Hilo Public Records Search

Hilo public records cover the east side of Hawaii Island and the county seat. Most Hilo public records sit with the County of Hawaii, the Third Circuit Court, and state agency offices on Aupuni Street and Pauahi Street. You can search Hilo public records through eCourt Kokua, the Hawaii County real property site, and the state vital records portal. Walk-in visits to the Hilo courthouse on Kilauea Avenue or the Hilo Police Station on Kapiolani Street also work. This page shows where to go for each kind of Hilo public records and how to file a request.

County Office for Hilo Records

Hilo sits inside Hawaii County. The County of Hawaii runs most local Hilo public records from offices in the Aupuni Center. The Hawaii County Office of the County Clerk is at 25 Aupuni Street, Hilo, HI 96720. The phone is (808) 961-8277. The Clerk keeps meeting records, agenda records, minute records, ordinance records, and resolution records for the Hawaii County Council. Bill tracking records let you follow a law from first reading to final vote.

For the full list of Hilo county-level records tools, visit the Hawaii County public records page. That page covers all of Hawaii Island and links the main agency contacts.

The County Clerk also keeps campaign records, elections records, and public meeting notice records. You can walk in during business hours to ask for records. Staff accept UIPA records requests by email, mail, or in person. For Hilo vendor records, contract records, and bid records, the Department of Finance office in the Aupuni Center keeps procurement records and purchase records open to the public.

Hilo Police Records

The Hawaii County Police Department keeps Hilo police records. This is not HPD. HPD serves Oahu. Hawaii County has its own force. The Hilo Police Station sits at 349 Kapiolani Street, Hilo, HI 96720. The phone is (808) 935-3311. The Hilo district covers the east side of Hawaii Island, from the coast up to the volcano area. Each district station holds local incident records, arrest records, and traffic report records.

You can ask for Hilo police records in person, by mail, or through the online records request form. Reports go to involved parties once the case is closed. Fees for copies follow county policy and are set for each page or scan. The Records Division runs Monday to Friday during business hours, closed on state holidays. Staff redact victim records, juvenile records, and Social Security numbers under HRS §92F-13 before release.

Begin a Hilo police records request at the Hawaii County Police records portal.

The portal lists the records request form, fee schedule, and mailing address for the Records Division in Hilo.

Hilo Property Records

Hilo property records flow through the Hawaii County Real Property Tax Division. The Hilo office is at 101 Pauahi Street, Suite 4, Hilo, HI 96720. The phone is (808) 961-8201. Every Hilo parcel has a Tax Map Key, or TMK, that ties the parcel to tax records, permit records, and map records. Records cover assessed value records, owner records, building sketch records, and exemption records.

Hilo is the county seat, so the main Hawaii County real property office is here. The office keeps property card records, assessment records, and tax payment records. Assessments are done each year. The Hilo office takes walk-ins for property records searches, assessment records questions, and exemption records filings. You can also look up Hilo property records online through the county site. Deed records and transfer records are kept by the state Bureau of Conveyances, not the county.

Search Hilo property records at the Hawaii County Real Property Tax site.

For Hilo building permit records, the Hawaii County Building Division office sits next door at 101 Pauahi Street, Suite 3. The phone is (808) 961-8331. Staff keep permit records by address, by TMK, or by permit number. Online lookup shows active permit status, inspection records, and close-out records. For plan records or old permit files, send a records request to the Building Division. Office hours run Monday to Friday, 7:45 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.

Check Hilo permit records at the Hawaii County Building Division page.

Hilo Court Records

The Third Circuit Court Hilo courthouse is at 777 Kilauea Avenue, Hilo, HI 96720. The court serves Hawaii Island, with sister chambers in Kona. The Hilo courthouse hears civil records cases, criminal records cases, family records cases, probate records cases, and traffic records cases. Public access terminals in the Hilo courthouse let you read case records during business hours. The Hawaii State Judiciary also runs eCourt Kokua for online case records from any place. Docket records, minute order records, and judgment records are the most common Hilo court records asked for.

To look up a Hilo case, use the Hawaii State Judiciary eCourt Kokua portal. Third Circuit cases use a 12-character ID. A case numbered 12345 becomes 3PC000012345, or 3DC for district cases. Basic case records view is free. Regular copies cost $3 each, and certified records copies cost $5 each or 10 cents per page, whichever is more.

The Hilo courthouse also has a records room for deep records research. Staff can pull old case files, sealed records with a proper order, and probate records not yet in the online system. Mail-in records requests work too. Send a short letter with the case number, the name on the case, and the type of records you need.

For an overview of court records on Hawaii Island, see the Third Circuit Court records page.

DOH Vital Records in Hilo

The Hawaii Department of Health runs a vital records office on Hawaii Island. The Hilo DOH office is at 75 Aupuni Street, Suite 201, Hilo, HI 96720. The phone is (808) 974-6008. Staff can help with birth records, death records, marriage records, and civil union records. The Hilo office is the main spot for east Hawaii Island residents to pick up vital records in person. Walk-in hours run during the state work week.

As of February 1, 2026, the Hawaii Department of Health no longer keeps divorce records. For Hilo divorce records, ask the Third Circuit Court clerk at the Kilauea Avenue courthouse. Family Court records in the Third Circuit cover divorce records, child custody records, and paternity records for the Hilo area.

You can also order Hilo vital records online or by mail. The state portal takes credit card payments and ships records to the requester. Order a certified birth or death record through the Hawaii DOH vital records site.

The DOH page lists Hilo office hours, fees, and the application form for Hilo birth records or death records. Each certified copy has a set fee, and extra copies of the same record cost less.

Hilo UIPA Records Request

You can ask any Hilo or Hawaii agency for public records through a UIPA request under HRS §92F. There is no fee to file a records request. The agency may charge for the time to search, review, and redact records, but only up to actual cost. Most small Hilo records requests are free.

Write your Hilo records request with a clear, short description of what you need and a date range. A short, narrow records request gets a faster reply. Agencies aim to reply to public records requests within ten business days under HRS §92F-11. If staff need more time, they must send you a notice. Longer records jobs can take up to twenty business days.

The Hawaii Office of Information Practices sets the rules for public records in the state. Visit the Hawaii OIP UIPA page for training records, opinion records, and the state records request form. You can also draft and track a records request through a free third-party tool.

File and track a Hilo UIPA records request through the Hawaii County UIPA portal. The portal logs each records request by status so you can follow the reply. If an agency denies your records request, OIP can review the denial and issue an opinion records ruling.

Common Hilo state agency records you can ask for include:

• Hawaii DOH Vital Records for Hilo birth and death records
• Hawaii DCCA open records portal for business and license records
• Hawaii Attorney General for legal opinion records
• Hawaii Department of Taxation for state tax records

Hilo Library Records Help

The Hilo Public Library sits at 300 Waianuenue Avenue, Hilo, HI 96720. The library is part of the Hawaii State Public Library System. Staff can help you find old Hilo news records, archive records, and state document records. Microfilm records of the Hilo Tribune-Herald go back many years. Local history records and Hawaii Island map records are also on site.

Library staff give records research help for free. You can also use public computers to search state records, court records, and property records. For deep records research, the library can point you to state archive records in Honolulu or to the University of Hawaii at Hilo library records collection.

The Hawaii Community Correctional Center, a state detention facility, sits in Hilo. Inmate records and jail roster records for the center flow through the Hawaii Department of Public Safety. For inmate records, use the state offender records search or ask the facility direct. Booking records from recent arrests stay with the Hawaii County Police Department records unit in Hilo. Release records, bail records, and hearing records may cross into Third Circuit Court records too.

Nearby Hawaii Island Communities

Hilo is the largest town on Hawaii Island, and no other project city sits on the Big Island. Smaller Big Island towns near Hilo include Kailua-Kona on the west side, Waimea in the north, Waikoloa on the Kohala Coast, and Pahoa in the Puna district. All of these towns use the same Hawaii County offices and the Third Circuit Court for public records. Kailua-Kona has its own West Hawaii police records district, while Waimea, Waikoloa, and Pahoa records flow back to Hilo for court records and county records. For county-wide records tools, check the Hawaii County records page.