Hawaii Officiant Government Registration Requirements

The Hawaii Revised Statutes § 572-12 requires all wedding officiants to register with the Hawaii Department of Health Vital Records Office before performing marriage.

The application process consists of completing an online form called the Application For License To Perform Marriages And/Or Civil Union In Hawaii. It should take you no more than 10-20 minutes to complete the application.

How to Register as a Wedding Officiant in Hawaii

Before you begin the application we strongly recommend that you read the Department of Health Vital Records Office Https://Emrs.Ehawaii.Gov/Emrs/Public/Performer Guidelines.Html. This page contains useful information regarding the application process and your responsibilities as a wedding officiant in Hawaii.

Continue reading for step-by-step instructions on how to successfully register as a wedding officiant in Hawaii.

STEP 1COMPLETE THE ONLINE OFFICIANT APPLICATION

The Hawaii Department of Health Vital Records Office makes the officiant registration process easy by allowing wedding officiants to register online by completing their online form, Application For License To Perform Marriages And/Or Civil Union In Hawaii.

When you land on this page click on the link "1. Religious". This is the application you need to complete even if you will be officiating a non-religious ceremony.

The application will ask for information only you will be able to provide however we provide guidance for some of the fields.

FIRST PAGE

• For the first checkbox labeled "I want to perform", select "Marriage".
• For the field labeled "Performer Title", enter "Minister".

SECOND PAGE

• For the field labeled "Current Church Name", enter "American Marriage Ministries".
• For the fields asking for your church address, enter your physical address. That is your church address as an AMM Minister. If you do not have a conventional physical address or use a PO Box, you can use our address.

 

The reason you should put your address is because the Hawaii Department of Health Vital Records Office will mail you a copy of the marriage license, which you are required to keep. If they mail the document to us, we will do our best to forward it to you but we cannot guarantee this will be done in a timely fashion.

 

STEP 2SUBMIT AND PAY FOR YOUR OFFICIANT APPLICATION

The last page of the application will have you confirm all of the information you have entered. Review it carefully. Once satisfied, you will be asked to pay a fee of $100 that is payable by all major credit cards.

Approval of Your Hawaii Officiant Application

Expect it to take up to two weeks for your application to be approved. If there are complications it may take longer and you will probably have to reapply.

If you need to make special arrangements you can contact the main Department of Health Vital Records Office office at:

Department of Health Vital Records Office
Hawaii Department of Health
1250 Punchbowl St. Room 101
Honolulu, HI 96813

Phone: (808) 586-4544
Hours: M-F 8:00am-4:00pm

In case of last-minute complications, the Https://Emrs.Ehawaii.Gov/Emrs/Public/Performer Guidelines.Html page also provides contact information for all the satellite Department of Health Vital Records Office offices in Hawaii.

Once you are given the green light by the Department of Health Vital Records Office you will have the the authority to perform marriage anywhere in Hawaii.

ORDER YOUR HAWAII MINISTRY CREDENTIALS

You are not required to submit your Ministry Credentials with the Hawaii Department of Health Vital Records Office. However, it is good practice to keep official copies for your own records. Proof of your ordination is essential in the event that the couple or government officials request to see proof of your ordination.

We encourage you to order your Hawaii Minister Ordination Package to keep official copies of your ministry credentials. Your package includes your official Ordination Certificate and Letter of Good Standing. Your Letter of Good Standing is signed by a church officer, dated, and notarized. Your Minister Ordination Package also includes your AMM Minister's Manual, a valuable resource for guidance on how to officiate weddings.

Start Preparing for the Wedding Ceremony

Your next step is to learn how to officiate a wedding ceremony. If you have no experience, you are in good hands. Our Hawaii Wedding Officiant Preparation Guide covers all aspects of how to prepare for a wedding ceremony.

You will learn everything from the format for a wedding ceremony, the names of the ceremony parts, how to write a wedding ceremony, and more.

PREPARE FOR THE HAWAII WEDDING CEREMONY

Use Our AMM Wedding Helper

If the process of planning, scripting, and performing a wedding is daunting, then you need our Wedding Helper suite of tools.

We have distilled years of experience into an easy-to-use platform with training materials, quizzes, a personalized ceremony script generator, and tips to prepare you for performing marriage, all accessible through your minister profile.

That's only the beginning. After the wedding, you can share your wedding on the AMM Wedding Wall with our nationwide network of ministers.