Changing a Name
HRS 574-5 — a notarized petition to the lieutenant governor with a $50 fee, or in a divorce or adoption
- By order of the lieutenant governor, on a notarized petition with a nonrefundable $50 filing fee.
- In a divorce decree, resuming a name used before the marriage or civil union, or a prior marriage's name.
- In an adoption decree, or on marriage or civil union.
- By a court order from another state or territory for a person born in Hawaii.
Who handles this in Hawaii: Office of the Lieutenant Governor; and legal aid programs, lawyer referral and the state offices, listed in the Hawaii directory.
The lieutenant governor's notice of the change is published once in a newspaper, and within sixty days the petitioner deposits the newspaper's affidavit of publication. Publication may be skipped, and the papers kept confidential, where a prosecuting attorney's affidavit shows it is needed for the person's protection.
A minor's petition is signed by both parents, by the custodial parent with the other's notarized consent, or by a guardian. A registered covered offender may change a name otherwise only where a court finds it in the interest of justice and safe for the public.
Sources for this section (1)
- HRS 574-5 — Change of name: procedure
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Hawaii attorney.