Title 31 — Professions

(a) Every applicant for a notary commission shall pay to the American Samoa Government a non-refundable application fee of $100.00. (b) All funds collected from application fees, vendor permit fees as provided for in section 31.0341, and such other fees as the Secretary may promu…

Information required by section 31.0315(7) shall be used by the Secretary and designated government employees only for the purpose of performing official duties under this Act and shall not be disclosed to any person other than a government agent acting in an official capacity an…

(a) A notary who is a United States National is empowered to perform the following notarial acts: (1) acknowledgments; (2) oaths and affirmations; (3) jurats; (4) signature witnessings; (5) copy certifications; (b) A notary who is not a United States National is empowered only to…

(a) A notary is disqualified from performing a notarial act if the notary: (1) is a party to or named in the document that is to be notarized; (2) will receive as a direct or indirect result any commission, fee, advantage, right, title, interest, cash, property, or other consider…

(a) A notary shall not refuse to perform a notarial act based on the principal’s race, advanced age, gender, sexual orientation, religion, national origin, health or disability, or status as a non-client or non-customer of the notary or the notary’s employer. (b) A notary shall p…

(a) A notary shall not influence a person either to enter into or avoid a transaction involving a notarial act by the notary, except that the notary may advise against a transaction if section 31.0322(b)(1) applies. (b) A notary has neither the duty nor the authority to investiga…

(a) A notary shall not execute a certificate containing information known or believed by the notary to be false. (b) A notary shall not affix an official signature or seal on a notarial certificate that is incomplete. (c) A notary shall not provide or send a signed or sealed nota…

(a) A notary shall not notarize a signature: (1) on a blank or incomplete document; or (2) on a document without notarial certificate wording. (b) A notary shall neither certify not authenticate a photograph. History: 2008, PL 30-18.

A notary shall not perform any official action with the intent to deceive or defraud. History: 2008, PL 30-18.

A notary shall not use the official notary title or seal to endorse, promote, denounce, or oppose any product, service, contest, candidate, or other offering. History: 2008, PL 30-18.

(a) If notarial certificate wording is not provided or indicated for a document, a non-attorney notary shall not determine the type of notarial act or certificate to be used. (b) A non-attorney notary shall not assist another person in drafting, completing, selecting, or understa…

(a) For performing a notarial act, a notary may charge the maximum fee specified in section 31.0330, charge less than the maximum fee, or waive the fee. (b) A notary shall not discriminatorily condition he fee for a notarial act on the attributes of the principal as delineated se…

(a) The maximum fees that may be charged by a notary for notarial acts are: (1) for acknowledgments, $10.00 per signature; (2) for oaths or affirmations without a signature, $20.00 per person; (3) for jurats, $10.00 per signature; (4) for signature witnessings, $10.00 per signatu…

(a) A notary may require payment of any fees specified in section 31.0330 prior to performance of a notarial act. (b) Any fees paid to a notary prior to performance of a notarial act are non-refundable if: (1) the act was completed; or (2) in the case of travel fees paid in compl…

(a) An employer may prohibit an employee who is a notary from charging for notarial acts performed on the employer’s time, but shall not condition imposition of a fee on attributes of the principal as described in section 31.0322(a). (b) A private employer shall not require an em…

Notaries who charge for their notarial services shall conspicuously display in their places of business, or present to each principal outside their places of business, an English-language or Samoan-language schedule of fees for notarial acts, as specified in section 31.0330(a). N…

(a) A notary shall keep, maintain, protect, and provide for lawful inspection a chronological official journal of notarial acts that is a permanently bound book with numbered pages. (b) A notary shall keep no more than one active journal at the same time. History: 2008, PL 30-18.…

(a) For every notarial act, the notary shall record in the journal at the time of notarization at least the following: (1) the date and time of day of the notarial act; (2) the type of notarial act; (3) the type, title, or a description of the document or proceeding; (4) the sign…

At the time of notarization, the notary’s journal must be signed, as applicable, by each: (1) principal; (2) credible witness swearing or affirming to the identity of a principal; and (3) witness to a signature by mark or to a signing by the notary on behalf of a person physicall…

(a) In the notary’s presence, any person may inspect an entry in the official journal of notarial acts during regular business hours, but only if: (1) the person’s identity is personally known to the notary or proven through satisfactory evidence; (2) the person affixes a signatu…

In notarizing a paper document, a notary shall: (1) sign by hand on the notarial certificate exactly and only the name indicated on the notary’s commission; (2) not sign using a facsimile stamp or an electronic or other printing method; and (3) affix the official signature only a…

(a) A notary shall keep an official seal that is the exclusive property of the notary. The seal shall not be possessed or used by any other person, nor surrendered to an employer upon termination of employment. (b) An image of the official seal shall be affixed by the notary on e…

(a) Near the notary’s official signature on the notarial certificate of a paper document, the notary shall affix a sharp, legible, permanent, and photographically reproducible image of the official seal that shall include the following elements: (1) the notary’s name exactly as i…

(a) In order to sell or manufacture notary seals, a vendor or manufacturer shall apply for a permit from the Secretary, who shall charge $50.00 for issuance of this permit and maintain a controlled-access telephone number or internet site to allow vendors and manufacturers to con…

A notary shall use a certificate in substantially the following form in notarizing the signature or mark of persons acknowledging for themselves or as partners, corporate officers, attorneys in fact, or in other representative capacities: Territory of American Samoa County of ___…

A notary shall use a jurat certificate in substantially the following form in notarizing a signature or mark on an affidavit or other sworn or affirmed written declaration: Territory of American Samoa County of __________________ On this _________ day of ________________, 20_____…

A notary shall use a certificate in substantially the following form in notarizing a signature or mark to confirm that it was affixed in the notary’s presence without administration of an oath or affirmation: Territory of American Samoa County of __________________ On this ______…

On paper documents, certificates in sections 31.0342, 31.0343 and 31.0344 of this chapter may be used for signers by mark or persons physically unable to sign or make a mark if: (1) for a signer by mark, the notary and 2 witnesses unaffected by the document observe the affixation…

A notary shall use a certificate in substantially the following form in notarizing a certified copy: Territory of American Samoa County of __________________ On this ________ day of _______________, 20_______, I certify that the (preceding) (following) (attached) document is a tr…

On a notarized document sent to another state or nation, evidence of the authenticity of the official seal and signature of a notary of this Territory, if required, shall be in the form of: (1) a certificate of authority from the Secretary authenticated as necessary by additional…

(a) A certificate of authority evidencing the authenticity of the official seal and signature of a notary of this Territory shall be substantially in the following form: Certificate of Authority for a Notarial Act I, _________________Secretary of American Samoa, certify that ____…

An Apostille prescribed by the Hague Convention, as cited in 28 U.S.C.A. in the annotations to Rule 44 of the Rules of Civil Procedure, shall be in the form of a square with sides at least 9 centimeters long and contain exactly the following wording: APOSTILLE (Convention de la H…

The Secretary may charge: (1) for issuing a certificate of authority, $25.00; and (2) for issuing an Apostille, $25.00. History: 2008, PL 30-18.

(a) Within 10 days after the change of a notary’s residence, business, or mailing address, the notary shall send to the Secretary by any means providing a tangible receipt or acknowledgment, including certified mail and electronic transmission, a signed notice of the change, givi…

(a) Within 10 days after the change of notary’s name by court order or marriage, the notary shall send to the Secretary by any means providing a tangible receipt or acknowledgment, including certified mail and electronic transmission, a signed notice of the change, giving both fo…

(a) A notary who resigns his or her commission shall send to the Secretary by any means providing a tangible receipt or acknowledgment, including certified mail and electronic transmission, a signed notice indicating the effective date of resignation. (b) Notaries who cease to re…

(a) Except as provided in subsection (b), when a notary commission expires or is resigned or revoked, the notary shall: (1) as soon as reasonably practicable, destroy or deface all notary seals so that they may not be misused; and (2) within 30 days after the effective date of re…

If a notary dies during the term of commission or before fulfilling the obligations stipulated in Section 31.0354, the notary’s personal representative shall: (1) notify the Secretary of the death in writing; (2) as soon as reasonably practicable, destroy or deface all notary sea…

(a) A notary is liable to any person for all damages proximately cause that person by the notary’s negligence, intentional violation of law, or official misconduct in relation to a notarization. (b) An employer of a notary is liable to any person for all damages proximately cause…

Recovery of damages against a notary or employer does not require that the notary’s negligence, violation of law, or official misconduct be either the sole or principal proximate cause of the damages. History: 2008, PL 30-18.

(a) The Secretary may revoke a notary commission for any ground on which an application for a commission may be denied under Section 31.0309(c) and (d). (b) The Secretary shall revoke the commission of any notary who fails: (1) to maintain a residence or a regular place of work o…

(a) The Secretary may deliver a written Official Warning to Cease Misconduct to any notary whose actions are judged to be official misconduct under Section 31.0307(l). (b) The Secretary may seek a court injunction to prevent a person from violating any provision of this Act. Hist…

The Secretary shall regularly publish a list of persons whose commissions have been revoked by the Secretary or whose actions as a notary were the subject of a court injunction or Official Warning to Cease Misconduct. History: 2008, PL 30-18.

(a) In performing a notarial act, a notary is guilty of a class D felony, punishable upon conviction by a fine not exceeding $5,000 or imprisonment of up to five years, or both, for knowingly: (1) failing to require the presence of a principal at the time of the notarial act; (2)…

The remedies and sanctions of this chapter do not preclude other remedies and sanctions provided by law. History: 2008, PL 30-18.

Any person not a notary who knowingly acts as or otherwise impersonates a notary is guilty of a Class D felony, punishable upon conviction by a fine of not more than $5,000, or imprisonment for not more than five years, or both. History: 2008, PL 30-18.

Any person who knowingly obtains, conceals, defaces, or destroys the seal, journal, or official records of a notary is guilty of a Class D felony, punishable upon conviction by a fine of not more than $5,000, or imprisonment for not more than five years, or both. History: 2008, P…

Any person who knowingly solicits, coerces, or in any way influences a notary to commit official misconduct is guilty of a Class D felony, punishable upon conviction by a fine of not more than $5,000, or imprisonment for not more than five years, or both. History: 2008, PL 30-18.…

History: 2008, PL 30-18. Reviser’s Comment: Repealed by PL 30-21, 2008.

When used in this chapter: (a) “Administrator” means the Contractors’ License administrator. (b) “Board” means the Contractors’ License Board of American Samoa. (c) “Contractor” means any person, firm, copartnership, corporation, association, or other organization, or any combina…