American Samoa - Obtain a Marriage License

Advertisement

Procedure

1. Apply for a marriage license by going to the office of the Registrar of Vital Statistics.
2. Complete and sign an application form.
3. Pay the $10 application fee.
4. Once all the required documents are submitted and approved by the Registrar of Vital Statistics, a marriage license will be issued to the applicants. The marriage license is in both the English and the Samoan languages.

Marriage Ceremony

Couples can get married at any time not less than 30 or more than 90 days after the issuance of a marriage license, any minister of any Christian religion duly appointed or ordained and duly registered in the office of the Registrar of Vital Statistics, or any Samoan Associate Judge, or the Associate Justice or Chief Justice, may marry the parties.

At least 2 witnesses must be present during the ceremony.

The parties to the marriage, the witnesses and the minister, justice or judge shall sign, in triplicate.

Advertisement

Required Documents

• Completed application
• Valid identification

Office Locations & Contacts

American Samoa Government
Department of Homeland Security
Office of Vital Statistics
PO Box 6894
Pago Pago, AS 96799
(684) 633-1405

Eligibility

Couples wishing to get married:

• Must not be related to each other nearer than the fourth degree of consanguinity.
• The groom shall be at least 18 years of age and the bride at least 14 years of age.
• If the bride is less than 18 years of age, she must have the consent of one of her parents or her guardian.
• Neither of the parties may have a lawful spouse living.

Fees

Marriage License Application fee: $10

Validity

The marriage license expires and is invalid in 90 days from the date of issuance.

Couples can get married at any time not less than 30 or more than 90 days after the issuance of a marriage license.

Note: The 30-day waiting period may be waived for good cause shown by any judge of the High Court upon proper application of the parties in such form as may be prescribed by the court.

Documents to Use

Please attach documents that can be used by people. e.g. links

Sample Documents

Please attach sample completed documents that would help other people.

Processing Time

Please explain processing time taken in obtaining the document/certificate.

Related Videos

Videos explaining the procedure or to fill the applications. 
Attach videos using the following tag <&video type="website">video ID|width|height<&/video&> from external websites.
Please remove the "&" inside the tags during implementation.
Website = allocine, blip, dailymotion, facebook, gametrailers, googlevideo, html5, metacafe, myspace, revver, 
sevenload, viddler, vimeo, youku, youtube
width = 560, height = 340, Video ID = Can be obtained from the URL of webpage where the video is displayed.
e.g In the following url "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0US7oR_t3M" Video ID is "Y0US7oR_t3M". 
	

Instructions

Couples wishing to marry can obtain an application for marriage license from the office of the Registrar of Vital Statistics.

Required Information

• Applicants' name
• Village
• Date and place of birth
• Mother, father's name

Note: The application for marriage license shall be in both the English and Samoan languages.

Need for the Document

Please provide the need for the procedure. 
e.g. Birth Certificate - why do we need to have a birth certificate? 

Information which might help

Enter other informations which might help

Other uses of the Document/Certificate

Please explain what are other uses of obtaining this document/certificate.
e.g. Birth Certificate can be used as proof of identity.

External Links

• American Samoa Bar Association:

http://www.asbar.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=690&Itemid=172

Others

More information which might help people.