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Office: Kalawao County has no county government or independent police department. Law enforcement, emergency medical services, and firefighting are provided to Kalaupapa via a mutual aid agreement between the Hawaii Department of Health and Maui County. The county is directly administered by the Hawaii Department of Health due to the settlement’s history and the presence of remaining patients.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911, though response is significantly complicated by the peninsula’s extreme isolation. Kalawao County is genuinely the smallest county in the United States by land area (roughly 12 square miles of land) and among the least populous, with a 2020 census population of 82. The peninsula’s isolation – bordered by the world’s tallest sea cliffs on one side and open ocean on three others – creates real emergency-response challenges; access is limited to a steep mule/hiking trail or small aircraft, and the trail has been closed to the general public since 2018 due to a lease dispute, landslide damage, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: No road connects Kalaupapa to the rest of Molokai. Access is limited to the Kalaupapa Trail (a roughly 3-mile trail descending about 1,700 feet down the sea cliffs) or small aircraft via Kalaupapa Airport.
Notes: The Kalaupapa Trail has been effectively closed to the general public since 2018; residents and workers continue to use it.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: No local building/permitting authority exists; matters are handled through the Hawaii Department of Health given the county’s unique administrative structure.
Notes: Kalawao County has no elected county government; it is administered directly by the Hawaii Department of Health because of its history as a forced isolation settlement and the continued presence of former patients.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: No local office; veterans services are coordinated through Maui County and Honolulu VA facilities, accessible by air.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
No public library exists at Kalaupapa; residents have access to Hawaii State Library System services by mail and digital means.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Kalaupapa National Historical Park, established in 1980, preserves the site of Hawaii’s Hansen’s disease (leprosy) isolation settlement, in operation from 1866 to 1969 under laws enacted by King Kamehameha V. More than 8,000 people were forcibly relocated to the peninsula over the course of the settlement’s history. St. Philomena’s Church, built by Father Damien de Veuster – a Belgian Catholic priest who arrived in 1873, lived and worked among the patients, and eventually contracted and died of Hansen’s disease himself in 1889 – remains preserved at the site; Father Damien was canonized by the Catholic Church in 2009. Mother Marianne Cope, a Franciscan nun who arrived in 1883 and worked with patients until her death in 1918, was canonized in 2012. A small number of former patients continue to live at Kalaupapa by choice, following the 1969 repeal of the mandatory isolation law. Public access is restricted: visitors aged 16 and older require prior government permission and must be part of an official tour when tours are operating.
Notes: This history reflects a documented, sensitive chapter of Hawaiian and public-health history, presented here factually and with respect for the individuals affected.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
No local GIS/mapping office exists; property matters are handled through the Hawaii Department of Health.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
No local animal control office exists at Kalaupapa; confirm arrangements through the Hawaii Department of Health or Maui County.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Managed jointly by the Hawaii Department of Health and the National Park Service given the area’s dual status as an active community and a national historical park. The peninsula’s restricted access has helped preserve relatively undisturbed nearshore marine habitat, including occasional Hawaiian monk seal sightings, and nesting seabird populations on the surrounding sea cliffs.
NOTES: Kalawao County is the third county completed in Hawaii’s Round 3 v2 redo, under the A+ sourced standard established for this project. The county’s history as a forced isolation settlement for people with Hansen’s disease is presented factually and with particular care and respect, given the profound human impact involved. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Kalawao County County
Kalawao County is America’s smallest county by population and one of its most extraordinary places – the isolated Kalaupapa peninsula where 8,000 Hansen’s disease patients were exiled over a century and where Father Damien ministered until his own death from leprosy define a site of profound historical, spiritual, and human significance now preserved as a National Historical Park on Molokai’s sea cliff coast.
Kalaupapa (the county seat, population ~82) is Kalawao County’s sole community – a restricted settlement accessible only by small aircraft, mule trail down the sea cliffs, or boat, where the National Park Service and the Hawaii Department of Health jointly administer a living memorial to the patients exiled here and the caregivers who served them.
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Kalawao County has no county government in the traditional sense – the Hawaii Department of Health administers the settlement. Property matters are handled through Maui County. HI assessed at 100% fair market value.
Courts & Legal
Matters involving Kalawao County residents are handled through the Hawaii Second Circuit Court (Maui County) at 2145 Main Street, Wailuku, HI 96793, phone 808-244-2959.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
VITAL RECORDS / COUNTY CLERK FUNCTIONS
(808) 586-4533
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS / VOTER REGISTRATION
802 Lehua Ave., Pearl City, HI 96782
(808) 453-8683
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
HI Dept of Health — Kalaupapa Settlement
(808) 567-6802
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: The Hawaii Department of Health operates basic medical services at the Kalaupapa settlement for the small number of remaining residents. No local hospital exists; significant medical care requires transport to Maui Memorial Medical Center (Wailuku) or facilities in Honolulu.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Kalaupapa (unincorporated)
Population: 100
Area: 12 sq mi (one of the smallest counties by area in the United States)
Established: 1905
Public Records
TruthFinder
Search public records for Kalawao County County residents.