Const. Art. XV, §4
Official languages of Hawaii
Read the official text at capitol.hawaii.gov ↗This section makes English and Hawaiian the official languages of Hawaii. Hawaiian is only required for public acts and transactions when a law says so. It does not set any other rules.
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The constitution, as written — Languages
A copy, taken August 21, 2026. The version published by the Legislature is the one that governs, and it may have changed since. Check it before relying on anything here.
English and Hawaiian shall be the official languages of Hawaii, except that Hawaiian shall be required for public acts and transactions only as provided by law. [Add Const Con 1978 and election Nov 7, 1978] Cross References Statutory provisions, see §§1-13 and 13.5. Law Journals and Reviews Judicial Enforcement of "Official" Indigenous Languages: A Comparative Analysis of the Maori and Hawaiian Struggles for Cultural Language Rights. 26 UH L. Rev. 495. "Officially" What? The Legal Rights and Implications of `Ōlelo Hawai`i. 30 UH L. Rev. 243. Translation v. Tradition: Fighting for Equal Standardized Testing ma ka `Ōlelo Hawai`i. 36 UH L. Rev. 487 (2014). "Language Is Never About Language": Eliminating Language Bias in Federal Education Law to Further Indigenous Rights. 37 UH L. Rev. 381 (2015). Tales from the Dark Side of the Archives: Making History in Hawai`i Without Hawaiians. 39 UH L. Rev. 537 (2017). Case Notes Court rejected plaintiff's contention that the Hawaii constitution prohibited the court from mandating that plaintiff give deposition testimony in English. 843 F. Supp. 630.
LawTrove is not legal advice. The summary above is a computer-generated restatement — the authoritative text is the official version linked above.