Hawaii earns a D- for its civil forfeiture laws
Standard of Proof
Low bar to forfeit: Prosecutors must prove by preponderance of the evidence that property is connected to a crime.
Innocent Owner Burden
Poor protections for the innocent: Third-party owners must prove their own innocence to recover seized property.
Financial Incentive
Large profit incentive: 100% of forfeiture proceeds go to law enforcement (up to a maximum of $3 million per year, 25% to police, 25% to prosecutors, and 50% to the attorney general for law enforcement projects).
The letter grade reflects Hawaii’s forfeiture laws as of May 7, 2025. When we become aware of relevant reforms, we are updating the standard of proof, innocent owner burden, and financial incentive language above, but we are not updating the letter grade.
Note: Prosecutors need only meet their standard of proof—and owners can only prove their innocence—if owners make it to a judicial hearing. See flow chart.
Recent Reforms
Recommendations
What happens after personal property is seized in Hawaii?*
*The process shown here is for administrative forfeiture, which prosecutors can pursue for property worth less than $100,000 and conveyances regardless of value. For other property, prosecutors must pursue judicial forfeiture.
**You can ask for a probable cause hearing within 15 days of knowing about the seizure. The court can issue prosecutors a “show cause” order and then hold a hearing with 30 days’ notice to them. However, this will be set aside if prosecutors file a petition for forfeiture before the hearing takes place.
***Within 30 days of receiving notice, you can instead file a petition for remission or mitigation with the attorney general. If you do, you give up the right to a judicial hearing.
For research methods and limitations, see “How We Documented Civil Forfeiture Processes From Seizure to Hearing.”
State and Federal Forfeiture Proceeds, 2000–2023
At least $54 million in state and federal forfeiture revenue
| Year | Hawaii Forfeiture Revenues | Dept. of Justice Equitable Sharing Proceeds | Treasury Equitable Sharing Proceeds | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Unknown | $1,207,271 | $0 | $1,207,271 |
| 2001 | $1,194,028 | $607,098 | $40,000 | $1,841,126 |
| 2002 | $1,615,045 | $2,052,050 | $75,000 | $3,742,095 |
| 2003 | $949,877 | $2,038,594 | $5,000 | $2,993,471 |
| 2004 | $1,657,156 | $1,802,294 | $4,000 | $3,463,450 |
| 2005 | $1,062,252 | $1,657,680 | $188,000 | $2,907,932 |
| 2006 | $1,493,599 | $3,345,770 | $496,000 | $5,335,369 |
| 2007 | $1,405,284 | $2,808,610 | $184,000 | $4,397,894 |
| 2008 | $1,473,667 | $1,626,211 | $67,000 | $3,166,878 |
| 2009 | $1,405,284 | $1,032,842 | $22,000 | $2,460,126 |
| 2010 | $1,797,875 | $635,942 | $798,000 | $3,231,817 |
| 2011 | $661,619 | $515,903 | $237,000 | $1,414,522 |
| 2012 | $535,811 | $590,432 | $12,000 | $1,138,243 |
| 2013 | $868,376 | $870,766 | $92,000 | $1,831,142 |
| 2014 | $807,366 | $1,086,796 | $37,000 | $1,931,162 |
| 2015 | $1,420,388 | $1,714,754 | $24,000 | $3,159,142 |
| 2016 | $700,863 | $505,825 | $174,000 | $1,380,688 |
| 2017 | $470,561 | $1,957,524 | $130,000 | $2,558,085 |
| 2018 | $639,641 | $203,629 | $30,000 | $873,270 |
| 2019 | $874,308 | $60,507 | $58,000 | $992,815 |
| 2020 | $828,609 | $366,541 | $122,000 | $1,317,150 |
| 2021 | $372,263 | $67,135 | $219,000 | $658,398 |
| 2022 | $317,827 | $0 | $908,000 | $1,225,827 |
| 2023 | $226,429 | $412,778 | $218,000 | $857,207 |
| Totals | $22,778,128 | $27,166,952 | $4,140,000 | $54,085,080 |
All revenue figures include both civil and criminal forfeitures. Revenues are not adjusted for inflation.
Federal Equitable Sharing
Hawaii does not prevent state and local law enforcement agencies from using the federal equitable sharing program to circumvent state forfeiture law. Since 2000, Hawaii agencies have generated more than $31 million in equitable sharing proceeds from the departments of Justice and the Treasury. And on average from 2019 to 2023, six Hawaii agencies, or an estimated three-quarters of all law enforcement agencies in the state, were certified for the program.
Forfeitures Under Hawaii Law: Key Facts
Median Value
UNKNOWN
Hawaii does not report property-level data necessary to calculate median forfeiture value.
Property Types
UNKNOWN
Hawaii does not report counts of the types of property forfeited.
Proceeding Types
UNKNOWN
Hawaii does not report whether forfeitures are processed under civil or criminal forfeiture law.
Additional Findings
UNKNOWN
Agencies do not provide detailed data on seized or forfeited property, resulting in limited transparency into forfeiture activity in the state.
Forfeiture Transparency and Accountability Report Card
Tracking Seized Property
CStatewide Forfeiture Reports
BPenalties for Failure to File a Report
FAccounting for Forfeiture Fund Spending
FAccessibility of Forfeiture Records
BFinancial Audits of Forfeiture Accounts
FFor full transparency and accountability grades, visit ij.org/TransparencyReportCards.
Data Notes
Statewide forfeiture reports were downloaded from the state attorney general’s website. Revenues represent the value of currency and property forfeited in a fiscal year. Due to a temporary pause in auctions of forfeited property, 2023 revenues are likely underestimated. Equitable sharing data are from DOJ’s and Treasury’s annual forfeiture reports. Due to differences in reporting and accounting practices, figures may not match aggregate numbers produced by the state or cover the same 12-month period as the federal data. The number of certified agencies was computed using the approved Equitable Sharing Agreement and Certification requests submitted by police, sheriff, and other local law enforcement agencies. The percentage of certified agencies was computed using that number and the total number of agencies reported in the 2018 Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies.
Legal Sources
Standard of proof: Preponderance of the evidence.
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 712A-12(8).
Innocent owner burden: Owner.
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 712A-12(8).
Financial incentive: 100% (25% to police, 25% to prosecuting attorney, 50% to attorney general for various law enforcement projects) up to a maximum of $3 million per year.
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 712A-16(2)–(4).
Process: Haw. Rev. Stat. §§ 712A-1 et seq. (forfeiture procedure).