Hawaii County Civil Court Records
Hawaii County Civil Court Records route through the Third Judicial Circuit, which covers the entire Big Island. The main clerk's office sits at Hale Kaulike in Hilo, with a west-side branch at Keahuoluu Courthouse in Kailua-Kona and a district court at Waimea. You can search Hawaii County Civil Court Records online through eCourt Kokua, visit a public terminal at any Third Circuit courthouse, or file a written request with the Legal Documents Branch. This page walks you through how to find, request, and use Civil Court Records on the Big Island.
Hawaii County Civil Court Records Overview
Where Hawaii County Civil Court Records Live
Hawaii County covers the whole Big Island. The Third Judicial Circuit handles every civil case filed on the island. Circuit Court sits at Hale Kaulike, 777 Kilauea Avenue, Hilo, HI 96720, and takes civil suits over forty thousand dollars. The same building hosts the Hilo District Court for smaller civil filings under that amount and small claims up to five thousand dollars. The west side has its own hub at Keahuoluu Courthouse in Kailua-Kona, and a district court at Waimea serves the South Kohala side of the Big Island.
Each Hawaii County courthouse keeps its own paper case files. The Third Circuit Legal Documents Branch can pull Hawaii County Civil Court Records and other court records by party name or case number. Most Civil Court Records stay at the courthouse where the civil case was filed.
The Hawaii court locations page lists every Big Island courthouse with address, phone, and hours.
Hale Kaulike's Legal Documents Branch rings at 808-961-7400. The Kona Legal Documents Branch rings at 808-322-8750. South Kohala District Court in Kamuela rings at 808-443-2030. A walk-in visit during morning hours tends to move faster than a phone call. All three main Hawaii County courts keep standard state hours from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Note: Hale Kaulike in Hilo also handles appeals from District Court, probate, and guardianship, on top of large civil suits.
Search Hawaii County Civil Court Records Online
eCourt Kokua is the main online tool for Hawaii County Civil Court Records. The portal covers circuit, district, family, and appellate case files from the Big Island. You can search civil cases by party name, case number, or attorney name. Results show hearing dates, filing summaries, and docket entries for each civil case. Go to eCourt Kokua to start your Civil Court Records search. The system is free to browse. Buying a document from the court records costs three dollars for up to thirty pages, then ten cents per extra page.
Family civil cases on the Big Island also appear in Ho'ohiki, now part of the same JIMS database for court records. Attorneys and parties can e-file their civil filings through JEFS.
The third-party guide at hawaiicourtrecords.us civil records find page walks through how to search case types, local fees, and work with the Third Circuit clerks.
To get the most out of an online search on the Big Island, it helps to have:
- Full name of at least one party
- A rough year for the filing date
- The case number if you already have it
- The court type, such as Third Circuit or District
Another third-party portal at hawaiicourtrecords.us/hawaii also covers Hawaii County Civil Court Records and tips for Hilo and Kona filings.
Hawaii County Civil Court Records Courthouses
The Third Judicial Circuit spreads across three main courthouses on the Big Island. Each one keeps its own slice of Hawaii County Civil Court Records and civil case files. Knowing the right building saves a drive across the island.
The main Hawaii County Circuit Court is Hale Kaulike at 777 Kilauea Avenue in Hilo. Phone 808-961-7440. It hears civil suits over forty thousand dollars, probate, guardianship, and appeals from District Court. The same building hosts the Hilo District Court, which handles civil cases up to forty thousand dollars, small claims up to five thousand dollars, and landlord-tenant civil filings. Legal Documents is at 808-961-7400. The Keahuoluu Courthouse at 74-5451 Kamaka'eha Avenue in Kailua-Kona serves the west side of the Big Island. Phone 808-322-8700. South Kohala District Court at Waimea Civic Center Park, 67-5187 Kamāmalu Street, Kamuela, serves the North side. Phone 808-443-2030. All three courts pull from the same pool of Third Circuit court records.
| Court | Address |
|---|---|
| Hale Kaulike (Third Circuit) | 777 Kilauea Avenue, Hilo, HI 96720 |
| Keahuoluu Courthouse (Kona) | 74-5451 Kamaka'eha Avenue, Kailua-Kona, HI 96740 |
| South Kohala District Court | 67-5187 Kamāmalu Street, Kamuela, HI 96743 |
Each clerk keeps its own counter for walk-ins. Hilo tends to be the busiest because it holds the full circuit caseload of civil cases for the Third Circuit. Kona handles a rising share of west-side civil filings and civil court records. Waimea mostly takes small claims court records, landlord-tenant civil cases, and traffic.
Public Terminals for Hawaii County Civil Court Records
Every Third Circuit courthouse runs free public access terminals. Residents can use them to search Hawaii County Civil Court Records without any paid eCourt Kokua login. Terminals sit in lobbies, records rooms, or near courtrooms.
Hale Kaulike hosts terminals in the Legal Documents Branch on the first floor in Hilo, with full access to Third Circuit court records. The Keakealani Building at 79-1020 Haukapila Street, Kealakekua, also holds a terminal for Kona-side Civil Court Records searches. Keahuoluu Courthouse keeps terminals for Kailua-Kona civil filings. Terminal hours match courthouse hours, 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Staff can help you start a civil case search. They cannot give legal advice.
Bring a USB drive if you want to save files, or pay the standard per-page copy fee for a printout of the Hawaii County Civil Court Records you pull up. The terminals give you the same civil case docket data as eCourt Kokua, but viewing the court records is free on site.
Note: Public terminals in Hawaii County are free for review, but printing or certified copies still carry the usual per-page fees at the clerk counter.
Fees for Hawaii County Civil Court Records
Copy fees for Hawaii County Civil Court Records follow the Hawaii Rules of the Circuit Courts. At any Big Island clerk's counter, plain copies cost one dollar for the first page, fifty cents per extra page. A certification stamp adds five dollars. Fax service within Hawaii is two dollars first page, one dollar per extra page. Faxes to the mainland jump to five dollars first page, two dollars per extra page.
eCourt Kokua posts documents for three dollars a piece, up to thirty pages. Each extra page costs ten cents.
Filing fees for new civil cases vary by type. Small claims cases under five thousand dollars cost less than general District Court civil cases. Civil filings that cross over forty thousand dollars move to the Third Circuit and carry higher filing fees. The Third Circuit circuit court forms page posts the latest fee tables and filing packets for Hawaii County Civil Court Records. Fee waivers for civil court records filings are available under the Rules of the Circuit Courts of the State of Hawaii for low-income filers. Ask the Hawaii County clerk for the in forma pauperis form.
How to Request Hawaii County Civil Court Records
To get paper copies of Hawaii County Civil Court Records, you file a written request with the Third Circuit Legal Documents Branch. The form asks for the name of the party, case number, civil case type, title of the court records, and number of copies you want. The Third Circuit request form is a fillable PDF used for all Civil Court Records on the Big Island.
Mail or drop off the form at Hale Kaulike in Hilo, or at Keahuoluu in Kona for west-side Big Island civil cases. Include a phone number so the clerk can call with the page count and total fee. Once the quote is paid, most Hawaii County Civil Court Records requests ship within one to two weeks. Rush service is not offered, but walk-in pickup can shave off mail time.
Note: The Third Circuit request form is required for all paper Hawaii County Civil Court Records pulls, even when the case file is also on eCourt Kokua.
Third Circuit Access Rules for Civil Court Records
Access to Hawaii County Civil Court Records follows the Uniform Information Practices Act, coded as Hawaii Revised Statutes Chapter 92F. UIPA says all government records stay open unless a specific law seals them. Court-specific rules come from the Hawaii Court Records Rules, especially Rule 10, and the Rules of the Circuit Courts of the State of Hawaii.
Most civil filings in Hawaii County stay public. Sealed Big Island categories of court records include juvenile records, some mental health civil cases, and adoption records. Social security numbers and sensitive financial data in case files are redacted. The names of jurors on Hawaii County civil juries are kept off the public docket.
The clerk may ask for ID and contact info before handing over paper case files under HCRR Rule 10.7. The Office of Information Practices handles appeals if the Third Circuit denies access to Civil Court Records. You can file a UIPA request for Hawaii County records the clerk says are off limits and let OIP review the call.
Legal Aid for Hawaii County Civil Court Records
Several groups help residents with civil cases on the Big Island. The Legal Aid Society of Hawaii serves low-income clients from Hilo to Kona. The Hawaii State Bar Association runs a lawyer referral line for paid consults across the state. The State Law Library System branch at 777 Kilauea Avenue, 1st Floor, Hilo, holds free legal research tools for anyone looking into Hawaii County Civil Court Records. Phone 808-961-7438.
Self-Help Centers run walk-in clinics at Hale Kaulike and at Keahuoluu for Big Island residents without a lawyer. Volunteers can help with civil case forms but not full civil case strategy. The Access to Justice Room model offers short consults on Civil Court Records at no cost.
The Hawaii Records court records guide gives a clear overview of case types, docket pulls, and what a typical Hawaii County Civil Court Records file looks like. The UH Manoa library hosts a Hawaii courts research guide that speeds up self-help work on the Big Island.
Hawaii County Historical and Archived Civil Records
The Hawaii State Archives holds Third Circuit court records that date from 1850 to 1943. The old Hawaii County Civil Court Records collection covers civil case files one through 1,475, divorce case files one through 424, and probate records one through 679. Old civil case files usually contain petitions, summons, plaintiff statements, defendant briefs, evidence, bills of court and attorney costs, decisions, judgments, and appeals.
Civil and criminal minute books in Series 244 cover judges from Hilo, Puna, Kau, Kona, Kohala, and Hamakua. Some old Big Island court records are in Hawaiian and English. Archives translators have rendered many of the civil cases into English.
For modern Big Island cases, the hawaiicourtrecords.us Hawaii page gives a plain-language guide to Third Circuit case types, Hilo and Kona courthouse tips, and links back to eCourt Kokua. A helpful state-wide overview of civil court records also walks through what a typical file contains. For anything older than 1943, plan a visit to the Archives in Honolulu or request a copy by mail.
Cities in Hawaii County
Hawaii County covers the whole Big Island. Civil cases from Big Island cities route through the Third Circuit courts listed above.
Nearby Hawaii Counties
The other four Hawaii counties sit on nearby islands. If a case was filed outside the Big Island, check the county below.