Hawaii Marriage License Information


DISCLAIMER NOTICE

All information herein is provided to the best of our knowledge and is subject to change without notice. We do not warranty the correctness of the following information. Please confirm all information directly with the State of Hawaii Marriage License Office. See link provided below.



Marriage licenses can only be issued by the State of Hawaii Health Dept. and are valid for 30 days. No one can do this for you, and our help is not required. You must appear in person at the Health Dept. to apply for your license.When you receive your license, you must bring it to the ceremony or you will not be married!

Licenses are issued Monday to Friday before 3:30 pm at the marriage license office except on US and Hawaii state holidays, and "furlough" closure days (see link below). Check the official website to confirm all open dates.

WEEKENDS: Marriage licenses can be issued on Saturdays and Sundays and possibly other closure dates by appointment only with one of their designated administrators. Please check with the marriage license office to confirm the availability of this service and their agents.

FURLOUGH CLOSURE DAYS: The Health Dept. and marriage license office will be closed e days a month on furlough closure days. Make sure you plan to get your license on a day when it is opened!


What You Need To Do

1). Download the Marriage License Application from the Hawaii State Dept. of Health website. FYI: There is a space for the name of your officiate on the form but, this is not a requirement, they will still issue you a license. Note: We will email you the name of your officiate or minister when you make your last payment.

2). When you arrive in Hawaii, both of you must go the the State of Hawaii, Department of Health building on Oahu with proper I.D. as specified on the official website.

3). Your license will be issued while you wait. FYI: Our clients tell us that if you have your application filled out, it's takes only 15-20 minutes. Also, that it is less busy in the afternoons vs. the early morning. Sometimes in the morning the line is long and it can take over an hour.

4). BRING YOUR OFFICIAL MARRIAGE LICENSE TO THE CEREMONY! Our "decorative wedding certificate" is not a marriage license!

5). After the ceremony, the officiate/minister will have you sign the license in his/her presence (do not sign before) and will affix his/her signature and license number to the marriage license. Don't worry about having a witness we provide that.

6). The officiate will take the license from your possession as required by law and will submit your marriage license with the marriage license office for processing usually within the next few days. FYI: Marriage license copies can only be ordered through the Health Dept. and photocopies are not allowed (the officiate can lose his license) so please do not ask.

7). It can take up to 120 days to receive your official marriage license from the State of Hawaii. The marriage office offers an expedited service (see below).


Expedited Marriage License Processing

Marriage license processing can take up to 120 days before you receive your license copy in the mail (we actually suspect that it's much sooner than people expect. This is a statutory requirement.

When you apply for your marriage license they will also give you an additional form with a green envelope, which will allow you to "expedite" your license processing and reduce the processing time to as little as 30 days.

Note: Furlough days and recent staff cutbacks may make this time longer or even unavailable. Please check with the marriage office website (see link above) or directly.


Special Handling For US Military Deployment

When you go to apply for your marriage license, bring your deployment orders and show it to the clerk, and also get the "expedite" green form. They will indicate this on your license. After the wedding and within a few days, you can go to the marriage license office with your expedite form and they should have a copy of your license. Please make sure that you ask the officiate/minister to hand-carry the license to the Health Dept, usually there is a $25 to $50 charge which you can pay the minister that day.

Note: Furlough days and recent staff cutbacks may make this time longer or even unavailable. Please check with the marriage office website (see link above) or directly.


Validation for Foreign Countries

A certified copy of a marriage certificate issued by the State of Hawaii may need to be officially authenticated in order that it be recognized and accepted by some foreign countries.

For those countries who are nations that have joined the 1961 Hague Convention (see below), the authentication process requires a certificate called an Apostille to accompany the marriage certificate.

In the State of Hawaii, Apostilles are prepared by the Office of the Lieutenant Governor. Request the form needed to apply for the Apostille from the Sate Health Department when you apply for your marriage license. Not to worry, it's quite simple.

Go here to read more: http://www.hawaii.gov/health/vital-records/vital-records/apostille.html


List of Countries and Territories Participating in Hague Convention

Albania
Antigua & Barbuda
Argentina
Armenia
Australia
Austria
Bahamas
Belarus
Belgium
Belize
Bosnia & Herzegovina
Botswana
Bulgaria  
Colombia
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic   
El Salvador
Estonia  
Fiji
Finland
France
Germany

Greece
Honduras
Hungary  
Israel
Italy
Japan
Kazakhstan  
Latvia
Lesotho
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macedonia
Malawi
Malta
Marshalls
Mauritius
Mexico
Netherlands (Aruba)  
Niue (Savage Is)  
Norway
Panama
Portugal
Romania

Russia
San Marino
Serbia & Montenegro
Seychelles
Slovak
Slovenia
Spain
South Africa
Suriname
Swaziland
Sweden
Switzerland
Tonga
Trinidad & Tobago
Turkey
Ukraine  
United Kingdom & Northern Ireland
USA
Venezuela
Yugoslavia


FYI: For nations who have not joined the Convention, the authentication process requires two separate forms to accompany the certificate. In Hawaii, one of these forms is called a Certification and is prepared by the Lieutenant Governor’s Office. The third form is called an Authentication and is prepared by the State Circuit Court


For Philippines Only

If you got married previously in the Philippines and had your marriage annulled, you will need to present your annulment documents to the Health Dept. when you apply for your marriage license.