Urban Honolulu Obituary Records
An Urban Honolulu obituary covers a death in the downtown core of Oahu, home to the state capitol, the main public library, and every state vital records office. Most of Hawaii's death records start here. Urban Honolulu is the part of the city between Pearl Harbor and Diamond Head, and it holds the largest set of local mortuaries, cemeteries, and archives on the island. This page shows where to look for an obituary in Urban Honolulu, how to order a death certificate, and which free tools hold old obituary notices and probate files that the public can read.
Urban Honolulu Overview
Urban Honolulu Death Certificates
The state vital records office sits in Urban Honolulu. The Hawaii State Department of Health, Office of Health Status Monitoring issues every certified death certificate for Hawaii. The office is at 1250 Punchbowl Street, Room 103, on the corner of Beretania and Punchbowl. Hours run Monday through Friday, 7:45 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Metered parking costs $2 per hour. You can also mail a request to P.O. Box 3378, Honolulu, HI 96801.
The fee is $10 for the first copy of a death certificate. Each extra copy of the same record costs $4. Orders up to five copies pay a $2.50 admin fee. Orders of six through ten copies pay a $5 admin fee. Access is limited under HRS §338-18 to people with a direct and tangible interest in the record. The list of eligible requesters includes the spouse, the parent, a child, a sibling, or a named legal rep.
If you just need proof that the death is on file, order a letter of verification for $5 under HRS §338-14.3. A letter confirms the event without issuing the full certificate.
Here is a look at the state office that handles every Urban Honolulu death record, available through the Hawaii Department of Health.
The office also sells death certificates for events from 1909 to the current year, which covers most modern obituary needs.
Note: Online orders route through VitRec, and most in-person pickups are ready within the same week for routine cases.
Urban Honolulu Newspaper Obituaries
The daily paper of record is the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. It prints new obituaries for Urban Honolulu every morning. You can read current notices at obits.staradvertiser.com. Each entry lists the full name, age, community, date of death, birth details, survivors, service time and place, and the mortuary that is handling the service. Paid notices tend to run longer and often include a photo.
Older obituaries live in other places. The BYU-Hawaii Joseph F. Smith Library keeps a free archive of obituaries from the Honolulu Advertiser and the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Names in all caps came from the Advertiser. Mixed-case entries came from the Star-Bulletin. The archive updates often and reaches back decades.
The Star-Advertiser site is the fastest way to see a recent Urban Honolulu obituary, as shown through Honolulu Star-Advertiser Obituaries.
Obituaries in the paper remain the main source of next-of-kin contact info for local services held on Oahu.
Urban Honolulu Obituary Archives
The Hawaii State Archives Obituary Index covers deaths from 1836 to 1950. The archives sit in the Kekauluohi Building on the Iolani Palace Grounds, 364 South King Street, Honolulu, HI 96813. You can call (808) 586-0329 for the reference desk. Most entries came from English-language papers in Honolulu, such as the Pacific Commercial Advertiser, The Friend, the Hawaiian Gazette, Ka Hae Hawaii, and the Honolulu Advertiser.
The archives site is a short walk from the state library and the capitol, and it offers a public reading room for obituary research, as described on the State Archives site.
Researchers use the archives to link an obituary to a probate file, a marriage record, or an old newspaper death notice from the kingdom era.
The Hawaii State Public Library main branch sits at 478 South King Street. Call (808) 586-3500. The Hawaii and Pacific Section holds the Honolulu Advertiser and Star-Bulletin Index from 1929 to 1994, microfilm vital records from 1909 to 1949, and the Hawaii Newspaper Index from 1989. A free library card opens all of it.
The Ulukau Hawaiian Electronic Library hosts free indexes for deaths, probates, and wills in the First Circuit, which covers Oahu. You can search by keyword. The site also links to naturalization and citizenship files that may list a date and cause of death for early immigrants.
Note: The Bishop Museum Archives at 1525 Bernice Street holds genealogy manuscripts and royal family papers that tie into many Urban Honolulu obituary searches.
Punchbowl Obituary and Burial Records
The National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific sits in the Puowaina Crater, a short drive up from downtown Urban Honolulu. The site is at 2177 Puowaina Drive. It holds more than 53,000 burials of veterans and their eligible family members from World War I through later wars. Each record lists the name, birth date, death date, section and site, military branch, rank, and period of service.
The American Battle Monuments Commission Honolulu Memorial sits at the same site. Its Courts of the Missing list 18,095 Americans missing from the Pacific in World War II, 8,210 from Korea, and 2,504 from Vietnam. Families can ask for a rubbing or a grave-site photo. The VA runs the cemetery.
The memorial is one of the most visited obituary sites on Oahu and a key resource for military family research.
Urban Honolulu Mortuaries and Cemeteries
Hosoi Garden Mortuary is one of the best known funeral homes in Urban Honolulu. The firm posts obituaries for families it serves. You can read current listings at hosoi-mortuary.com/obituaries. Each notice lists the date of death, service time, location, and names of survivors. Nuuanu Memorial Park and Mortuary also serves Urban Honolulu families and keeps burial rosters for the park.
Hosoi Garden Mortuary is a common stop for families arranging a service in downtown Urban Honolulu, as shown at Hosoi Garden Mortuary.
Funeral homes on Oahu renew their license every odd year through the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, which keeps the public rolls current.
Other mortuaries that handle Urban Honolulu services include Borthwick Mortuary, Mililani Memorial Park and Mortuary, Valley of the Temples Memorial Park, and Diamond Head Memorial Park. Most keep an online obituary page with current and recent notices, and most will mail a printed program on request.
Active funeral homes in and near Urban Honolulu include:
- Hosoi Garden Mortuary, downtown Honolulu
- Nuuanu Memorial Park and Mortuary
- Borthwick Mortuary, Nuuanu Valley
- Diamond Head Memorial Park
- Oahu Mortuary
Probate and Historical Obituary Research
The First Circuit Court handles probate for Urban Honolulu cases. The court is at Kaahumanu Hale, 777 Punchbowl Street. Plain copies cost $1 a page. Certified copies run $2 a page. A case file search is $5. Probate files hold the will, letters testamentary, the estate inventory, and creditor claims, which tie back to the obituary.
For older probate and death data, the Ulukau Hawaiian Electronic Library is the go-to free tool. It covers deaths, wills, and probates in the First Circuit. Users can search by name or date. The site is a partnership of several state agencies and is open to the public with no account.
Ulukau is a fast stop for any Urban Honolulu obituary tied to a Hawaiian kingdom or early territorial death.
The Hawaiian Historical Society at 560 Kawaiahao Street keeps more than 12,000 volumes on 19th-century Hawaii. Call (808) 537-6271 for an appointment. The society's journal back issues hold obituary-style memorials for many early residents of Honolulu.
The library is small but holds primary sources that do not appear in any public online obituary index.
Nearby Oahu Obituary Resources
Urban Honolulu sits near several other Oahu communities that also keep their own obituary records and local mortuaries. Try these city pages for more leads.