Earnest Money Deposit in Hawaii: How Much, When It Is Due, and When You Can Get It Back

Your earnest money deposit in Hawaii is the money you put into escrow after the seller accepts your offer, and it shows the seller you are serious. How much it is, when it is due, and when you can get it back are all set by the purchase contract you sign, so the real answer to every question in this guide starts with “read your contract.”

Hawaii law also controls who can hold your money, how fast it has to reach escrow, and a few situations where you get it back. Here is how it works on Oahu.

In this guide:

• What an earnest money deposit in Hawaii is
• How much earnest money Oahu buyers put down
• When the deposit is due
• Who holds your money
• When you can get your earnest money back
• When you can lose it
• What happens if buyer and seller disagree
• Mistakes that put deposits at risk
• FAQ
• Bottom line

What an Earnest Money Deposit in Hawaii Is

Earnest money is a good faith deposit, not a fee. It is part of the purchase price held in a neutral account while the deal moves toward closing. The CFPB’s explanation of the Closing Disclosure says the “Paid Already by or on Behalf of Borrower at Closing” section includes the amount of your deposit, so you will see it subtracted on your final numbers.

Here in Hawaii, I write resale offers on the standard Purchase Contract from the Hawaii Association of REALTORS. Fun fact: that form used to be called the DROA, short for Deposit, Receipt, Offer and Acceptance. The Hawaii Real Estate Commission noted the name change in its June 2007 School Files bulletin. The deposit is literally the first word.

Earnest money is different from your down payment and your closing costs, though it gets applied toward them. If you want the full picture of the cash you will bring to closing, read my guide to closing costs for buyers on Oahu.

How Much Earnest Money Do Oahu Buyers Put Down?

There is no number in Hawaii law. I read the escrow statute (HRS chapter 449), the real estate license law on handling client money (HRS 467-14), the Real Estate Commission’s trust account rule (HAR 16-99-4), and the seller disclosure law (HRS chapter 508D). None of them sets a minimum or maximum deposit. The amount is whatever you and the seller agree to in the contract.

So how do we pick a number? On my offers, it comes down to a few things:

• How competitive the home is. A larger deposit can make your offer look stronger to a seller choosing between buyers.
• How much of your cash you are comfortable having in escrow early. Keep enough on hand for the rest of the process.
• How protected you are. Solid contingencies and deadlines you can meet make a bigger deposit less risky.

The structure matters as much as the total. The standard Purchase Contract lets you pay in pieces:

• Initial deposit: a smaller amount paid shortly after the seller accepts.
• Additional deposit: a larger amount paid later, often after you have had a chance to inspect the home.
• Balance of your cash: the rest of your down payment and closing costs, paid into escrow before closing.

New condos bought from a developer follow the developer’s own sales contract and escrow agreement, and the refund rules differ too. More on that below.

When Is Earnest Money Due in Hawaii?

The contract sets the due dates. Each deposit has its own deadline, usually counted from the date of acceptance or from another event in the contract. Read whether the contract counts calendar days or business days, because that changes your real deadline, especially around holidays.

Once your agent’s brokerage receives your deposit, the clock is set by rule, not by the contract. Under HAR 16-99-4, a brokerage must place trust funds it receives into a neutral escrow depository or a trust account by the next business day after receipt. That rule also says the escrow depository has to be in the same state as the property, so your Oahu deposit goes to a Hawaii escrow company.

There are two narrow exceptions in the same rule. A broker may hold your check uncashed until the offer is accepted if you, the buyer, direct it. A broker may also hold an uncashed check after acceptance if the seller directs it, but the seller has to get written disclosure of that before accepting. Outside of those, the money moves fast.

Paying late is not a small thing. A missed deposit deadline can put you in default. If a payment will be tight, tell your agent before the deadline so it can be handled in writing.

Who Holds Your Earnest Money in Hawaii?

Not the seller, and not the agents. Your deposit sits with a licensed escrow company, which Hawaii law calls an escrow depository. Here is what protects it:

• A state license with bonding. Under HRS 449-8, an escrow depository gets its license from Hawaii’s Commissioner of Financial Institutions, must file a bond, and must show fidelity bonds and errors and omissions insurance.
• Trustee duties. HRS 449-16 gives the escrow company “the responsibility of a trustee” for the money it holds and bars it from mixing your funds with its own.
• Collected funds before payouts. The same section says escrow cannot disburse money until enough cash or collected funds have actually been received and deposited.
• Interest belongs to you by default. HRS 449-16.5 says that if escrowed funds for a real property purchase earn interest, that interest belongs to the buyer unless buyer and seller instruct otherwise in writing.
• Agents are on the hook too. Under HRS 467-14, failing to account for other people’s money, commingling it, or converting it are grounds for discipline against a real estate licensee.

One more risk: wire fraud, where a fake email that looks like it came from escrow or your agent sends new wiring instructions. My rule for my buyers: before you send money, call the escrow officer at a number you already have, never one from the email asking for money. If you think you have been targeted, call your bank right away and report it to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov.

Buying from far away? My guide to buying a home on Oahu from the mainland covers remote closings.

Buying on Oahu? Get your Buyer Game Plan, or call or text me at (808) 459-6450. I am Devin Hammack with Team Taparra at eXp Realty.

When Can You Get Your Earnest Money Back in Hawaii?

This is the part most buyers care about. In general, you can get your earnest money deposit back in Hawaii when you cancel for a reason the contract or the law allows, the right way, before the deadline. Here are the most common paths.

Contingencies in your purchase contract

A contingency is a condition the deal depends on, such as the home inspection, your financing, or reviewing condo documents. Each one has a time limit. Cancel under one in writing and inside its window, and the contract says how your deposit is handled. Miss the window, and you may lose that protection.

Put every deadline on your calendar the day the contract is signed. My post on buying your first home on Oahu walks through the whole timeline.

The 15-day seller disclosure window

Hawaii gives buyers a protection that comes straight from the statute. Under HRS 508D-5, once you receive the seller’s disclosure statement, you have 15 calendar days to examine it and decide whether to rescind. If you rescind by written notice to the seller or the seller’s agent within that period, the law says it is without loss of your deposits, which “shall be immediately returned” to you. If you let the 15 days pass, you are deemed to have accepted the disclosure. Buyer and seller can agree in writing to shorten or lengthen that period, so check whether your contract changed it.

Buying a new condo from a developer

If you buy a new unit from a developer, HRS 514B-86 gives you the right to cancel up to midnight of the 30th day after you sign the contract and receive the required items, including the public report. You waive that right if you check the waiver box on the notice, let the period run out, or close before it ends. If you cancel under that section, HRS 514B-90 calls for a prompt and full refund of all money paid, less an escrow cancellation fee and other costs that cannot total more than $250.

Buying a resale condo instead? The rules come from your contract and the condo documents you review. My first condo checklist for Honolulu covers what to read and when.

When Can You Lose Your Earnest Money?

You risk your deposit when you are the one who breaks the deal. Common examples:

• Backing out after your contingency deadlines have passed, for a reason the contract does not cover.
• Missing a payment deadline, including your additional deposit or your final funds.
• Not closing on the scheduled date when the seller has done their part.

What happens next depends on the default section of your contract. Some contracts let the seller keep the deposits as the seller’s remedy, and some give other options. The exact terms are whatever your contract says.

A Hawaii Supreme Court opinion from March 20, 2026 shows why the paperwork matters. In Yamaguchi v. Title Guaranty Escrow Services, a buyer of a new Ritz-Carlton Waikiki condo defaulted in 2016 after failing to make the closing payment. The escrow agreement said that after a buyer default, the buyer’s funds were to be treated as the seller’s and paid to the seller on written request. The court held that the escrow company strictly complied with that escrow agreement when it released the funds to the seller. The escrow agreement did not incorporate the sales contract. The lesson for any buyer: escrow follows its written instructions, so read the escrow documents along with the contract.

What Happens If the Buyer and Seller Disagree?

Escrow is a neutral party with trustee duties, not a judge. Its job is to follow its written instructions, as the Yamaguchi case shows. So when a buyer says “I cancelled in time” and the seller says “No, you did not,” expect the money to stay where it is until there are instructions escrow can follow or the dispute is resolved the way the contract provides.

The best protection is boring: do everything in writing, before the deadline, and keep copies. A real dispute is legal territory, so talk to a Hawaii real estate attorney. Nothing in this post is legal advice.

Mistakes That Put Hawaii Buyers’ Deposits at Risk

• Not knowing your deadlines. Contingency windows close quietly. Put every date on your calendar.
• Cancelling by phone or text. The contract and the law talk about written notice. Send it the way the contract requires.
• Ignoring the seller disclosure clock. The 15 days in HRS 508D-5 start when you receive the statement, not when you get around to reading it.
• Trusting new wiring instructions in an email. Verify by phone at a number you already know.
• Forgetting property type rules. CPR homes, condos and new developer projects can come with extra documents and deadlines. My guide to CPR homes in Hawaii explains one of the big ones.

Earnest Money Deposit in Hawaii: FAQ

Is there a standard earnest money amount in Hawaii?

No. Hawaii law does not set an amount. You and the seller negotiate it in the purchase contract.

Who holds earnest money in Hawaii?

A licensed Hawaii escrow company holds it. HRS 449-16 gives escrow the responsibility of a trustee and bars it from mixing your funds with its own.

How fast does my deposit go to escrow?

If your agent’s brokerage receives it, HAR 16-99-4 requires it to go into a neutral escrow depository or trust account by the next business day, with narrow exceptions for uncashed checks held at the buyer’s or seller’s direction.

Do I get my earnest money back if I cancel after reading the seller disclosure?

Under HRS 508D-5, if you rescind in writing within 15 calendar days of receiving the disclosure statement, your deposits are to be returned immediately, unless the parties agreed in writing to a different period.

Does my earnest money earn interest?

If escrowed funds for a real property purchase earn interest, HRS 449-16.5 says it belongs to the buyer unless buyer and seller instruct otherwise in writing.

What happens to my earnest money at closing?

It is credited toward your purchase. The CFPB notes the deposit shows up in the “Paid Already” section of your Closing Disclosure.

Bottom Line

Your earnest money deposit in Hawaii is negotiable in amount, controlled by your contract in timing, and protected by state law while escrow holds it. You protect it by knowing every deadline, cancelling only in writing and on time, and verifying wire instructions by phone. If you are unsure where you stand, ask before a deadline passes, not after.

Buying on Oahu? Get your Buyer Game Plan, or call or text me at (808) 459-6450. I am Devin Hammack with Team Taparra at eXp Realty.

Sources

• Hawaii Real Estate Commission, School Files, June 2007 (Purchase Contract, formerly DROA)
• HAR 16-99-4, Client’s account; trust funds
• HRS 467-14, Revocation, suspension, and fine
• HRS 449-8, Escrow depository license
• HRS 449-16, Accounting for moneys, property, etc.
• HRS 449-16.5, Interest on escrow deposits
• HRS 508D-5, Seller disclosure statement; buyer’s right to rescind
• HRS 514B-86, Requirements for binding sales contracts; purchaser’s right to cancel
• HRS 514B-90, Refunds upon cancellation or termination
• Hawaii Supreme Court, Yamaguchi v. Title Guaranty Escrow Services, SCWC-21-0000097 (March 20, 2026)
• CFPB, Closing Disclosure explainer
• FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)