving Honolulu County Property
For liens, foreclosures, and other property-related court filings, the First Circuit Court covers Oahu and Honolulu County. You can search court records through eCourt Kokua, the Hawaii state judiciary's public access portal at courts.state.hi.us. This system lets you look up civil cases, foreclosure actions, and judgment liens by party name or case number.
Foreclosure cases in Hawaii go through the court system. A lis pendens filed with the Bureau of Conveyances signals that litigation affecting a property's title is pending. Searching both eCourt Kokua and the Bureau of Conveyances records together gives you a complete picture of any legal clouds on a parcel's title.
- eCourt Kokua: courts.state.hi.us
- Bureau of Conveyances: dlnr.hawaii.gov/boc
- RecordEASE document search: bocdataext.hi.wcicloud.com
- RPAD qPublic portal: qpublic.net/hi/honolulu
- Tax payment portal: pay.ehawaii.gov
Cities in Honolulu County
Honolulu County covers the entire island of Oahu, including urban Honolulu, suburban communities on the west side, and communities along the windward and north shores. The cities below have individual property records pages with more specific local information.
Other Hawaii Counties
Hawaii has four counties in total. Each county maintains its own property assessment records through a local division similar to RPAD. The pages below cover property records for the other three counties and the small Kalawao County on Molokai.