How to Apostille a Hawaii Marriage Certificate (2026 Rules)
Updated: 3 days ago
To apostille a Hawaii marriage certificate, you need a certified copy issued by the Hawaii Department of Health on or after January 1, 2025, signed by the State Registrar and carrying the Department of Health's embossed seal. The apostille itself is issued by the Office of the Lieutenant Governor in Honolulu. If your certified copy was issued before 2025, it will not be apostilled, and you have to order a new one.
Two ways to get the apostille
Which route you take depends on whether you already have a recent certified copy.
Route 1: You have a certified copy issued on or after January 1, 2025
Complete the Lieutenant Governor's online apostille application. You will receive an application document by email. Print it and send it with your original certified copy to the Office of the Lieutenant Governor, State Capitol, 5th Floor, 415 S. Beretania Street, Honolulu, HI 96813. You can also drop it off in person on weekdays.
The Lieutenant Governor's office estimates 7 to 10 business days of processing, plus mail time. There is no expedited service.
Route 2: You need a new certified copy anyway
Order a new marriage certificate from the Department of Health by mail, together with the apostille request. Do not use the Department of Health's online ordering system for this. The apostille order has to be a paper request.
Write "apostille" and the destination country on the certificate request form.
Include the Lieutenant Governor's apostille form with its own payment, separate from the certificate fee.
Pay each fee with a separate money order or cashier's check. Cash and personal or business checks are not accepted.
Include a copy of your government-issued photo ID and a prepaid, self-addressed return envelope.
Mail everything to Hawaii DOH Vital Records, P.O. Box 3378, Honolulu, HI 96801.
The Department of Health coordinates with the Lieutenant Governor's office, so the certificate comes back with the apostille attached. The Department of Health warns that apostille requests can take 3 to 4 weeks.
Who can order the certificate
Hawaii restricts access to vital records by law. The spouses can order their own marriage certificate. If someone orders it on your behalf, the request needs a signed letter of authorization from you, a copy of your photo ID, and a copy of the requester's photo ID.
Where couples get stuck
Sending a copy issued before January 1, 2025. It will be returned, and the clock starts over.
Sending the ceremonial certificate from the wedding. Only the Department of Health's certified copy can be apostilled.
Ordering the new certificate online. Online orders are not processed with an apostille.
Combining fees into one payment, or paying by personal check.
Assuming an apostille works everywhere. If the destination country is not part of the Hague Apostille Convention, the document needs a full embassy legalization instead.
Getting it done from the mainland or abroad
Most of the delay is mail. A couple living overseas pays for that round trip twice: once to receive the certificate, and again to send it back to Honolulu. The fastest setup is having the certificate go straight from the Department of Health into the apostille process and then to you once, finished.
That is the part we handle. We prepare the request so it is right the first time, track it through both offices, and ship the finished apostille to you by FedEx anywhere in the world. We review everything before it is filed, and you pay after it's done. Email jared@apostillellc.com or call 848-467-7740. For other Hawaii documents, see our Hawaii apostille page.
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