Kauai County Public Records Search

Kauai County public records cover the whole Garden Isle and hold court case files, property records, police report records, and building permit records. Most Kauai County public records can be found online through agency records portals. The Fifth Circuit Court in Lihue runs court records for the island. The County of Kauai runs the real property tax records, county clerk records, and police records systems. This page shows where to go for each type of Kauai County public records and lists the offices that keep each record set.

Kauai County Property Records

The Real Property Tax Division of the Kauai County Finance Department keeps property records for the Garden Isle. Kauai property records cover assessed value records, owner name records, tax map records, sales records, and exemption records. Each parcel has a Tax Map Key, or TMK, that ties the parcel to tax records, GIS map records, and permit records. The Division sits at the Lihue Civic Center, 4444 Rice Street, Suite A-454, Lihue, HI 96766. Office hours run Monday through Friday, 7:45 AM to 4:30 PM, closed on state holidays. Phone 808-241-4224. Email propertytax@kauai.gov.

To look up a Kauai County property record, use the public records tool at kauaipropertytax.com. You can search records by address, by TMK, by owner name, or by map and parcel. The system also pulls up sales records, assessment history records, exemption status records, and tax payment records. Property tax rates get set each year by the Kauai County Council. Tax bills go out twice a year. The site lists exemptions for homeowners, seniors, and persons with disabilities.

To learn more about the division, visit the Kauai Finance Real Property Tax page. The office helps with property searches, assessment questions, and exemption applications in person.

The Kauai County official website links out to the Real Property Tax records portal, the GIS records viewer, and the Property Tax Public Roll download page.

The Kauai Real Property Tax Division also runs a GIS records system. The Kauai GIS records show parcel boundaries, zoning records, flood zone records, and other map records. Each year the Division posts the full Kauai Property Tax Public Roll as a PDF file. The Kauai roll is a public record under Hawaii law. It lists TMK, property address, owner name, assessed value, classification, exemption amount, and net taxable value. You can grab the Kauai roll at the Kauai Property Tax Public Roll page. The Kauai roll comes out based on data as of October 1 of the prior year.

Kauai County Court Records

The Fifth Circuit Court serves the island of Kauai and sits at 3970 Kaana Street, Lihue, HI 96766. The court handles civil records, criminal records, family records, probate records, and traffic case records for the county. Public access terminals at the courthouse let you view case records and document records on site. Records can be asked for in person, by mail, or online through the state court records portal.

The Hawaii State Judiciary runs all Kauai court records through eCourt Kokua, the statewide online records system. Through eCourt Kokua you can search Kauai court records by party name, case ID, citation number, vehicle VIN, or license plate. Kauai Circuit 5 case records use a standard 12-character case ID. Regular Kauai court records copies cost $3.00 per document or $0.10 per page, whichever is more. Certified Kauai court records cost $5.00 per document plus $0.10 per page. Pay by cash, check, or money order at the Kauai courthouse in Lihue.

For online case records, use the Fifth Circuit Court records page or jump to the Hawaii eCourt Kokua records search.

Kauai Police Department Records

The Kauai Police Department, or KPD, keeps police report records, incident report records, and accident report records for the whole island. The KPD Records Division sits at department headquarters in Lihue. Hours run Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM, closed on state holidays. Police records requests go in under the UIPA. Each request should list enough detail to find the right records file.

Kauai police report records are usually released to involved parties after the case is done. Personal info may be redacted from Kauai police records under HRS §92F-13 privacy rules. Kauai accident report records come out 5 to 7 business days after a crash. Fees for Kauai police records copies follow county policy and the UIPA cost recovery rule. Most small Kauai police records requests cost nothing. For a bigger Kauai records ask, staff may quote a fee before they pull the file.

Send a Kauai police records request to the Kauai Police Department records page, which lists the right email and mailing address for each record type. Include your name, contact info, and a clear record description. If the records you need tie to an open case, wait until the case is closed before you file the request.

Kauai Building Permit Records

The Building Division of the Kauai Public Works Department issues building permit records for the county. Building permit records are public records under Hawaii law and can be asked for through a UIPA records request. These records hold permit application records, approved plan records, inspection result records, and certificate of occupancy records.

You can search Kauai building permit records by property address, by TMK, or by permit number. The Kauai Building Division keeps records from the 1970s through the present day. Older Kauai permit records may sit in archive storage and can take more time to pull. The Kauai Division also runs an online permit status lookup tool. You can check the status of pending Kauai permit applications, scheduled inspection records, and past inspection result records through the site. For full Kauai records or copies of approved plans, file a formal UIPA records request.

Start your Kauai permit records search at the Kauai Building Division page. The site also lists staff contacts, code update records, and permit fee records for each permit type.

Kauai County Clerk Records

The Kauai County Clerk keeps official records for the County Council and for county elections. The office sits at the Lihue Civic Center. The Clerk records include Council meeting agenda records, meeting minute records, ordinance records, resolution records, and voter registration records. The County Clerk also oversees all elections for Kauai County and runs the county election records system.

Kauai Clerk duties cover meeting agenda and minute records for the Kauai County Council, recording and archiving Kauai ordinance records and resolution records, running Kauai elections and voter registration records, notary service for Kauai county document records, and care of the official Kauai records and the county seal. Kauai election records include candidate filing records, campaign finance report records, and election result records. Most of these Kauai records are posted online and do not need a UIPA request.

View the records menu at the Kauai County Clerk page, which links out to the Council records portal, the voter records pages, and the election results records page.

The Clerk page is the fastest way to find Council meeting records, the ordinance code records, and the current roster of resolution records for Kauai County.

Kauai County UIPA Requests

A UIPA records request lets anyone ask a Kauai County office for a public record. There is no charge to file a records request. The UIPA allows an agency to bill for the cost to search, review, and redact records, but only up to actual cost. Kauai County's standard practice is no charge unless extraordinary circumstances apply. If extraordinary circumstances come up, staff will notify the requester of the fee before any records are produced.

Before you file, check the Kauai County site to see if the record is already posted. Most Kauai offices post frequently requested records online. A good records request should list your name, mailing address, email, and phone number. It should give a clear, short description of the record and a date range. The more specific the records ask, the faster the reply. Common Kauai County records you can get through UIPA cover police report records, permit records, Council correspondence records, and agency contract records. Some records may be withheld for privacy or active investigation reasons under HRS §92F-13.

File a Kauai UIPA request through the Kauai UIPA government records request page. You can also send a state records request through the Hawaii DCCA open records form if the record sits with a state office.

Other Kauai County Records

Some Kauai County records sit with state offices, not the county. Vital records, land deeds, and tax rulings are state-run. Use the list below to jump to the right page for each record type you need.

• Hawaii Department of Health Vital Records for Kauai birth, death, marriage, and civil union records
• Hawaii eCourt Kokua portal for Kauai court case records
• Hawaii Department of Taxation for Kauai state tax records
• Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources for state land use records
• Hawaii Office of Information Practices for UIPA rules and opinions on records

Communities in Kauai County

Kauai County covers the whole island of Kauai plus the small offshore island of Niihau. None of the towns on Kauai pass the population line used for this site, so this page does not link to any town pages. All Kauai records still route through the Fifth Circuit Court, the Kauai Police Department, and the Kauai real property records system. Well-known Kauai towns include Lihue, Kapaa, Princeville, Waimea, Hanalei, and Poipu. For records tied to any of these towns, use the county-level offices listed above.

Nearby Hawaii Counties

These counties lie across the channels from Kauai. If the record you need sits on a different island, use the links below to jump to that county.