Honolulu, Hawaii Process Servers

Honolulu is a city and county at once. The City and County of Honolulu covers the whole island of Oʻahu, from downtown to Kailua, Kapolei and the North Shore, so a process server on Oahu works under one county government and one judicial circuit, the First Circuit. That also makes downtown Honolulu the place where many companies doing business in Hawaii can be served.

Registered agents in downtown Honolulu

Several national registered agents keep their Hawaii office in the downtown business district:

C T Corporation System
900 Fort Street Mall, Suite 1680
Honolulu, HI 96813

CT lists this as its Hawaii service of process address (CT service of process locations). Northwest Registered Agent and InCorp Services also list downtown Honolulu offices at ZIP 96813 on their own sites, but neither publishes the street address. Before you send a server, look up the company in the Hawaii Business Registration Division search and serve the agent named there. See what an agent for service of process is.

Honolulu courthouses

Kaʻahumanu Hale (First Circuit Court)
777 Punchbowl Street
Honolulu, HI 96813

Kauikeaouli Hale (District Court of the First Circuit)
1111 Alakea Street
Honolulu, HI 96813

Circuit court takes the larger civil cases. Small claims go to the District Court's Civil Division on the third floor of Kauikeaouli Hale, with a limit of $5,000 (Hawaii Judiciary small claims guide). For small claims, see how to serve small claims forms.

Can anyone act as a process server in Hawaii?

For a summons and complaint, yes: any adult who isn't a party can serve (HRCP Rule 4(c)). Six kinds of papers are different. Orders to show cause, garnishments, writs of possession, replevin and attachment, orders for examination, and writs of execution can only be served by a sheriff or by a private server on the authorized list kept by the state Department of Law Enforcement. If your case involves one of those, hire a process server on Oahu who is on that list.

Hawaii timing rules

• No personal delivery between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. on premises not open to the public, unless a judge allows it in writing on the summons (HRCP Rule 4(b)).
• A circuit court case can be dismissed if no service is made within six months of filing.
• Proof of service is filed by affidavit, no later than the time the defendant has to answer.

The Hawaii process serving laws page and our guide to service of process deadlines cover the rest.

Serving papers on the City and County of Honolulu

HRCP Rule 4(d)(6) has a county served through its corporation counsel or a deputy. Honolulu's Department of the Corporation Counsel is at Honolulu Hale, 530 South King Street. Call ahead to confirm who accepts service. A Honolulu process server can deliver to the deputy on duty and file an affidavit that names who took the papers, well before the answer deadline.

Process server Oahu coverage beyond town

Honolulu process servers also cover Pearl City, Kāneʻohe, ʻEwa and the rest of Oahu; see the Hawaii process server directory for the neighbor islands. Prices depend on rush service and drive time; read how much it costs to hire a process server.

This is a general summary, not legal advice.