Hawaii Marriage Certificate: How to Order Copies, Cost and Timing

What is the difference between a marriage license and a marriage certificate?

The license is permission to marry, issued before the ceremony. The certificate is the record that you did marry, created after it. DOH says it in two sentences: "The marriage license permits a marriage to take place. The marriage certificate indicates that a legal marriage has been performed."

The version that does the work afterward is a certified copy from DOH: USA.gov tells people changing their name to "Use certified copies of key documents as proof" when they notify agencies. For the step before the wedding, see how to get a Hawaii marriage license.

What happens to the paperwork after the ceremony?

Your performer files it, and you don't return anything to the state yourself. The chain runs in this order:

1. You sign. The couple signs the license worksheet in front of the performer after the marriage, and each spouse declares the middle and last names they will use.
2. The performer reports. Hawaii law (Hawaii Revised Statutes, or HRS, §572-13(b), as quoted in the state's performer guidelines) requires a performer "to report within three business days every marriage ceremony".
3. The performer certifies online. EMRS, the state marriage system, says performers "must complete the ceremony information and certify electronically so that couples will be able to access their electronic temporary marriage/civil union certificates." If a performer files on paper instead, the guidelines say the couple "will not be able to print their temporary marriage certificate."
4. DOH registers the record. No state page we read says how long this step takes.
5. You order certified copies. Hawaii law also says DOH "shall deliver one certified copy" to the couple, but no current DOH page we read describes an automatic mailing. If a deadline depends on the certificate, order one (see "Does the state send you a copy without an order?" below).

Read the declared names carefully before you sign. The state's guidelines call that declaration a legal name change and say: "No amendments to acceptable declared names will be allowed, except by a legal change of name."

Don't order the day after the wedding. No state page we read says how soon a new record can be found, and the order terms say that if no record is found, "all fees are retained to cover the cost of the search." Our advice is to wait until your performer confirms they have certified the ceremony.

If the performer never reports, DOH may have no record to copy. Under HRS §572-13(b), "the parties married may provide the department of health with a notarized affidavit" attesting that they married and stating the date and place. Our guide to who can legally officiate in Hawaii covers this under "What if the performer is unlicensed or never reports?", along with how to check a performer before you book.

How long does it take to get a Hawaii marriage certificate?

For mailed copies, plan on about 8 weeks from the day you order. That is our planning figure, taken from the top of the portal's average for mail delivery. It is not a state limit, because an average means some orders take longer. The state gives different numbers on different pages:

Add the time before your order to those figures: up to three business days for the performer under the law, then the unpublished wait for the record. Neither the DOH certificates page nor the portal's order form lists a paid rush option.

DOH also warns: "Delays due to REAL ID requirements may occur and we ask that you remain patient." Partial or inaccurate details can add more time. The portal says that paying by mail after printing the form adds time as well.

Where the 60–120 day figure comes from

The "60-120 days" you may see on older wedding and vacation pages is unverified today. No current DOH page we read gives it. The earliest official source we found is DOH itself: an archived copy of its license page from June 2017 said a couple "receives one (1) certified copy of the marriage certificate at no extra charge" by mail "(60-120 days) after the marriage has been performed."

Does the state send you a copy without an order?

Hawaii law says the Department of Health delivers one, but we can't tell you whether a copy will reach you. HRS §572-13(c), in FindLaw's copy current as of January 1, 2025, says: "The department of health shall deliver one certified copy of the certificate of marriage or the contents or any part thereof as provided in section 338-13 to the persons married."

That sentence sets no deadline, and it does not say the copy is free. The same subsection adds: "The department may prescribe reasonable fees, if any, to be paid for certified copies of certificates."

The 2017 free-copy sentence is not on the current DOH license page, and no other state page we read mentions a free copy or describes an automatic mailing. DOH now describes the license cost as $65 ($60 application fee plus $5 portal fee), and no state page we read says a certified copy is included.

If a deadline depends on the certificate, order a copy instead of waiting for one. Only DOH can say whether it still sends a copy unordered, when, and at what charge, so ask it.

How much do marriage certificate copies cost?

One copy costs $12.50 in total, and each further copy in the same order adds $4. The sixth copy also triggers a second $2.50 fee. For copies, the middle column is what the portal's price calculator returned on November 6, 2026, and it matches the DOH fee list and fee table.

The $5 Identity Verification Fee has its own column because the portal contradicts itself. Its home page says a one-copy order costs $12.50, while the fee terms on its order form say online orders add "a $5.00 Identity Verification Fee per order", making $17.50. Those terms also say an order may hold up to 5 copies, yet the calculator prices more. We did not place an order, so check the total on the payment screen.

Order together. Three copies bought one at a time cost $37.50, against $20.50 in one order. The form is clear that "additional copies require a new request", and a new request means the $10 first-copy price and the administration fee again.

A verification letter is not a copy. Under HRS §338-14.3 it confirms that a certificate is on file, along with details you supply, so don't send one where a certified copy is requested.

How do you order a copy?

Online is the route DOH recommends ("Fast/Highly Recommended"), unless you need an apostille through DOH. A Honolulu visit starts online too: DOH's booking page says to "Complete an order online before coming in for your appointment or walk-in service", so the office is where you collect a copy, not a separate way to order. Civil union records use the same forms and fees.

Have these ready for the online form: both spouses' names (it asks for the maiden name of Applicant 2), ceremony date, island, city or town, your relationship to the couple and your reason for ordering. The Locator ID is the Authorization Code on the payment receipt from your online license application; leave it blank if you did not apply online. The portal warns that it "does exact matches only", so copy names and dates from your paperwork.

Watch the card name. The portal says the card must match your name on the order and your name on the certificate, "otherwise your order may be delayed or denied pending further research." The DOH page asks only that the card match the person requesting. After a name change, the card and the certificate can disagree, so ordering by mail or paying cash at pick-up avoids the problem.

Living abroad changes little: the online form's address field takes other countries, and copies go by first-class post. For the wider picture, read our guide for couples from outside the US.

If you plan to visit, go to 201 Merchant St., Suite 100: DOH's booking page confirms that address for appointments from October 1, 2026. The booking form asks for your order tracking number, so place the order first. The paper form's instruction page, dated 02/2018, still lists 1250 Punchbowl Street.

The DOH certificates page still lists cash, credit card, cashier's check, certified check or money order for "orders completed in person", while the booking page, updated September 21, 2026, asks for an online order first.

On Maui, Kauai or Hawaii Island, online and mail orders work the same way. The portal says other Department of Health offices are "typically open Monday through Friday, 7:45 a.m. – 4:30 p.m." and tells readers to contact the local office about "location availability", but it does not say whether those offices issue copies.

Who can order a Hawaii marriage certificate?

Only someone with a "direct and tangible interest" in the record, because Hawaii restricts access to vital records by law (HRS 338-18). DOH's list includes:

• either spouse named on the record
• a spouse's parents
• a spouse's descendants, such as a child or grandchild
• a person with a common ancestor, such as a sibling, grandparent, aunt, uncle or cousin
• a legal guardian
• a person or agency acting on a spouse's behalf
• someone holding a court order that establishes the right to a copy

The online route is narrower: the portal covers your own certificates or an immediate family member's. A planner or friend collecting for you needs authorizing documents as well as their own ID. Anyone who cannot show an interest gets no copy, and the fees are kept.

How many copies should you order?

Order one if nobody is changing their name, and two or three if someone is: two if you will deal with one agency at a time, three if a passport application will run alongside other updates. That is our suggestion, based on how the agencies below handle the paper; the state sets no number.

A passport application is the reason for the extra copy. Form DS-82 asks for proof such as "a certified copy of a marriage certificate" if your name differs, and DS-5504 asks for a certified document "showing a seal and officiate's/judge's signature". Both say the document comes back, but it is gone while the application is in process.

USA.gov lists the Social Security Administration (SSA) first because "Other agencies learn of name changes through the SSA." SSA's operating manual (POMS RM 10210.085) accepts the original record or "a properly certified copy of the original record", and lists "Uncertified photocopies and notarized copies" as unacceptable. A home photocopy won't pass.

Use abroad has two routes. The Lieutenant Governor's office says you may send a certificate issued after January 1, 2025 directly for an apostille, while older ones follow the DOH route. Its FAQ says "dated" instead of "issued"; neither word is defined, and we read both as the date on your certified copy. DOH apostille requests are mail-in only and must include a request for a "new" certificate ("We do not accept certified copies provided"). Our Hawaii apostille guide sets out both routes.

What if the certificate has a mistake?

Apply to DOH for an amendment, with documents that support the change. DOH says the fee is $3.00 in most cases for each amendment request. Fix an error before you order more copies, and remember that an amended item "will not be amended again without a court order" or, for a name, a change of name decree. Declared names can only change through a legal change of name.

How we checked

We read the DOH certificates, license, apostille, amendment and genealogy pages, DOH's appointment booking page, the EMRS site, the vital records portal, its order form and the current paper request form on November 6, 2026, and ran the portal's price calculator for several order sizes. We also read the Lieutenant Governor's apostille page and FAQ, an archived 2017 DOH page, the SSA manual and the federal forms cited above.

On November 7 we re-read the DOH, EMRS and portal pages for any mention of a free or automatic copy, and read HRS §572-13 in FindLaw's copy, against the older text on the Universal Life Church site, plus SSA's 2012 Hawaii opinion. The Legislature's own copy of the statute would not open for us. We have not placed an order or booked an appointment. This is an independent guide, not a state service, so the DOH pages decide if anything changes.