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Hawaii Judiciary Act 278 Notice Packet

Hawaii Judiciary Act 278 10-Calendar-Day Nonpayment Notice Packet

Download the official Hawaii Judiciary 10-calendar-day nonpayment notice for your circuit — a fillable PDF you complete on screen — plus editable Word instructions, a service/mediation record, and a #10 envelope. The mediation-center copy is mandatory under HRS § 521-68(c); serving the tenant alone is not enough.

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What you receive for Hawaii

This Hawaii Act 278 packet helps you choose the correct circuit form, complete the official fillable Judiciary notice without altering it, document tenant service and deemed receipt, submit the same notice to the island mediation center, and track the 10-day or 20-day filing clock.

Official circuit-specific notice PDFs

The four tenant notices are the Judiciary’s own fillable PDFs for Oʻahu, Maui/Molokaʻi/Lānaʻi, Hawaiʻi Island, and Kauaʻi. Use the correct circuit form because each points to the local mediation center.

Official fillable PDFs plus Word companions

Complete the official Hawaii Judiciary notice for the correct circuit by typing into the PDF fields. Use the editable Word companions for instructions, the service/mediation record, and envelope preparation; do not alter or recreate the official notice.

Mediation-copy and timing focus

Use the instructions and record to prove the § 521-68(c) mediation-center copy, identify deemed receipt, and choose the 10-day filing track or the 20-day mediation track.

Included Hawaii Act 278 notice packet files

Includes the official Hawaii Judiciary 10-calendar-day nonpayment notice for each circuit — fillable PDFs you complete on screen — plus editable Word instructions, a service/mediation record, and a #10 envelope. The official form text is unchanged: you complete it, you do not alter it.

  • Official Hawaii Judiciary Act 278 Notice — Oʻahu / First Circuit Official fillable Judiciary PDF for the listed circuit; complete it on screen without altering official text PDF
  • Official Hawaii Judiciary Act 278 Notice — Maui, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi / Second Circuit Official fillable Judiciary PDF for the listed circuit; complete it on screen without altering official text PDF
  • Official Hawaii Judiciary Act 278 Notice — Hawaiʻi Island / Third Circuit Official fillable Judiciary PDF for the listed circuit; complete it on screen without altering official text PDF
  • Official Hawaii Judiciary Act 278 Notice — Kauaʻi / Fifth Circuit Official fillable Judiciary PDF for the listed circuit; complete it on screen without altering official text PDF
  • Hawaii Notice Instructions Hawaii Act 278 instructions: circuit form selection, mediation-center copy, deemed receipt, and 10/20-day filing tracks Word
  • Notice Service, Mediation, Payment, and Prefiling Record Landlord record for tenant service, mediation-center upload, payment/tender, deadline, and prefiling proof Word
  • #10 Mailing Envelope #10 envelope companion for a mailed copy; not a mediation-center receipt or service affidavit Word

Self-help notice overview

Using a Hawaii Judiciary Act 278 10-Calendar-Day Nonpayment Notice

Hawaii residential nonpayment now uses the Judiciary’s circuit-specific Ten Calendar Day Notice of Termination for Failure to Pay Rent under HRS § 521-68(a)-(b). This packet bundles the official fillable PDFs unchanged, plus editable Word companions for instructions, service/mediation records, and mailing preparation.

The Hawaii-specific trap is the mediation-center copy. Under § 521-68(c), the landlord or agent must provide the same ten-calendar-day notice to a state-funded mediation center for the island where the property sits. Under § 521-68(d), a later summary-possession complaint must prove that copy was provided.

The filing clock depends on mediation. If no mediation is scheduled within the 10-calendar-day period, the landlord may file after Day 10 if rent remains unpaid. If mediation is scheduled within those 10 days and the tenant participates, the landlord generally waits until after Day 20 unless the tenant fails to appear or cancels.

About this Hawaii Judiciary Act 278 notice packet

This page highlights the current downloadable Hawaii nonpayment packet: four official Judiciary fillable PDFs for the circuit-specific tenant notice plus three editable PublicLegal Word companions. The state-specific guidance below explains correct-island form selection, the mandatory mediation-center copy, deemed-receipt rules for delivery/posting/mailing, the 10-vs-20-day filing clock, Act 278 timing, court-stage separation, and no-self-help limits before checkout.

Hawaii notice requirements and usage notes

The complete notice form is available immediately after checkout. Use the state-specific guidance below to understand timing, service, and next-step considerations before you complete and serve the notice.

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Last reviewed June 2026

ILRG editorial team reviewed this page against the sources linked here.

Primary sources

Primary Hawaii Judiciary forms and statutes are linked for self-help research. Confirm the current Act 278 form window, correct circuit form, rent ledger, tenant receipt date, mediation-center submission proof, mediation status, federal/subsidized overlays, SCRA or bankruptcy status, disaster/moratorium facts, and current District Court practice before serving or filing.

Quick answer

Use this Hawaii Judiciary Act 278 packet for residential nonpayment under HRS § 521-68 during the Feb. 5, 2026 through Feb. 4, 2028 temporary-form window. The packet bundles the official circuit-specific 10-calendar-day Judiciary notices as fillable PDFs, plus editable Word companions for instructions, service/mediation records, and a #10 envelope.

Notice type Official Hawaii Judiciary Ten Calendar Day Notice of Termination for Failure to Pay Rent
Main use Hawaii residential nonpayment under HRS Chapter 521 and Act 278
Included materials Four official fillable PDFs — one for each circuit/island group — plus instructions, service/mediation record, and #10 envelope in editable Word
Timing rule Ten calendar days after tenant receipt; twenty calendar days if mediation is scheduled within the ten days and the tenant participates
Service / filing trap Tenant service alone is not enough; the landlord must also provide the notice to the state-funded mediation center and later prove it

Before you use this notice

  • Confirm this is ordinary Hawaii residential rent nonpayment under HRS Chapter 521 and within the Act 278 temporary-form window, not a non-rent breach, no-cause termination, commercial/transient/agricultural occupancy, settlement-breach filing, subsidized/federal-overlay matter, SCRA matter, bankruptcy, tribal matter, or disaster/moratorium case without counsel review.
  • Use the official Judiciary notice for the correct circuit: Oʻahu / First Circuit, Maui-Molokaʻi-Lānaʻi / Second Circuit, Hawaiʻi Island / Third Circuit, or Kauaʻi / Fifth Circuit. Do not use a wrong-island form that points the tenant to the wrong mediation center.
  • Complete the official fillable PDF fields and checkboxes only. Do not alter, retype, recreate, flatten, or improve the Judiciary notice text, layout, warning language, or mediation-center language.
  • Provide the same ten-calendar-day notice to the state-funded mediation center through Mediation Centers of Hawaiʻi and keep proof. The later complaint must include verification or an affirmation showing how the notice was provided.
  • Document the tenant receipt date: personal delivery uses delivery date, posting uses posting date, and USPS mailing is deemed received two business days after postmark unless returned undeliverable.
  • Calendar both tracks. If no mediation is scheduled within ten calendar days, file only after Day 10 if rent remains unpaid. If mediation is scheduled within ten days and the tenant participates, use the Day 20 filing track unless the tenant fails to appear or cancels.

Official circuit forms, fillable but not editable

Hawaii is an official-form packet. The tenant-facing notices are the Hawaii Judiciary’s circuit-specific Ten Calendar Day Notice of Termination for Failure to Pay Rent forms under HRS § 521-68(a)-(b) and Act 278.

The official PDFs are fillable: complete the blanks and checkboxes on screen, then print to serve or mail. The official text is unchanged. The editable Word files are companions only — instructions, the service/mediation record, and the #10 envelope.

The mediation-center copy is mandatory

  • HRS § 521-68(c) requires the landlord or agent to provide the ten-calendar-day notice to a state-funded mediation center that offers free residential landlord-tenant mediation.
  • Current Judiciary/DCCA guidance directs landlords to use Mediation Centers of Hawaiʻi so the notice routes to the center for the island where the property is located.
  • Section 521-68(d) requires the later summary-possession complaint to include mediation-center verification or the landlord/agent’s affirmation that the notice was provided and how it was provided.

Receipt, 10-day cure, and 20-day mediation track

  • HRS § 521-68(a) requires not less than ten calendar days after the tenant receives the notice. Posting is deemed received on the posting date; USPS mailing is deemed received two business days after postmark unless returned undeliverable.
  • If mediation is not scheduled within the ten-calendar-day period and rent remains unpaid, the landlord may file after the ten-calendar-day period expires.
  • If mediation is scheduled within the ten-calendar-day period and the tenant participates, the landlord generally may file only after twenty calendar days from the tenant’s receipt of the notice, unless the tenant fails to appear or cancels mediation.

What happens after tenant receipt

If rent remains unpaid after the correct Act 278 period, possession still requires a separate Hawaii District Court summary-possession case in the circuit where the premises are located. The notice, mediation-center copy, and service record are prefiling materials; complaint, summons, hearing, judgment, writ, and officer-executed possession are court-stage materials.

State-specific caution

Use the official circuit-specific Judiciary form unchanged; complete blanks and checkboxes only. Do not treat tenant service as enough without the mandatory mediation-center copy, do not file on the 10-day track when the 20-day mediation track applies, and do not treat this prefiling notice as an eviction order or self-help authorization.

Ready to download the Hawaii notice? The complete notice packet is available immediately after secure checkout.

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Frequently Asked Questions About Hawaii Act 278 Nonpayment Notices

No. The tenant-facing notices are official Hawaii Judiciary Act 278 fillable PDFs for the correct circuit. You type into the fields and check boxes, but you do not alter the official text, layout, warning language, or mediation-center language. The editable Word files are the companion instructions, service/mediation record, and envelope.

Hawaii publishes circuit-specific notices because the mediation center depends on the island where the property sits: Oʻahu / First Circuit, Maui-Molokaʻi-Lānaʻi / Second Circuit, Hawaiʻi Island / Third Circuit, and Kauaʻi / Fifth Circuit. Use the correct circuit form; the wrong-island form can point the tenant to the wrong mediation center.

No. HRS § 521-68(c) also requires the landlord or agent to provide the same ten-calendar-day notice to a state-funded mediation center. Under § 521-68(d), a later summary-possession complaint must prove the notice was provided to the mediation center or affirm how it was provided.

Use the tenant receipt date. Personal delivery uses the delivery date; posting uses the posting date; and a USPS-mailed notice, properly addressed with postage, is deemed received two business days after the postmark unless returned undeliverable. The service/mediation record captures the receipt basis used.

If no mediation is scheduled within the ten-calendar-day period and rent remains unpaid, the landlord may file after Day 10. If mediation is scheduled within those ten days and the tenant participates, the landlord generally may file only after Day 20, unless the tenant fails to appear at mediation or cancels it. Use the longer track when uncertain.

Do not rely on it without checking current Hawaii law and Judiciary forms. The bundled Act 278 notice PDFs are temporary-use forms for February 5, 2026 through February 4, 2028, and Hawaii form currency must be checked before each release.

No. The notice is not an eviction order. Summary possession is a separate District Court process under HRS Chapter 666, and HRS § 521-63(c) gives tenants remedies for removal or exclusion without cause or without a court order.

Download Hawaii Judiciary Act 278 Nonpayment Notice Packet — $9.99