Jurisdiction

The jurisdiction is the judicial circuit in which the notary is authorized to perform notarial acts. At a minimum, the notary must register within the jurisdiction in which they reside. Registering in any of the other jurisdictions is allowed but not required.

The state of Hawaii is broken up into four jurisdictions.

1.The First Judicial Circuit belongs to Honolulu County which includes the island of Oahu and all other islands not mentioned in the next three jurisdictions.

2.The Second Judicial Circuit belongs to Maui County which includes the islands of Maui, Molokai, Lanai, Kahoolawe, and Molokini.

3.The Third Judicial Circuit belongs to Hawaii County which is the Island of Hawaii.

4.The Fifth Judicial Circuit belongs to Kauai County which includes the islands of Kauai and Niihau.

Be aware that there is no Fourth Judicial Circuit. The Fourth Judicial Circuit was comprised of a portion of the island of Hawaii and was merged with the Third Judicial Circuit in 1943.