Document Updates: Hawaii Jurisdiction Update to City and County of Honolulu for the Notary Block

Haw. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 456-9(c)(4) reflects that every acknowledgment or jurat with a certificate shall be signed and dated by the notary public, include the printed name and official stamp or seal of the notary public, and shall identify the jurisdiction in which the notarial act is performed. The State of HI Notary Public Manual (found here: https://www.notaryrotary.com/101/resources/HI-hb-20070828.pdf) says on Page 7:

The State is divided into four judicial circuits (Sec. 603-1, H. R. S.), for venue-purposes, as follows:

1. 1. 1. 1. The island of Oahu and all other islands belonging to the State not hereinafter mentioned; [Designated venue “City and County of Honolulu”]
         2. The islands of Maui, Molokai, Lanai, Kahoolawe and Molokini; [Designated venue “County of Maui”]
         3. The island of Hawaii; [Designated venue “County of Hawaii”]
         4. The islands of Kauai and Niihau. [Designated venue “County of Kauai”]

Subsequent to a document review, we have decided to add an enhancement to our Hawaii notary block for properties that are in the first judicial circuit (“City and County of Honolulu”). The language for the first judicial circuit will now reflect the “City and County of” Honolulu per the jurisdiction requirements set forth in Haw. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 456-9(c)(4) & Sec. 603-1, H. R. S., rather than the “County of” label required for other jurisdictions. If the appropriate field is populated with ‘Honolulu’, such as Field 1818 “Security Instrument Notary County”, the label for Honolulu will display as:

STATE OF Hawaii
CITY AND COUNTY OF Honolulu

This change will now appear in the notary sections of the following standard Hawaii documents when applicable:

• HI Mortgage (Cx320)
• HI Mortgage Second (Cx478)
• HELOC Mortgage – HI (Cx2411)
• FHA HI Mortgage (Cx19369)
• HI Assignment of Mortgage (Cx1522)
• HI Assignment from MERS (Cx4317)
• HI Assignment – INV BLANK (Cx4459)
• 3012 HI Mortgage 2021 (Cx25290)

The change will also be reflected on the following multi-state documents for the appropriate Hawaii loans:

• Compliance Agreement (Cx4)
• Occupancy Statement (Cx15)
• Manufactured Home Affixation Affidavit (Cx43)
• Signature/Name Affidavit (Cx865)
• Loan Modification Agreement – Fixed (Cx1701)
• Loan Modification Agreement – ARM (Cx4888)
• Manufactured Home Limited Power of Attorney (Cx6874)
• Signature/Name Affidavit (NPE) (Cx7965)
• Loan Modification Agreement – ARM (Cx10514)
• Loan Modification Agreement – Fixed (Cx10515)
• HomeStyle Renovation Loan Rider (Cx22294)
• HomeStyle Renovation Loan Agreement (Cx22295)
• FNMA Construction Loan Agreement (Cx22651)
• FNMA Construction Loan Rider to Security Instrument (Cx22653)
• Community Land Trust Ground Lease Rider (Cx23607)

Effective Date

These changes will take effect on October 28, 2022 and are available on Stage servers to test. If you have any questions or concerns about these changes, please contact Client Support at 1.800.497.3584.

LEG-402, COM-1084, COM-1106
DR-136923, DR-136953

The preceding is for informational purposes only and is not and may not be construed as legal advice. No third-party entity may rely upon anything contained herein when making legal and/or other determinations regarding its practices, and such third party should consult with an attorney prior to embarking upon any specific course of action.