Honolulu County Obituary Records
A Honolulu County obituary covers a death on the island of Oahu, which is where most of Hawaii's population lives. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser prints daily obituaries for the county. The City and County of Honolulu Department of the Medical Examiner investigates sudden and unexpected deaths. The Hawaii Department of Health on Punchbowl Street issues every certified death certificate for the state. This page shows you where to search an obituary in Honolulu County, how to request Medical Examiner records, and which local funeral homes and libraries hold useful obituary data.
Honolulu County Overview
Honolulu County Medical Examiner Obituary Role
The City and County of Honolulu Department of the Medical Examiner works every sudden, unexpected, violent, or suspicious death on Oahu. The office is at 835 Iwilei Road, Honolulu, HI 96817. You can call (808) 768-3090 for case status or (808) 768-3099 for the fax line. Under Section 6-1305 of the 1973 Revised Charter of the City and County of Honolulu, anyone who learns of a sudden death must notify the Medical Examiner and the police.
The Medical Examiner rules on the cause and manner of death for every Honolulu County case that falls under its charter. The office is accredited by the National Association of Medical Examiners. Physicians on staff are board certified in anatomic pathology, as required by HRS §841-14.5. In fiscal year 2017-2018, the department accepted 1,155 cases, declined 1,874, and transported 1,046 bodies to the morgue. That year showed 508 deaths from natural causes, 473 accidents, 105 suicides, 30 homicides, and 37 undetermined.
Autopsy reports prepared by the Medical Examiner are public records under Honolulu Corp. Counsel Op. No. 61-25. Families can request a copy from the Honolulu Department of the Medical Examiner website. Toxicology data is included in the autopsy file for covered motorists.
The Medical Examiner's office publishes a request portal for families and researchers who need an autopsy or investigation report for a Honolulu County death.
Visit the Honolulu County Medical Examiner to file a request for an autopsy or investigation report tied to a covered Honolulu County obituary.
The ME's investigators and forensic pathologists also help families understand how a death occurred and what the autopsy found.
Honolulu Death Certificates and Vital Records
Honolulu County is also the home of the state vital records office. The Hawaii Department of Health, Office of Health Status Monitoring issues all certified death certificates for every Hawaii county. The office is at 1250 Punchbowl Street, Room 103, in downtown Honolulu, on the corner of Beretania and Punchbowl. Hours run Monday through Friday, 7:45 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
The fee is $10 for the first copy and $4 for each extra copy of the same death record. Orders up to five copies carry a $2.50 admin fee. Orders of six through ten copies pay a $5 fee. You can order online at vitrec.ehawaii.gov, by mail to P.O. Box 3378, Honolulu, HI 96801, or in person. Access is restricted by HRS §338-18 to those with a direct and tangible interest.
Letters of verification cost $5 under HRS §338-14.3. A letter confirms the event without issuing the full certificate, which helps when you just need to prove that the death is on file.
Note: Processing time for a Honolulu death certificate averages six to eight weeks, so order as early as the need allows.
Honolulu County Probate and Estate Records
Probate turns an obituary into a chain of public records. The First Circuit Court of Hawaii, Probate Division handles Honolulu County cases at Kaahumanu Hale, 777 Punchbowl Street, Honolulu, HI 96813. You can reach the court at (808) 539-4300. Business hours are 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Estates in Honolulu County require probate when the decedent was a Hawaii resident at death and owned property over $100,000, unless the assets were in a living trust or had designated beneficiaries. Informal probate is reserved for estates at or below $100,000, excluding motor vehicles. Probate files usually include the original will, letters testamentary, the estate inventory, distribution orders, and creditor claims.
The court opens probate records to the public under the Hawaii Court Records Rules, with some exceptions for medical reports and protected personal information.
Copies cost $1 per page for plain copies, $2 per page for certified copies, and $5 per case file search. Historical probate files from 1847 to 1917 are kept at the Hawaii State Archives. Wills that are admitted to probate become public documents through the First Circuit Records Management Department.
The probate process on Oahu typically runs six months to more than a year. Complex estates, contested wills, or large creditor claims extend the timeline.
Real Property and Honolulu Obituary Transfers
When an Oahu property owner dies, the title must pass through probate before it can change hands. Heirs and executors work with two offices. The Honolulu County Real Property Assessment Division sits at 842 Bethel Street, Basement, with a satellite at 1000 Ulu`ohi`a Street in Kapolei. Call (808) 768-3799 for either office.
The Division does not hold deed or mortgage data. That lives with the Hawaii Bureau of Conveyances at 1151 Punchbowl Street, Honolulu.
Report the owner's death within 30 days or by November 1 of the current year to update any home exemption. The exemption is $120,000 for owners under 65 and $160,000 for owners age 65 and up. Send a copy of the death certificate with the Tax Map Key to Tax Maps Branch, 842 Bethel Street, Basement, Honolulu, HI 96813.
The Bureau of Conveyances recorded 90,502 documents last fiscal year and collected close to $460,000 in fees. Use the online Grantor/Grantee Search to trace ownership, deeds, and recorded probate orders tied to a Honolulu obituary.
Honolulu County Newspaper Obituaries
The main source for a Honolulu County obituary is the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. The paper was formed from the merger of the Honolulu Advertiser and the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Today it prints daily obituaries for Oahu. You can browse current entries online at obits.staradvertiser.com.
Obituaries in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser cover full name, age, city or community, date of death, date and place of birth, occupation, list of survivors, service time and location, burial details, and the mortuary handling the service. Historical records reach back through the 1929 to 1994 Advertiser and Star-Bulletin Index.
The BYU-Hawaii Joseph F. Smith Library keeps a big obituary archive for both papers. Names in all caps came from the Advertiser. Names in mixed case came from the Star-Bulletin. The current year updates daily, so new Honolulu obituaries show up fast.
Obituary notices for Oahu families appear with some regularity from these local sources:
- Honolulu Star-Advertiser daily obituary page
- BYU-Hawaii State of Hawaii Newspaper Obituaries database
- Hosoi Garden Mortuary obituary listings
- Diamond Head Memorial Park and Mortuary
- Mililani Memorial Park and Mortuary
Honolulu County Obituary Indexes and Archives
The Hawaii State Archives Obituary Index for 1836 to 1950 sits in the Kekauluohi Building on the Iolani Palace Grounds, at 364 South King Street, Honolulu, HI 96813. Call (808) 586-0329 to reach the reference desk. Most obituaries in the index came from English-language papers in Honolulu, including the Pacific Commercial Advertiser, The Friend, the Hawaiian Gazette, Ka Hae Hawaii, and the Honolulu Advertiser.
The Hawaii State Public Library System main branch is at 478 South King Street in Honolulu. Call (808) 586-3500. The library 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. You can reach all resources with a free library card.
The Ulukau Hawaiian Electronic Library hosts indexes to deaths, probates, and wills for the First Circuit, which covers Oahu and Honolulu County. Ulukau is a free online tool that you can search by keyword. It also links to citizenship and naturalization indexes, which sometimes list a date and cause of death.
The Bishop Museum Archives at 1525 Bernice Street, Honolulu, holds genealogy manuscripts, royal family papers, and historic photographs. Call (808) 848-4182. The Hawaiian Historical Society at 560 Kawaiahao Street keeps more than 12,000 volumes focused on 19th-century Hawaii. Call (808) 537-6271 for an appointment.
Honolulu County Cemeteries and Burial Records
Oahu has the state's best known cemetery, the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, also called Punchbowl. It is at 2177 Puowaina Drive, Honolulu, HI 96813. Records cover more than 53,000 burials of veterans and their eligible family members from World War I through later conflicts. Each entry lists full name, birth and death dates, section and site numbers, military branch, rank, and war service.
The American Battle Monuments Commission Honolulu Memorial sits at the same site. Courts of the Missing inscribe the names of 18,095 Americans missing in the Pacific from World War II, 8,210 from Korea, and 2,504 from Vietnam. The VA administers the cemetery.
Diamond Head Memorial Park covers 25 acres with roughly 30,500 burials at 529 18th Avenue in East Honolulu. The park was founded in 1936. Hosoi Garden Mortuary, Nuuanu Memorial Park, and Mililani Memorial Park also hold active obituary and cemetery records for Oahu families. Mililani Memorial Park sits at 94-560 Kamehameha Highway, Waipahu.
Cemetery operators statewide renew with the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs on odd-numbered years. That office also licenses pre-need funeral authorities. The renewal fee is $788 on time and $828 for restoration.
Major Cities for Honolulu Obituary Searches
Most Honolulu County obituaries come from Oahu's largest communities. Each city has its own funeral homes, hospitals, and library branches. Browse city-level pages below for local leads.