Notice of infraction; form; determination final unless contested
HRS §291D-5
in effect291D-5. Notice of infraction; form; determination final unless contested
(a) The notice of traffic infraction for moving violations, the notice of emergency period infraction, and the notice of fireworks infraction shall include the summons for the purposes of this chapter. Whenever a notice of traffic infraction, notice of emergency period infraction, or notice of fireworks infraction is issued, the person's signature, driver's license number or state identification number, electronic mail address, and current address shall be noted on the notice. If the person refuses to sign the notice of traffic infraction, notice of emergency period infraction, or notice of fireworks infraction, the officer shall record this refusal on the notice and issue the notice to the person. Anyone to whom a notice of traffic infraction, notice of emergency period infraction, or notice of fireworks infraction is issued under this chapter need not be arraigned before the court, unless required by rule of the supreme court.
(b) The forms for the notice of traffic
infraction, notice of emergency period infraction, and notice of fireworks
infraction shall be prescribed by rules of the district court, which shall be
uniform throughout the State; provided that each judicial circuit may include
differing statutory, rule, or ordinance provisions on its respective notice of
traffic infraction, notice of emergency period infraction, or notice of
fireworks infraction.
(c) A notice of traffic infraction, notice of
emergency period infraction, or notice of fireworks infraction that is
generated by the use of electronic equipment or that bears the electronically
stored image of any person's signature, or both, shall be valid under this
chapter.
(d) The notice of traffic infraction, notice
of emergency period infraction, or notice of fireworks infraction shall include
the following:
(1) A statement of the specific infraction for which
the notice was issued;
(2) Except in the case of parking-related traffic
infractions, a brief statement of the facts;
(3) A statement of the total amount to be paid for
each infraction, which amount shall include any fee, surcharge, or cost
required by statute, ordinance, or rule, and any monetary assessment,
established for the particular infraction pursuant to section 291D-9, to be
paid by the person to whom the notice was issued, which shall be uniform
throughout the State;
(4) A statement of the options provided in section
291D-6(b) for answering the notice and the procedures necessary to exercise the
options;
(5) A statement that the person to whom the notice is
issued shall answer, choosing one of the options specified in section
291D-6(b), within twenty-one days of issuance of the notice;
(6) A statement that failure to answer the notice
within twenty-one days of issuance shall result in the entry of judgment by
default for the State and may result in the assessment of a late penalty;
(7) A statement that, at a hearing requested to
contest the notice, pursuant to section 291D-8, no officer shall be present
unless the person to whom the notice was issued timely requests the court to
have the officer present, and that the standard of proof to be applied by the
court is whether a preponderance of the evidence proves that the specified
infraction was committed;
(8) A statement that, at a hearing requested for the
purpose of explaining mitigating circumstances surrounding the commission of
the infraction or in consideration of a written request for mitigation, the
person shall be considered to have committed the infraction;
(9) A space in which the signature of the person to
whom the notice was issued may be affixed; and
(10) The date, time, and place at which the person to
whom the notice was issued shall appear in court, if the person is required by
the notice to appear in person at the hearing.
(e) In the case of traffic infractions
involving parking or equipment, where the motor vehicle is found parked or
stopped without a driver, the notice shall be affixed conspicuously to the
vehicle as provided in section 291C-167 and shall include the information
required by paragraphs (1) and (3) to (9) of subsection (d).
[L 1993, c 214, pt
of §2; am L 1997, c 60, §9; am L 2005, c 48, §2; am L 2007, c 85, §4; am L
2020, c 59, §3; am L 2021, c 185, §8; am L 2025, c 243, §22]
Source: Hawaii State Legislature (capitol.hawaii.gov), via Internet Archive capturesURL: http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol05_Ch0261-0319/HRS0291D/HRS_0291D-0005.htmFetched: 11/10/2026