A Hawaii notary changes employment. What does HRS 456-1(a) require?Answer: A report of the change to the attorney general forthwith. Source: HRS 456-1(a)
A Hawaii notary commission is forfeited for late renewal. Within what time may the attorney general restore it?Answer: Within one year after the date of forfeiture. Source: HRS 456-1(b)
A Hawaii notary lives on Maui. In which judicial circuit does the notary reside under HRS 603-1?Answer: The second judicial circuit. Source: HRS 603-1
According to the Department of the Attorney General, how often is the Hawaii notary examination given on Oahu?Answer: At least once a month. Source: Hawaii Department of the Attorney General, Notaries Public page
According to the Department of the Attorney General, what is the application fee for a Hawaii notary commission?Answer: A non-refundable $20. Source: Hawaii Department of the Attorney General, Notaries Public page
According to the Department of the Attorney General, what kind of examination must an approved Hawaii applicant pass?Answer: A written, closed-book examination. Source: Hawaii Department of the Attorney General, Notaries Public page
Show all 99 questions (93 more)
Commission, bond and exam, continued
According to the Department of the Attorney General, who may not write the character letter for a Hawaii notary applicant?Answer: An employer or relative. Source: Hawaii Department of the Attorney General, Notaries Public page
How many years does a Hawaii notary commission run from its date?Answer: Four years. Source: HRS 456-1(a)
HRS 456-2 names the department that keeps the oath a Hawaii applicant subscribes. Which department?Answer: The department of the attorney general. Source: HRS 456-2
Into how many judicial circuits does HRS 603-1 divide Hawaii?Answer: Four. Source: HRS 603-1
Must a Hawaii notary in government service file an official bond?Answer: Only if the head of the department requires it. Source: HRS 456-18
What does HRS 456-2 require of a person at the time of commission as a Hawaii notary?Answer: State residency and an age of at least eighteen. Source: HRS 456-2
What does the attorney general charge for issuing an original Hawaii notary commission?Answer: $40. Source: HRS 456-9(a)
What force do the attorney general's rules on Hawaii notaries have under HRS 456-8?Answer: The force and effect of law. Source: HRS 456-8
What is the sum of the official surety bond of a Hawaii notary public?Answer: $1,000. Source: HRS 456-5
Which Hawaii judicial circuit includes Kauai and Niihau?Answer: The fifth judicial circuit. Source: HRS 603-1
Which officer commissions notaries public for the State of Hawaii?Answer: The attorney general. Source: HRS 456-1(a)
Who approves a Hawaii notary's official bond?Answer: A judge of the circuit court. Source: HRS 456-5
Who is the obligee of a Hawaii notary's official bond?Answer: The State. Source: HRS 456-5
Who may designate a subordinate to be a Hawaii notary public in government service?Answer: The head of a department. Source: HRS 456-18
With whom does a newly commissioned Hawaii notary file a copy of the commission, a seal impression and a specimen signature?Answer: The clerk of the circuit court of the circuit of residence. Source: HRS 456-4(a)
Fees 8
How large an electronic processing service fee may the attorney general collect under HRS 456-9(a)(3)?Answer: Up to ten percent of the transaction. Source: HRS 456-9(a)
HRS 456-17(7) prices an acknowledgment in Hawaii by the party. What is the fee?Answer: $5 for each party signing. Source: HRS 456-17
HRS 456-17(8) sets one fee for a listed act done under section 456-23 in Hawaii. What is it?Answer: $25. Source: HRS 456-17
What does HRS 456-17 allow for affixing the certificate of acknowledgment to each duplicate original beyond one?Answer: $2.50 for each person making the acknowledgment. Source: HRS 456-17
What is the Hawaii fee for administering an oath, including the certificate of the oath?Answer: $5. Source: HRS 456-17
What is the Hawaii fee for noting the protest of mercantile paper?Answer: $5. Source: HRS 456-17
What may a Hawaii notary in government service charge for notarizing in a matter of government business?Answer: Nothing; the service is without charge. Source: HRS 456-18
Who specifies the court fee for filing a copy of a Hawaii notary's commission?Answer: The supreme court. Source: HRS 456-9(b)
Seal, journal and duties 20
A document names the Hawaii notary's civil partner as a party. What does HRS 456-14(b) say?Answer: The notary shall not act, and such an act is voidable. Source: HRS 456-14(b)
A Hawaii notary is an employee of a trust company. May the notary take the acknowledgment of a party to an instrument executed to that company?Answer: Yes, HRS 456-14(a)(2) makes it lawful. Source: HRS 456-14(a)
A Hawaii notary resigns. What happens to the rubber stamp seal under HRS 456-3?Answer: It is delivered at once to the attorney general, who defaces or destroys it. Source: HRS 456-3
A Hawaii notary who used an electronic stamping device lets the commission expire. What goes to the attorney general?Answer: A declaration that the device was disabled, with the date and manner. Source: HRS 456-3
A Hawaii notary's commission is suspended. What must the notary tell the attorney general about the journal?Answer: Its location. Source: HRS 456-15(g)
How many journals may a Hawaii notary maintain at one time under HRS 456-15(b)?Answer: One tangible journal and one electronic journal. Source: HRS 456-15(b)
HRS 456-15(a) counts the years a Hawaii journal is retained from its last entry. How many years?Answer: Ten years after the last notarial act in it. Source: HRS 456-15(a)
HRS 456-15(e)(5) names two details of an identification credential that a Hawaii journal entry includes. Which two?Answer: Its identification number and date of expiration. Source: HRS 456-15(e)
In a tangible Hawaii journal, what must each person whose signature is notarized add to the entry?Answer: That person's signature. Source: HRS 456-15(e)
May a Hawaii notary decline a notarial act when not satisfied that the signature is knowingly and voluntarily made?Answer: Yes, HRS 456-22 allows refusal. Source: HRS 456-22
To what is a Hawaii notary's liability limited in performing a notarial act, under HRS 456-6(a)?Answer: A failure to perform properly the actions the act requires. Source: HRS 456-6(a)
Under HRS 456-19, a Hawaii notary may sign for a person who cannot physically sign. What paper must be given to the notary?Answer: A doctor's written certificate. Source: HRS 456-19
What does a Hawaii notary write beneath a signature made for a disabled person under HRS 456-19?Answer: "Signature affixed by notary public pursuant to section 456-19, Hawaii Revised Statutes.". Source: HRS 456-19
What duty does HRS 456-10 give a Hawaii notary "by mercantile usage"?Answer: To record losses or damages by sea or land and make protest. Source: HRS 456-10
What is a protest of a bill of exchange, certified under a Hawaii notary's hand and seal, evidence of?Answer: The facts stated in the protest. Source: HRS 456-12
What may a Hawaii notary's rubber stamp seal show?Answer: Only the name, commission number, "notary public" and "State of Hawaii". Source: HRS 456-3
What must a Hawaii journal kept on a tangible medium be?Answer: A permanent, bound register with numbered pages. Source: HRS 456-15(b)
What must a Hawaii notary always add to an official signature?Answer: The typed or printed name and the commission expiration date. Source: HRS 456-3
What notice must the department of the attorney general give before auditing a Hawaii notary's journal?Answer: None; an audit may be made at any time. Source: HRS 456-15(j)
When must a Hawaii notary make the journal entry for a notarial act?Answer: Contemporaneously with the act. Source: HRS 456-15(e)
Acknowledgments and certificates 13
A deed for recording in Hawaii is acknowledged in another state. Before whom may it be acknowledged under HRS 502-45?Answer: Any officer that state authorizes to take acknowledgment of deeds. Source: HRS 502-45
A Hawaii certificate does not say the instrument was executed "freely or voluntarily". Is that a ground to reject it under HRS 502-42?Answer: No, the section says it is not. Source: HRS 502-42
A Hawaii certificate of acknowledgment rests on a credible witness. What does HRS 502-42 require about the witness?Answer: The witness's name is inserted in the certificate. Source: HRS 502-42
A Hawaii notary administers an oath on a matter the notary has no jurisdiction over. Does that defeat the oath under HRS 621-13?Answer: No, that is not an objection to its validity. Source: HRS 621-13
How do the acknowledgment forms in HRS 502-41 begin in all cases?Answer: With a caption giving the state or territory and the place. Source: HRS 502-41
HRS 502-43 gives a form for when the person acknowledging is unknown to the officer. How is the person proved?Answer: By the oath of a credible witness known to the officer. Source: HRS 502-43
HRS 621-12 gives one oath-affirmation for witnesses in Hawaii. How does it end?Answer: "... will be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?". Source: HRS 621-12
In HRS 456-1.6, what does a person declare in an acknowledgment before a Hawaii notary?Answer: That the person signed the document for the purpose stated in it. Source: HRS 456-1.6
In the HRS 502-41 form for a corporation, what does the officer say under oath about the signing?Answer: That it was signed in behalf of the corporation by authority of its board. Source: HRS 502-41
In the HRS 502-41 form for natural persons acting in their own right, what do the persons acknowledge?Answer: That they executed the instrument as their free act and deed. Source: HRS 502-41
In which cases may a Hawaii notary administer oaths under HRS 456-13?Answer: All cases where oaths are authorized or required, or may be proper. Source: HRS 456-13
What must every HRS 502-41 acknowledgment end with?Answer: The signature and title of the officer taking it. Source: HRS 502-41
What three kinds of items must a Hawaii notary certification include to avoid the offense in HRS 456-21?Answer: Date and signature; printed name, expiration and seal; jurisdiction. Source: HRS 456-21
Identifying the signer 5
For an instrument affecting real estate, which issuer's photo identification does HRS 502-48 accept?Answer: The United States, a state, or a national government. Source: HRS 502-48
How long after it expires may a passport still serve as proof of identity before a Hawaii notary?Answer: No more than three years. Source: HRS 456-1.6
HRS 456-1.6 lets proof of a signer's identity rest on personal knowledge. What makes a person "personally known" to a Hawaii notary?Answer: Dealings sufficient for reasonable certainty. Source: HRS 456-1.6
Under HRS 502-48, a credible witness proves the identity of a person acknowledging a deed. What must be true of the witness?Answer: The witness is known to the notary public. Source: HRS 502-48
What must a driver's license contain to prove identity under the HRS 456-1.6 definition?Answer: The signature and photograph of the individual. Source: HRS 456-1.6
Remote online and electronic acts 10
A bank tells a Hawaii notary to use an electronic-document technology the notary has not selected. What does HRS 456-25(a) say?Answer: No person shall require that technology. Source: HRS 456-25
For a signer outside the United States, which bank transaction does HRS 456-23(b)(4) name as a qualifying document?Answer: One with a bank whose deposits are insured by the FDIC. Source: HRS 456-23(b)
How many types of identity proofing does HRS 456-23(b)(1)(C) call for?Answer: At least two different types. Source: HRS 456-23(b)
HRS 456-23(e) sets the default retention of the recording a Hawaii remote online notary public creates. What is it?Answer: No less than ten years. Source: HRS 456-23(e)
HRS 456-23(f) sets a step ahead of any initial act by a Hawaii remote online notary public. What is the step?Answer: Notify the attorney general and identify the technologies. Source: HRS 456-23(f)
Under HRS 456-24(d), what does a person commissioned as a Hawaii remote online notary public file forthwith with the circuit court clerk?Answer: A literal or photostatic copy of the commission. Source: HRS 456-24(d)
What does "tamper-evident" mean in HRS 456-1.6?Answer: A change to an electronic document displays evidence of the change. Source: HRS 456-1.6
Where must a Hawaii remote online notary public be located when performing a notarial act for a remotely located individual?Answer: In this State. Source: HRS 456-23(b)
Which statement on a certificate satisfies HRS 456-23(d)(2) for a Hawaii remote online notarial act?Answer: "This notarial act involved the use of communication technology". Source: HRS 456-23(d)
Who is a "remote online notary public" under HRS 456-23?Answer: An individual the attorney general commissions for such acts. Source: HRS 456-23
Offenses and fines 9
A Hawaii notary is convicted of failure to verify identity under HRS 456-20. What happens to the commission?Answer: It is automatically revoked. Source: HRS 456-20
For the official misconduct of a Hawaii notary, who is liable to the injured party under HRS 456-6(b)?Answer: The notary and the surety on the official bond. Source: HRS 456-6(b)
How does HRS 456-7 grade unauthorized practice as a notary public in Hawaii?Answer: A misdemeanor. Source: HRS 456-7
What administrative fine applies when a Hawaii notary fails to authenticate an acknowledgment or jurat with a proper certificate?Answer: $500. Source: HRS 456-9(c)
What administrative fine does HRS 456-15(j) set for a Hawaii notary who fails to comply with the journal section?Answer: No less than $50 nor more than $500. Source: HRS 456-15(j)
What administrative fine may the attorney general impose when a Hawaii notary fails to surrender the physical stamping device within ninety days of resignation?Answer: $200. Source: HRS 456-9(c)
What is the penalty in HRS 502-54 for knowingly putting a false statement in a Hawaii certificate of acknowledgment?Answer: A fine up to $1,000, up to one year in prison, or both. Source: HRS 502-54
Which step is one of the three a person must complete before acting as a Hawaii notary, on pain of the offense in HRS 456-7?Answer: Executing an official surety bond under section 456-5. Source: HRS 456-7
Within how many days must a Hawaii notary notify the attorney general of the loss or theft of a stamping device or journal to avoid the fine in HRS 456-9(c)(6)?Answer: Ten days. Source: HRS 456-9(c)
Recording and changes in instruments 13
A Hawaii instrument has an approved erasure. Where does the acknowledging officer place initials under HRS 502-61?Answer: In the margin opposite each change. Source: HRS 502-61
An instrument acknowledged in Hawaii has an erasure that the officer did not initial. May the registrar record it under HRS 502-63?Answer: No, not unless the change is duly initialed. Source: HRS 502-63
Before taking an acknowledgment, what must a Hawaii notary look for in the instrument under HRS 502-61?Answer: Interlineations, erasures, or changes. Source: HRS 502-61
Before whom may an instrument be acknowledged in Hawaii to be entitled to recording, under HRS 502-50(a)?Answer: The registrar of conveyances, a judge of a court of record, or a notary public. Source: HRS 502-50
How often are the books of record of acknowledgments deposited with the clerk of the circuit court under HRS 502-72?Answer: Every five years. Source: HRS 502-72
Is a certificate of acknowledgment conclusive under HRS 502-82?Answer: No, it may be rebutted. Source: HRS 502-82
Leases of what length must be recorded in the bureau of conveyances under HRS 502-83?Answer: Leases for a term of more than one year. Source: HRS 502-83
May the registrar of conveyances accept a paper copy of an electronic document for recording under HRS 456-25(c)?Answer: Yes, if the notary certifies the copy is accurate. Source: HRS 456-25
What is the fine in HRS 502-62 for a Hawaii notary who takes an acknowledgment without noting changes as section 502-61 requires?Answer: Not more than $200. Source: HRS 502-62
What is the fine in HRS 502-74 for failing to keep the record of acknowledgments?Answer: Not less than $50 nor more than $250. Source: HRS 502-74
What must each entry in the record of acknowledgments kept under HRS 502-71 set forth, at the least?Answer: The date, the parties, the persons acknowledging and a memorandum. Source: HRS 502-71
Where must a power of attorney for the transfer of real property in Hawaii be recorded under HRS 502-84?Answer: In the bureau of conveyances. Source: HRS 502-84
Who may inspect the records of acknowledgments under HRS 502-73, and at what cost?Answer: Any responsible person, without fee. Source: HRS 502-73
How this list was compiled: Written from Hawaii Revised Statutes chapter 456 (Notaries Public), selected sections of 502-41 to 502-84 (acknowledgments, changes in instruments, records of acknowledgments and recording), 603-1, 621-12 and 621-13, as published by the Hawaii State Legislature at https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol10_Ch0436-0474/HRS0456/ and https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0502/, read 2026-10-03. Each question links to its section page. The Department of the Attorney General names sections 456-1 to 456-21, 502-41 to 502-46, 502-48 to 502-84, 603-1, 621-12 and 621-13 for its examination; eleven questions rest on sections 456-22 to 456-25, which are outside that list. Four questions, the examination facts (a written, closed-book examination, given on Oahu at least once a month) and the $20 application fee come from the department's Notaries Public page, https://ag.hawaii.gov/notaries-public/, read 2026-10-03. Licence: Own work. Questions, answer choices and explanations were written for this site from the statute text and the department's page; nothing is copied from another practice test or from the department's Notary Manual. Short quotations from the statutes are marked.
How it works
This unofficial Hawaii notary public study guide holds 99 practice questions written from Hawaii Revised Statutes chapter 456, parts of chapters 502, 603 and 621, and the Attorney General's notary page. Each answer names its source. Checked October 3, 2026.
Read the full guide
A Hawaii notary exam study guide in question form
The state's examination is written and closed-book; Oahu has one each month or oftener, the neighbor islands from time to time. The department lists sections 456-1 to 456-21, 502-41 to 502-46, 502-48 to 502-84, 603-1, 621-12 and 621-13. This bank draws on that list, not every section of it, and adds sections 456-22 to 456-25 from Act 54 of 2020.
Using it as a Hawaii notary test study guide
The Start from menu splits the law eight ways. Recording and changes in instruments is Hawaii's own: initialing erasures before an acknowledgment, the record of acknowledgments, and what the bureau of conveyances records.
A $1,000 surety bond approved by a circuit court judge, a four-year term and a $40 commission fee (sections 456-5, 456-1 and 456-9).
Section 456-17 fees: $5 per party for an acknowledgment, $5 for an oath, $25 for an act for a remotely located individual.
The seal shows only your name, commission number, "notary public" and "State of Hawaii"; the expiration date goes beside your signature.
Questions and answers
What is on the Hawaii notary exam?
The Department of the Attorney General says the written, closed-book examination covers the statutes and rules for notaries and names sections 456-1 to 456-21 and parts of chapters 502, 603 and 621. Its page, read October 3, 2026, publishes no question count or pass mark.
Are these the real Hawaii notary exam questions?
No. The site has never seen the department's examination and has no connection to the Department of the Attorney General. Each question names its source: a statute section or, for four, the department's own page. No commissioned Hawaii notary has reviewed the answers yet.
How long is a Hawaii notary commission good for?
Four years from the date of the commission, under section 456-1. A commission forfeited for late renewal may be restored within one year after the forfeiture, on written application and payment of the fees.
Does a Hawaii notary have to keep a journal?
Yes. Section 456-15 requires a journal of all notarial acts, with each entry made at the time of the act, and the journal is kept ten years after its last entry. A paper journal is a permanent, bound register with numbered pages.