The Hawaii Bureau of Conveyances (BOC) has announced significant changes to the processing of Land Court/Torrens documents, effective from November 27, 2023. This update comes in light of unexpected staffing challenges that have affected the bureau’s operational capabilities.
Extended Turn-Around Time for eRecording
The BOC has advised that due to these staffing issues, the processing time for Land Court/Torrens documents submitted electronically (eRecording) has been extended significantly. The new estimated turn-around time is now between 25 to 35 business days. Given this delay, the BOC recommends that only non-urgent documents should be submitted electronically at this time, as they are likely to be recorded in 2024.
Handling Urgent Documents
For urgent Land Court/Torrens documents, the BOC has provided specific guidelines:
- For New Submissions: Until the end of this year, all urgent documents should be physically submitted. These documents can be walked into the BOC offices, located at 1151 Punchbowl Street, 1st floor. The office is open from 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. HST on weekdays, excluding weekends and holidays. Paper documents will receive priority processing.
- For Already Transmitted Documents: If you have already submitted an urgent document electronically after November 19, 2023, there is a possibility it may not be recorded this year. The BOC is exploring options, including potentially rejecting back pending electronic packages. This would allow for the option to submit these documents in paper form instead. However, until further information is available, the BOC advises against walking in corresponding paper packages for documents that are already pending electronically. Doing so might result in duplicate recordings.
Next Steps and Recommendations
The BOC is closely monitoring the situation and will provide updates as more information becomes available. In the meantime, they caution against submitting duplicate paper and electronic documents to avoid the possibility of duplicate recordings. For those with pending electronic submissions that require recording in 2023, it is recommended to wait for further instructions from the BOC.
The BOC appreciates the understanding and cooperation of all parties during this period of adjusted operations.