Hawaii · Trust Accounting
What Hawaii attorneys must do to keep client trust funds compliant — the governing rule, how often you must reconcile, and how long records must be kept.
Hawai'i Rules of Professional Conduct 1.15 (Safekeeping Property); Hawai'i Rules Governing Trust Accounting (recordkeeping and reconciliation); RSCH Rule 11 (IOLTA)
Within 45 days of each account statement (statements at least quarterly)
6 years
Office of Disciplinary Counsel, Supreme Court of Hawai'i
Hawai'i Justice Foundation IOLTA Program
Not required
Source: Office of Disciplinary Counsel, Supreme Court of Hawai'i . Rules change — always confirm against the current text before relying on it.
Hawaii's stated reconciliation requirement is: Within 45 days of each account statement (statements at least quarterly). A three-way reconciliation compares three totals that must all agree. If they do not, the difference has to be found and resolved before the reconciliation is complete.
Bank statement balance, adjusted for outstanding checks and deposits in transit.
Your internal trust account register as of the same date.
The total of every individual client ledger balance on that date.
For a full walkthrough of the procedure, common violations, and what examiners look for, see our IOLTA compliance guide.
Hawaii requires trust account records to be retained for 6 years. In practice that means keeping:
IOLTA Guard automates three-way reconciliation, blocks negative client ledgers, and keeps the audit trail Hawaii attorneys are expected to maintain.