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HRS §489E-8

When electronic records count as written information

This section explains when sending information electronically satisfies a legal requirement to provide it in writing. It says the electronic record must be one the recipient can keep, print, or store. If the sender blocks printing or storing, the record cannot be enforced against the recipient. Some rules about how records are sent or formatted still apply.

everyone

The statute, as written — Provision of information in writing; presentation of records

(a) If parties have agreed to conduct a transaction by electronic means and a law requires a person to provide, send, or deliver information in writing to another person, the requirement is satisfied if the information is provided, sent, or delivered, as the case may be, in an electronic record capable of retention by the recipient at the time of receipt. An electronic record is not capable of retention by the recipient if the sender or the sender's information processing system inhibits the ability of the recipient to print or store the electronic record. (b) If a law other than this chapter requires a record to: be posted or displayed in a certain manner; be sent, communicated, or transmitted by a specified method; or contain information that is formatted in a certain manner, the following rules shall apply: (1) The record shall be posted or displayed in the manner specified in the other law; (2) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (d)(2), the record shall be sent, communicated, or transmitted by the method specified in the other law; and (3) The record shall contain the information formatted in the manner specified in the other law. (c) If a sender inhibits the ability of a recipient to store or print an electronic record, the electronic record shall not be enforceable against the recipient. (d) The requirements of this section shall not be varied by agreement, but: (1) To the extent a law other than this chapter requires information to be provided, sent, or delivered in writing but permits that requirement to be varied by agreement, the requirement under subsection (a) that the information be in the form of an electronic record capable of retention may also be varied by agreement; and (2) A requirement under a law other than this chapter to send, communicate, or transmit a record by first-class mail, postage prepaid, may be varied by agreement to the extent permitted by the other law.
Read the official text at capitol.hawaii.gov ↗as published Jan 6, 2026our copy taken Aug 20, 2026

LawTrove is not legal advice. The summary above is a computer-generated restatement — the authoritative text is the official version linked above.