How to fill out Hawaii CS-L(MVR)71

This one is here so you stop looking for it. It reads like a form for an owner and it is not: its opening line is a statement the county makes, not one you make - this is to verify registration of the vehicle described below in the City and County of Honolulu, State of Hawaii - and every field below it is a copy of what the county already holds. A seller who needs proof of what is on record does not fill this in and submit it; they ask the Motor Vehicle Registration Branch, which the county answers by email, and this is the sheet that comes back. Understanding that saves an appointment.

Written against CS-L(MVR)71 (03/2026), issued under City and County of Honolulu Department of Customer Services, Division of Motor Vehicles, issued to verify a vehicle's registration in the City and County of Honolulu. The reason to include a form nobody fills in is that its name is exactly what a worried seller searches for. If what you actually want is confirmation that a buyer completed the transfer, the county's own answer is to email the Motor Vehicle Registration Branch and ask whether your notice of transfer was received and noted on the vehicle's record.

Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank CS-L(MVR)71 from the www4.honolulu.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today, then print our CS-L(MVR)71 guide and keep it beside you while you fill theirs in.

Every line, in the order you meet it

1. 1
   Somebody else fills this in

   Plate number and registration expiration

   The first two lines of the verified description. The expiry is the fact most enquiries are really about, because a transfer needs the registration current.

   Watch out: If you are reading this hoping to fill it in, you are on the wrong form. Email the Motor Vehicle Registration Branch and ask for the record instead.

2. 2
   Somebody else fills this in

   Vehicle identification number, make, type and year

   Four fields describing the vehicle as the county holds it, each on its own line.

   Watch out: These are what to check against your own paperwork when a verification comes back. A mismatch here is a record problem worth fixing before a sale.

3. 3
   Somebody else fills this in

   Registered owner

   The name on the register at the moment the officer signs.

   Watch out: For a seller chasing a buyer who never transferred, this line is the answer - if it is still your name, the transfer has not been recorded.

4. 4
   Somebody else fills this in

   Lien holder

   The lender on record. Blank means the county holds no lien against the vehicle.

   Watch out: A lender still shown here after a loan was cleared is the reason a sale stalls later. That is worth chasing before you advertise, not after.

5. 5
   Somebody else fills this in

   Remarks

   The one free-text panel, where the officer notes anything the fixed fields cannot carry.

   Watch out: This is where an answer to a specific question lands. Ask the branch a precise question and the useful part of the reply usually appears here.

6. 6
   Somebody else fills this in

   Name, signature and date

   The issuing officer's block at the foot. There is no owner signature line on the form at all.

   Watch out: The date is what gives the sheet its value and its shelf life. A verification is a photograph of the record on one day, not a standing statement.

What gets this one rejected

• •Filling it in yourself and taking it to the counter. Nothing on this sheet is a request; it is an output.
• •Treating it as evidence of ownership. It verifies registration, which is not the same thing as title - the certificate of title is what a sale runs on.
• •Using it in place of the last-issued certificate of registration. The buyer needs the actual certificate, and a verification is not on the county's list of what to bring.
• •Relying on a stale one. It states the record as at the date the officer signed it, and a transfer or renewal the next week makes it wrong.
• •Expecting it to prove a safety check. The inspection expiry is not one of the fields, and the county checks that separately from its own computerised records.

Rules that decide whether it is accepted

• •It is signed by the county, not by you. The signature block is a county officer's name, signature and date. There is no owner signature line anywhere on the form.
• •Ask the branch rather than queue for it. Honolulu directs status and record questions to the Motor Vehicle Registration Branch by email, which is the practical route to what this sheet contains.
• •Registration and title are different records. The county describes registration as showing that all vehicle taxes and fees have been paid and the vehicle is allowed to be legally driven, while the title is held by the lienholder or the owner and is what selling runs on.
• •It shows the lienholder. For a seller trying to work out who has to release Section B on a car bought years ago, that single line is the useful part.
• •A different form does the county-location job. If the question is which county's register a vehicle belongs on, that is the vehicle location certificate, not this.

Every line here was read off CS-L(MVR)71 (03/2026) itself — the PDF is here — and off the City and County of Honolulu Division of Motor Vehicle, Licensing and Permits pages. This is plain-language help with a form, not legal advice, and where our wording and the agency's differ, theirs governs.

Back to all Hawaii seller paperwork, or what selling a car in Hawaii involves.