Document called "Apostille"

American Samoa is a signatory land and honors the Hague Convention of 1961; therefore, there are procedures that allow for a uniform process for special documentation. This uniformity should ease the document process greatly. This process is known as Apostille and this type of legalization or certification is used for countries that are party to the Hague Convention. The Apostille is a stamp in the shape of a square. It should be filled in the official language of the issuing authority. Each Apostille is registered and contains the issue date and unique number. The Apostille is issued by the authorities for documents. Authorities from the Samoa require an Apostille certification on government or notarized documents.

Apostilles (French for "Certification") is an internationally recognized verification mechanism. Apostilles certify a document for all 110 nations who have ratified the Hague Convention, the same way that Notarization certifies a document for all 50 US States. It provides a standardized, global framework for authenticating documents across national governments. This document consists of a number of standard fields: Country / This public document has been signed by / Acting in the capacity of / Bears the seal/stamp of / Certified at / Date / Number / Seal/stamp / Signature. Apostilles prove to foreign governments that your documents are genuine.