Department of Health Hawaii State Government

If you’re heading there for a birth or marriage certificate you must order it on line … They don’t do the paper applications anymore. However it looks like you can still do the paper version for death and divorce
They offer two touch screens but when I went today one was out of order. As for the ordering system itself just an FYI at the End when you select pay cash or pay credit. It’s the end. There is no order confirmed or thank you or anything that would indicate that your order went through it just jumps back to the beginning
From there you take a number and wait for it to be called. Whether you selected cash or credit it really doesn’t matter because they will ask for cash because «it takes too long to enter all the numbers from the card»
So I would suggest ordering on line while on your way there so when you get there you just take a number get your requested document (s) and leave this will stream line your experience and if you expect horrible customer service you’ll leave feeling like it was a great experience

Oh my gosh. Words just escape me when I deal with employees at state offices. I don’t know what their problem is — I’ve gotten sarcasm, passive-​aggressiveness and plain meanness from state workers.
First, kudos on them shifting their ordering process online. However, when you enter the office, it’s not clear what’s going on. To begin, you need to grab a number. That’s already a NAILS system.
Anyway, when I was there, you have to request birth certificates online (for which there are two touch screens by the window for that purpose). But, many of
the aunties/​uncles and tutus have no clue about using a touch-​screen so that’s like, major challenge #1. Fortunately there was a worker helping people, only he didn’t have an ID so I had no idea who he was.
Anyway, all that was confusing. I had filled out marriage and death certificates by paper then had to go and order birth certificates from the touch screen.
Finally I get to the window and the lady was just grouchy and demeaning. Obviously their process is already inconsistent, I’m confused and she’s making random comments how my forms aren’t filled out perfectly. Lady, just do your job.
She takes FOREVER and can’t find any of the documents I need and tells me they’ll have to do a book search. How long?, I ask. She says 6 months to a year. Makes sense since state workers only work half-​a-​year anyway.
I decided to do the freaking book search myself and found the information at the library. Holy Lord. I call DOH and as luck would have it, I get the same cranky woman. She tells me I have to come down in person to give them the book and record #. What ineffective, inefficient organization makes people run all over town doing their job? The state.
Weeks later (since I work everyday and can’t devote all my time to this) I return and give them the information. Then they tell me it will take up to TWO WEEKS to obtain the record. Oh my gosh.
I’m pretty much doing their jobs, I get attitude from some grinchy lady, I’m paying for the stupid certificates PLUS my taxes pay their wages. I don’t know how to give ZERO stars so I’m giving one.

Went there to get a marriage license. If you are there by 0800 there is no wait. Staff friendly. We did our application and paid online so the process only took 5 minutes tops.

For my first (and only) experience with a government office in another state, it went off without a hitch.
Our visit was 15 minutes tops. We checked in, reviewed our marriage license application, signed something, swore in, then left. Simple simple.
Parking lot is small, we had people dropping us off so we didn’t pay, and the place looks kinda old.
No complaints.

If you can do your business On Line way better on line
The wait is way too long
Only looks like 2 women working
The women at the window are nice and all
This place is running on Hawaiian Time

Daughter #2 needed to renew her passport and of course because I was looking for her Birth Certificate I couldn’t find it. So, thinking I would be on top of things and do what I need to fill out online I wouldn’t have to wait in line so long.
Here is where I got misled and mad about. I call the number (which is local) and speak to a man with a thick Indian accent. I asked if I do the online ordering can I pick up the Birth Certificate that afternoon. He instructs me to disregard the website and to come down and pull a number which would be faster! Not having any past experience dealing with this department I take his word and assume he is correct.
I get there about 9:30 a.m. and pull a number. I was number 62 and they were only on the sequence of 20’s. I resolved myself to a couple hours of waiting.
As the they called numbers people had left so they were actually into the 30’s in about 30 mins.
But, during that time I see a clerk helping tech challenged people work the computer and order and pay for their copies online. They stand in the pick up line for 5 mins. or so and they’re walking out! I ask him if it was for the Birth Certificate copies and he said yes. I told him I called the office in the morning and the man with the thick accent directed me to come and pull a number. The clerk didn’t seem surprised with this misinformation and said to do it online right there. He apologized for the incompetence of the person that answered the phone and showed professionalism to assist me. I was out of the office in 10 mins!
My advice to anyone calling this department, if the man with the thick Indian accent answers tell him you cannot understand him and need to speak with someone else!

So I really tried to give them the benefit of the doubt on this… But bottom line, it should NOT take over 2 months to receive a Birth Certificate for a new born! Unfortunately though we don’t have an option on whether or not to use their services since it’s a government service. But the Hawaiian government needs to fix this place. If you are going to give people the option to order the birth certificate online (and charge them for the first copy), then at least be on time with the services that I paid for! I’ve heard that its faster if you drive down there on a week day and stand in line… Unfortunately I don’t have the time to drive down to Honolulu so I can be stuck in traffic for two hours on the way back because H1 is shut down to two lanes. Then when I call to find out the status it takes me close to an hour to make it through and the guy wants to question me on why I need a copy of the birth certificate for my new born child. Should have responded «because she is running for President»… But from what we saw in getting Pres. Obama’s birth certificate released, it probably wouldn’t have helped at all… Good luck to anyone using their services!

I do not even want to give a star. Bad attitude people here. The lady feels like suffer from her work. Why does not she quit. Damn it.

Quick, easy, kind– in a government building.
It was amazing. We came to the office later than we hoped, 8:20am versus 8am because the parking lot is a little hard to navigate through. As soon as we figured that out, we stepped inside, picked a number, 7, and took a seat as the couple before us was taken in the office.
Minutes later, we were up!
We were greeted and taken care of by Sherrilyn, a sweet and kind woman who went through our information submitted online. She was quick, honest, and even willing to re-​do the oath so we could photograph it.

Love their new procedure so much better than standing in that long line :) good job state

Went here to pick up our marriage license. We applied online in advance and it helped a lot on time. We walked in and sat down for 1 minute. A very nice lady, Judith, came in to get us. She went over the marriage license info quickly and checked our IDs. After a brief swearing of correctness we got our paperwork. It took less than 5 minutes. We paid $ 1 for parking only because we had no change and had to pay with a credit card. Overall, great experience. Judith was a super nice lady too.

The people who work here seriously should be FIRED and replaced with people who want to work and give a crap about the long lines and time CUSTOMERS are waiting just to get a simple piece of paper. The office is supposed to open at 7:45 I was waiting in line outside at 7:20. I was second in line mind u. They didn’t open till 7:50, the girl before me didn’t get what she came for until 8:05. They have 1 person working behind the counter when the office opens like the waiting room isn’t full of people waiting… This is a bunch of BS!!! The state needs to fire all the current state workers because they are a waste of our money!!! They are milking the clock just to get paid for doing nothing because they move so slow!!! Ugh!

My fiancé was running late (due to the military) and the very nice ladies said not to worry. If he didn’t get here in time for our marriage license application they were more than willing to allow us to go to one of the woman’s house to accommodate our right schedule. All in all no wait, no fuss. Great experience!

I went here to get my marriage license. They open at 8. NO ONE was there at 8. We initially thought we came at the wrong time. But turns out we were the very first in line!
Organization and customer service is NOT their strong point. Apparently there’s numbers that tell the employees who’s in line first. We didn’t see the numbers nor did we know about them. So we just sat outside the door like a bunch of IDIOTS! someone who came 15 minutes AFTER us knew about the numbers and was seen first. monkey see monkey do and all… so we were number 2. so being all tech savy (not really) i did an online application. but when i got there the employees made us fill another one i told them,’ i filled one out already.’ They still gave me a form. FRUSTRATING! so if ur like me and u did it online tell them, ‘i dont want to fill another one out heres my confirmation number…,’ important also to remember that both u and ur future spouse need to be there.
frustrating experience but parking at 8am was no problem and there basically wasnt a wait… GET THERE EARLY!

This is a zero*operation. One person behind the counter a line out the door no credit cards no checks cash only. Do not use your cell phone there they will yell at you and ask you to leave while you wait in the line for an hour and a half. No bathrooms no nothing but a trashy parking lot with the parking meter to feed. Get there early if you want parking because the employees fill up the customer parking lot

Do not come here unless you absolutely need to! It’s a nightmare of a wait in line at the vital records office. Luckily with today’s technology you can save time and process most things online which is a god sent. Unfortunately obtaining a marriage license is not an online option lol.
We had to come here to apply for a marriage license which you have to do in person. I have been to the building a few times in the past to obtain birth certificates, so i was prepared to wait in a line forever as i had done before. But when we got there we found out the marriage licensing is in a separate office from Vital records. Whoohoo no line! yes! it was like we hit the jackpot lol .
There’s a security desk at the front where you need to check in at. You have to show a valid form of identification and go through a metal detector. Quick procedure then your in. After that you fill out the application for the license, turn it in and wait for them to call your name. We barely waited 10 minutes till it was our turn to be serviced. The lady that helped us was very helpful. She went over the information with both my husband and I separately to make sure all the info was correct. Good thing because my interpretation of what my middle name was wrong. I have a middle, Hawaiian and Japanese name. I failed to list the latter two because i didnt think they counted as my «middle» name but they did. So she fixed that little blunder for me. She swore us in, we paid the fee ($ 65) and got our marriage license. The whole process took less than 30 minutes. That was the best experience that I’ve ever had at a state office before.
Well after we got married, we returned to get a copy of our marriage certificate and it was nothing remotely like our experience getting the license. The line was ridiculously long and moved at the speed of a brain damaged slug. Not to mention the ghetto tastic people that we had to stand in line with. Then there’s people that hold up the line because they dont have the necessary info to get what they need or they pick that moment as the perfect time to go ahead and ask stupid questions. Some people are just pure effen joy! We were in line for over an hour and a half before it was our turn. The lady wasnt the friendliest but we remained cordial because we just wanted to get the certificate and get out of there. Total time spent there that day about an hour and 41 mins. Hour 39 mins waiting in line and two minutes wait time for the marriage certificate. Mission accomplished! Lets hope we never have to come back here again.
If you need info on vital records, check out this link
. Online is the easiest and most convenient option if you dont mind waiting for your documents to be sent by mail.
Need a marriage license? Here’s some info on that.
–The prospective bride and groom must appear together in person before a marriage license agent to apply for a marriage license. Proxies are not allowed.
–The prospective bride and groom should be prepared to provide the necessary proof of age and present any required written consents and approvals. All of the necessary documents should be obtained prior to applying for a marriage license.
–The prospective bride and groom must prepare an official application and file the application in person with the marriage license agent. The application may be completed online (see website below). The application will not be accepted if sent by either postal mail or e-​mail.
–Upon approval, a marriage license is issued at the time the application is made.
–The marriage license fee is $ 60.00 (plus $ 5.00 portal administrative cost). The fee may be paid online or in-​person at the time the application is submitted to a marriage license agent.
–The marriage license is good only in, but is valid throughout, the State of Hawaii
–The marriage license expires 30 days from and including the date of issuance, after which it automatically becomes null and void.
Helpful links:
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Arrive early — No waiting.
Arrive late & stand in line for an hour or two.
CASH ONLY. no checks or credit cards.
pre fill paper work before you hit the window.
GOVERNMENT ID required.

I came here to help my mom get her birth certificate. There are a few things to note — this building is exactly how it was when I was little — I mean I either give it cudos for maintaining so long or I feel bad for the workers that more improvements have not been made.
There is usually a parking stall — which always surprises me when I go because from the street the parking lot looks small — but it seems like people come in and out pretty fast so if you do have to wait it is usually not very long.
When you walk into the doorway to where you request your birth certificate you enter a room that is about as big as someones dining room. It is very clean with a few chairs for people to sit in that accompany you. When we went there, they were an hour away from closing and the line was out the door.
Be prepared to stand for a bit, especially when there are only one of the three windows open. They close at 2:30 so you definitely don’t want to go when we did — everyone is scrambling to get their documents before closing time.
I will say after everything was said and done the staff there were very patience and considerate. I can image that doing that all day would wear on you — but they were pleasant to everyone regardless of the customers demeanor.

Came here to get my grandmother’s death certificate. I don’t pay for parking since I work nearby.
Be sure to hit this office early in the morning at 8:00am because there is no line!
Good luck and please note that they close at 2:00pm!

First of all, we paid to get our marriage certificate expedited along with 3 copies. A friend of mine who got married a week after us received her certificate before we did so I kept calling and getting the busy signal for 2 days. Finally, my mother in law was able to get in touch with them and we were informed that it was ready for the past month but they couldn’t contact us because we changed our phone number. That’s no excuse to me because we paid extra & filled out our mailing address! It’s SUPPOSED to be mailed to us as we filled that out. They also could have mailed us a letter saying we can pick it up if they didn’t want to waste a few of the dollars we paid.
Well, we went to get our certificate and noticed parking is paid only. It’s 50 cents for 30 minutes and a dollar for an hour. I had put a quarter into the machine and it gave me a ticket! Sweet. I saved 50 cents! NOPE. The ticket was to expire at 12:58. It WAS 12:58 at that exact moment! WTF?! I also couldn’t get my refund. We proceeded to the next machine and put a dollar in since I only had 1 quarter left thinking we could select the 30 minutes and get 50 cents change. No, it only gave us 30 minutes for our dollar. Whatever.
So as I’m walking back to the car the parking attendant is writing us up a ticket!!! We were gone for less than 5 minutes. I was so pissed off! But he stopped when I showed him the slip I paid for. Ugh.
There was only one person in front of us in line when we got there so it was fairly quick. However, we only got 3 copies. We paid for 3 additional copies because that’s how much we needed. Don’t you get the first one free? Well technically when you pay for the license. So I intended on getting that 1 + the 3 we paid 18 $ for. They said we only get three (could’ve told us that before).
I don’t know what anyone else could do as if you’re getting married you kind of have to go here, but it sucks.