A foreclosure in Hawaii occurs as an in-court or an out-of-court foreclosure sale.
The typical timeline for an out-of-court foreclosure is approximately six months. The typical timeline for a court foreclosure is approximately 11 months.

Hawaii allows out-of-court foreclosure. It must be in accordance with a sale clause contained the mortgage, which may require the lender to notify the borrower of any default on the loan before starting the foreclosure process.

A court foreclosure begins when the lender files the appropriate documents with the court asking the court to rule that the borrower is in default. The lender also delivers notice of the court filing to the borrower, or publishes the notice if they have trouble contacting the borrower. If the borrower does not respond to the court filings within 20 days, they are found in default and the lender can proceed with scheduling the foreclosure sale. The borrower may file a notice of appeal within 30 days after the court has declared them in default.

Up to three days prior to the sale, the borrower may cure the default and halt the sale by paying the debt and associated costs.

For out-of-court foreclosures, the notice of foreclosure sale includes a description of the property, the terms of the sale, names of the parties involved, and the time and location of the sale. At least 21 days prior to the sale, the copy of the notice is posted on the property and mailed or delivered to the borrower. The lender publishes the notice of sale in a local newspaper once per week for three consecutive weeks, with the last publication at least 14 days before the day of sale. The sale is an auction where the highest bidder buys the property. The auction can be rescheduled, but the notices of sale must be resent and republished.