Hawaii Jurat Certificate Form: Wording, Circuit and Page Count
This content is educational and informational, not legal advice. Requirements reflect chapter 456 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes and Hawaii Administrative Rules 5-11, but the law can change. Confirm current requirements with the Hawaii Department of the Attorney General before relying on this.
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Fillable Hawaii jurat certificate
Enter the circuit, the document details, and the signer, and the certificate updates live in the format Hawaii's Attorney General illustrates, with the page count and document date folded into the sentence.
What is the Hawaii jurat wording?
The Attorney General's own example folds the required information into a single sentence, which is why Hawaii certificates look longer than mainland ones.
Hawaii jurat, information incorporated
This ______-page ____________ (description of document), dated ____________, was subscribed and sworn to before me this ______ day of ____________, 20____, in the ____________ Circuit of the State of Hawaii, by ____________.
Signature of notary
____________ (printed name of notary)
(Notary seal)
My commission expires: ______
What must a Hawaii jurat certificate contain?
Under Hawaii Administrative Rules section 5-11-8, every acknowledgment or jurat must be evidenced by a certificate signed and dated by the notary contemporaneously with the performance of the act. The certificate includes the printed name of the notary, the expiration date, the notary seal, and identification of the jurisdiction in which the notarial act is performed. "Contemporaneously" is the word to watch: the certificate is completed at the moment of the act, not filled in afterwards. Hawaii's guidance also asks that the document being notarized be identified in close proximity to the jurat, together with the number of pages and the date of that document.
| Element | What Hawaii expects |
|---|---|
| Printed name | The notary's name in print, not only the signature |
| Expiration date | The commission expiration |
| Seal | The notary seal, applied to the certificate |
| Jurisdiction | The judicial circuit where the act was performed |
| Document details | Description, number of pages and document date, close to the jurat |
Why does a Hawaii jurat name a circuit?
Because Hawaii identifies the jurisdiction by judicial circuit rather than by county, so a certificate reads "in the First Circuit of the State of Hawaii" where a mainland form would say a county. The circuits map roughly onto the islands, and the one to name is the circuit where you performed the act, not where the signer lives or where the document will be used. Out-of-state forms arriving with "County of ______" printed on them are usually completed by writing the circuit or, in practice, the island county name, but the circuit is what the rule asks for.
Does a Hawaii jurat need the page count?
Hawaii's guidance treats it as part of identifying the document, so yes in practice. The Attorney General's sample certificate opens with the page count, as in "This 5-page power of attorney, dated March 3, 2026, was subscribed and sworn to before me..." The point is anti-fraud rather than bureaucratic: naming the document, its length, and its date makes it far harder to detach a certificate and reattach it to a different set of pages. Count the pages of the document itself, not including the separate certificate if you use one.
What if there is no room for the certificate?
Indicate on the page that the certificate continues elsewhere, for example by typing "Notary Certificate on next page." A separate certificate has to be separately sealed or stamped, so the seal appears on the certificate page rather than only on the document. Hawaii also forbids charging for the certificate above the allowed fees, so a notary cannot add a line item for producing one. Keeping the description in close proximity to the jurat remains the goal even when the certificate moves to its own page.
Who appoints notaries in Hawaii?
The Attorney General, which is unusual, since most states use a Secretary of State. Hawaii adds a filing step no other state requires in quite the same way: under section 456-4, each notary must file an impression of the seal or stamp with the Circuit Court where the notary resides, and file a fresh impression whenever the seal changes. The Attorney General's Notary Public Office also keeps an impression on file. Hawaii notaries must maintain a record book of their transactions as well.
Hawaii jurat: frequently asked questions
- What must a Hawaii jurat certificate contain?
- The notary's printed name, the expiration date, the notary seal, and identification of the jurisdiction where the act was performed, signed and dated contemporaneously with the act.
- Why does a Hawaii jurat name a circuit?
- Hawaii identifies the jurisdiction by judicial circuit rather than county, so certificates read for example "in the First Circuit of the State of Hawaii."
- Does a Hawaii jurat need the page count?
- Hawaii guidance has the certificate identify the document being notarized in close proximity to the jurat, along with the number of pages and the date of that document.
- What if there is no room for the certificate?
- Indicate on the page that the notary certificate is on the next page. A separate certificate must be separately sealed or stamped, and no extra fee may be charged for it.
- Who appoints notaries in Hawaii?
- The Attorney General. Each notary must also file an impression of the seal or stamp with the Circuit Court where the notary resides.
Published June 13, 2026 by the Trámites Notariales US editorial team. Sources: Hawaii Administrative Rules section 5-11-8 and 5-11-9; Hawaii Revised Statutes sections 456-4, 456-19 and 456-21; the Notary Public Manual and notary rules guidance, Hawaii Department of the Attorney General. Confirm current requirements before relying on this.