Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The Office of Motor Vehicles (OMV) will probably continue to have a problem issuing a driver’s license card as it does not have the ‘blank’ cards in supply. The shortage has been ongoing since last year November, and there is no assurance that the matter will be resolved in the near future, as the supplier is now asking the government (ASG) to pay ‘upfront’, according to Faipule Fagaima Larry Sanitoa.

Fagaima was made aware of the situation by a resident, in an email, dated March 11, 2026, who asked him to please look into the matter as “each time you ask [about getting a valid driver’s card], the answer is ‘next month’, yet now it’s March…” The resident noted that he believed the problem is that “ASG isn’t allocating enough budget for OMV to order these supplies, but unfortunately, they won’t acknowledge it.”

However, speaking with Mr. Marion Fitisemanu, Manager at OMV, regarding the driver's license shortage, Fagaima advised the resident that the situation is unfortunately quite complex, and that he had copied HTC Taaga Moliga, Commissioner of DPS, and Faipule Avagafono Maiava, Chairman of the House DPS Committee, in the email. He also planned to discuss the matter further with the Commissioner of Public Safety to find a resolution.

In a followup email (Mar. 12) to the Chairman of the House DPS Committee, Fagaima wrote, “After my conversation with Mr. Fitisemanu yesterday, it appears there is still no solid solution to the ongoing driver's license card shortage, which has now persisted for approximately six months. According to Mr. Fitisemanu, the cards were expected this month but are now delayed until next month. He also noted that the supplier now requires upfront payment.”

Fagaima thanked Chairman Maiava for calling a House committee hearing to address the issue, and recommended that the House request information regarding the specific vendor and the identified source of funding to pay for these supplies prior to the committee hearing.

The resident in his email to Fagaima pointed out that the lack of a valid driver’s license card “causes significant difficulties, especially for anyone traveling off-island. Without a valid driver’s license, driving and renting a car is impossible.”

For example, the resident wrote that he has been waiting since December for his own driver's license, and will be traveling next month in which he has prepaid a non-refundable rental car reservation fee. “Unless OMV receives new cards soon, I risk losing that fee.”

He concluded, “There’s really no excuse for this shortage to persist for over four months, receipts simply don’t substitute for a proper license.”