How to get married in Hawaii or have a civil union. Step by step.
1- Select a location to have your wedding or civil union.
We offer the following location options:
- Courthouse Marriage Style where you simply sign marriage paperwork in our office
- Marriage Ceremony in our private plaza courtyard
- Wedding Elopements at one of the following parks:
Magic Island
Honolulu Ridge
Keehi Lagoon
Aiea Loop Trail
Foster Botanical Garden - Elopement Wedding at a beach of your choice.
2- Choose your date and time. Then make a reservation.
Once you’ve chosen your location and figured out a date and time to have your ceremony, please make a reservation using our RSVP form. On the form, you will be given the options to select a your ceremony location. You can choose from a beach, a park, the plaza courtyard or to sign marriage paperwork in our office.
3- Complete an online marriage / civil union license application with the State of Hawaii.
In order to have a legal wedding ceremony, you’ll need to apply for and obtain a marriage license from the State of Hawaii. The application form needs to be filled out online.
Here is the online marriage application.
The application will ask you to provide some basic information about you and your partner. Your full names, birthdates, social security numbers. It will also ask you to provide information about your parents. Most of this information should be pretty simple for you to provide. You’ll also be asked of the date and location of your marriage as well as the name of your “performer” – which is your licensed officiant.
If you or your partner were divorced in the past, you will need to provide a divorce decree. But only if you divorce decree is recent. If you have been legally divorced for over 3 months, you should be fine without the decree.
In the case where you are unsure of the information, just fill it out the best you can. You’ll be able to verify and/or correct all the information with the State of Hawaii when you go to pick it up.
4- Meet with a marriage agent from the State of Hawaii Department of Health.
You will need to have picked up a marriage license before the wedding. The license will be available for pick up from a marriage agent immediately after you’ve applied online and made the payment. Be sure to go to the meeting together – they need to see you both at the same time. You will also need to provide them with a valid government issued photo ID.
The agent will go over all the information that you provided on the marriage application to verify it is all correct. If there are any errors or changes, it can be made at your meeting. Most of the agents are available at the Department of Health office in downtown Honolulu. The address is:
1250 Punchbowl Street
The office office is open Monday – Friday from 8:00am – 4:00pm. (excluding State and Federal Holidays)
However, if you’re staying on the North Shore or West Side of Oahu, there are a few other options on those sides of the island. There are agents who work out of Turtle Bay Resort (North Shore Oahu), Four Seasons Resort and the Aulani Hotel (Both at Koolina).
Click HERE for a list marriage agents across the island of Oahu. When you meeting is complete, the agent will give you a marriage license worksheet. Please bring this paper with you to your wedding and give it to the officiant. When your wedding is finished, we will file the paperwork with the State of Hawaii to finalize your marriage / civil union.
It is recommended that you make an appointment to see a marriage agent. Agents at the hotel require a reservation and some may not take you unless you are a guest of their hotel. If you are unable to reach any of the agents by phone, you may do a walk-in at the Department of Health in Honolulu.
Once the wedding is completed and the paperwork has been registered, the State will take about 1 month to mail you the marriage certificate. You may also download a temporary certificate online about a week after the wedding.
After reading this guide, simply follow the 4 step boxes above this article. If you need any help, feel free to contact us at 808.383.7090.