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HRS §502-43

What to do when the officer does not know who is signing

This section gives a sample form for a notary to use when the person signing a document is not known to the notary. The notary must have a credible witness swear that the signer is the right person. The form includes the date, the signer's name, and the witness's oath.

notaries

The statute, as written — Form when person unknown

When the person offering the acknowledgment is unknown to the officer taking the acknowledgment, the certificate may be substantially in the following form, to-wit: State of Hawaii ) ss. County of .........................) On ............(insert date), personally appeared before me A.B., satisfactorily proved to me to be the person described in and who executed the within instrument, by the oath of C.D., a credible witness for that purpose, to me known and by me duly sworn, and the person, A.B., acknowledged that the person executed the same freely and voluntarily for the uses and purposes therein set forth.
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.