Civil Wedding Requirements in the Philippines

Grooms, brides – it is time! Prepare your documentary requirements because here are the civil wedding requirements in the Philippines!

Getting a marriage certificate is as important as securing a Baptismal Certificate or a Bank Certificate. It serves as legal proof of marriage, which is often required for visas, financial transactions, and official records.

And though it can feel like a finish line, it is also the beginning of married life together. It is as filled with adventure as Becoming a Digital Nomad! Grab a copy of my special eBook for a deeper dive on it.

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Getting married is one of the most exciting events in our lives. It is the day you can attend family planning seminars, invite guests to wear a wedding attire, and officially call the love of your life as your husband or wife.

But it’s no walk in the park. In the Philippines, to have a Civil wedding you need to pass marriage requirements to your Local Civil Registrar. It is perhaps easier and less costly than having a Church Wedding, where you need to schedule at a Church, have Baptism and Confirmation if you are not Catholic and a lot more.

While preparing for these documents, consider securing travel insurance if you plan to have a honeymoon abroad – it provides peace of mind in case of unexpected changes or emergencies. And consider packing efficiently with high-quality luggage while at it.

But nevertheless, on both occasions your marriage is legal. For the requirements also, if you are under 25 or married to a Foreign National then there are other requirements needed for your Civil Wedding.

This article will tackle how to get married in a Civil Wedding. 

Civil Wedding Requirements:

The Local Registrar Fees would be different for each city or municipality. Please have an original and keep photocopies for yourself. However, these are the common requirements for a civil wedding:

  • At least 2 valid IDs of the Couple during Personal Appearance
  • Certificate of Attendance in Pre-Marriage Counseling
  • PSA Birth Certificate
  • Certificate of No Marriage
  • Marriage License Application Form
  • Barangay Certificate
  • Community Tax Certificate
  • 1×1 picture

Some requirements will be explained below. Please note that both parties must secure above list of requirements, but for the additional requirements, it is only required at a certain party with those conditions.

For example, if the female is 21 and the male is 26, then Parental consent is needed only by the girl. But if both are 21 then both parties need separate Parental Consent.

When processing these documents, be sure to keep everything organized. Having a solar power bank can also be useful, especially if you need to keep your phone charged while moving between government offices.

Additional Civil Wedding Requirements if 18-21 

  • Parental Consent 
  • Parent’s Personal Appearance

Additional Civil Wedding Requirements if 22-25 

  • Parental Advice
  • Personal Appearance or Written Advice

Additional Civil Wedding Requirements if Widowed

  • Death Certificate of the deceased spouse

Additional Civil Wedding Requirements if Annulled 

  • Certificate of Registration from Civil Registrar for registration of the Annulment Papers
  • Certificate of Finality of Annulment issued by the Court

Additional Civil Wedding Requirements if Foreign Applicant

  • Passport (bio-page)
  • Copy of stamp on your latest arrival in the Philippines
  • Certificate of Legal Capacity to Marry (from the foreign embassy)
  • Divorce Decree (if divorced)
  • Death Certificate of deceased spouse (if widowed)
  • Naturalization Paper (if Naturalized)
A girl facing away with her hand being held by someone
Photo by Chiến Phạm

Civil Wedding Requirements: What they are? How to get it?

Valid ID

Valid IDs are those that verify your identity. It should have your name, birth date, and signature.
Here are some examples:

  • Passport
  • SSS/UMID ID
  • Voter’s ID or Certificate of Registration
  • BIR (TIN ID)
  • Solo Parent ID
  • Company ID
  • School ID with current registration card
  • Senior Citizen ID
  • Postal ID

Certificate of Attendance in Pre-Marriage Counseling

Go to your Local Civil Registrar to ask the schedule for the Pre-Marriage Counseling. Both of you should attend this. Topics will be about the Philippine Family Law, Family Planning, and Filipino Culture or Customs. After your seminar or counseling, you will be issued a certificate. 

PSA Birth Certificate & Certificate of No Marriage (CENOMAR)

You can obtain a PSA Birth Certificate and CENOMAR through walk-in applications at any Serbilis Service Center, SM Business Center, or online. If you are a foreign national, obtain your birth certificate from your home country or embassy before coming to the Philippines.

Processing these can be time-consuming, so bringing a comfortable pair of earplugs can help if you need to wait in noisy areas or during long lines.

Certificate of No Marriage

As per the PSA Website, a CENOMAR states that the person is single (never been married) or unmarried (previously married but divorced or widowed.) You are not allowed to marry again to another person your status is “married” unless your marriage was annulled. If it is, the CENOMAR must state that you are “single.”

To get a CENOMAR is the same as getting a PSA Birth Certificate. However, we can discuss on how to get your CENOMAR online.

1. Go to this website.
Click “CENOMAR.”

Civil Wedding Requirements How to Get Married in the Philippines

2. Read the terms and conditions, and the data privacy notice. Click “I Accept” if you agree, and then “Next.”

Civil Wedding Requirements How to Get Married in the Philippines

3. Put the details needed for request details. Click “Next” after you’re done.

Civil Wedding Requirements How to Get Married in the Philippines

Civil Wedding Requirements How to Get Married in the Philippines

4. Fill-in the requester’s and delivery details, and then click “Next” when you’re done.

Civil Wedding Requirements How to Get Married in the Philippines

5. Check and confirm if the details you put are correct. When you’re done checking, click “Confirm.”

Civil Wedding Requirements How to Get Married in the Philippines

Civil Wedding Requirements How to Get Married in the Philippines

6. Review the summary. You can click “Add New Request” to request for Birth Certificate so you can receive everything at once. Click “Next” to proceed.

Civil Wedding Requirements How to Get Married in the Philippines

7. Review and re-check all the details before clicking “Proceed to Payment” to see the payment channels.

Civil Wedding Requirements How to Get Married in the Philippines

Civil Wedding Requirements How to Get Married in the Philippines

1. Click Submit and proceed to payment. 

You can pay through the following options:

  • Credit card or GCash
  • Banco De Oro
    • BDO branches
    • Online Banking (BDO account holders only)
    • ATM (BDO account holders only)
  • UnionBank
    • UnionBank branches
    • Online Banking (UnionBank account holders only)
    • ATM (UnionBank account holders only)
  • Bayad Center
    CENOMAR costs Php 430.00 while Birth Certificate costs Php 330.00.
  • PayMaya App (Biller: PSA Serbilis)

2. After payment, you can now wait for the delivery of your CENOMAR and Birth Certificates.
You will get them on:

  • Metro-Manila – 4-6 working days after payment (Additional 5-7 days for areas that are outside of courier’s standard serviceable areas)
  • Other cities or provinces – 6-8 working days after payment (Additional 5-7 days for areas that are outside of courier’s standard serviceable areas)
  • Other countries – The Philippine Postal Corporation (PHLPost) has resumed accepting international mails to selected countries only. As an option, you can avail of special courier services through FedEx for delivery addresses outside the Philippines: PSA Serbilis Special Courier Service. For special courier services through FedEx, delivery charges shall be the requester’s/document owner’s account and shall be billed separately and directly by FedEx. 

Marriage License Application Form

Get the Marriage License Application for your Civil Wedding at the Local Civil Registrar of the place or city or municipality you are marrying at. Forms may vary from towns so it is better to get it there.

Barangay Certificate

A Barangay Certificate can state that you are living in the part of the town. You can go to the Barangay you are residing at and ask for a Barangay Certificate. Fees may vary per barangay. 

Community Tax Certificate

CTC or Cedula is issued after you pay community tax either the city or your barangay. Usually, you can get it at the Treasurer’s Office. Bring a Valid ID. Your payment will depend on your income – Php 5.00 (basic) + Php 1.00 for every Php 1,000 gross income. So if you declare Php 200,000 income for last year; then you will pay Php 205.00

Picture

Bring a 1×1 recent picture.

Parent’s Consent

You parents need to have an appearance of both parents and valid ID for their consent if you are aged 18-21 years old. However, if you don’t have one or both of them, you can get consent from the surviving parent or a legal guardian. If both can’t appear, then you need to have an Affidavit of Consent signed in front of two witnesses.

Why is this needed? Because sometimes when we are in love we can’t think right, just of each other, parents will give you great advice and a view if you are ready for marriage. Some also are forced into marriages like an 18-year-old to a 30-year-old, parents can protect their child by not giving consent

Civil Wedding Requirements How to Get Married in the Philippines3
Photo by Jeongim Kwon

Parental Advice

You need to have Parental Advice if you are aged 22-25 years old. You can have your parents appear at the local registrar or have them write that they know you are marrying and any advice to your marriage. If they don’t like you to get married, you need a sworn statement stating that you informed your parents but they refused. If your parents agreed, you will have 10 days of waiting time, while if not 3 months of waiting for the Marriage License. 

Death Certificate of the deceased spouse

If you are a widow, get the Death Certificate of your deceased spouse. You can include it in your online application for CENOMAR or birth certificate as written above. You can also visit the Serbilis Service Center or SM Business Center. The process is like getting a PSA Birth Certificate, so you might want to follow that.

Annulment Papers

Get a Certificate of Registration for registration of the Annulment Papers and a Certificate of Finality of Annulment issued by the Court from Civil Registrar. It should have remarked on the judge or the court that issued the decree, including the case number, date of issue and that your marriage is annulled. 

Certificate of Legal Capacity to Marry (for Foreigners)

Your Foreign Fiance needs to go to his Foreign Embassy or Consulate to get a Certificate of Legal Capacity to Marry. This will certify that there are no legal impediments on their marriage (e.g. the Foreigner is already married to another person in their country.) This should be in English.

Here’s a more extensive guide: How Foreign Nationals Can Get Married in the Philippines [Filipino and Foreigner Wedding Guide]

Divorce Decree 

If the Foreigner is divorced, a Divorce Decree is needed. It will state the final ruling of the court that indeed the marriage is terminated. Before coming to the Philippines, a Foreign National can get that in his country or where he/she held the previous marriage.

Death Certificate of the deceased spouse

If Foreign National is widowed, provide the Death Certificate of the spouse. Should the spouse died outside of the Philippines, s/he can bring it before coming to the Philippines.

Naturalization Paper

If the foreign national is a naturalized citizen of another country, s/he to present his/her Naturalization Papers. It is proof that the person has obtained citizenship via naturalization and that he is indeed considered a citizen of that country.

Civil Wedding Ceremony

Here is what you need in order to be married in a Civil Wedding:

  • Marriage License
  • Solemnizing Officer
  • Civil Marriage Ceremony

Getting your Marriage License

After gathering the required documents, you can go to the Civil Registrar and pay the fee for your marriage license. You can get it after 10 days.

Why 10 days? It will be that waiting period as your marriage will be publicly posted to check if no one will be against your marriage. After the release of your marriage license, you can marry within 120 days.

Solemnizing Officer

As per the Family Code the one who can be solemnized by the following:

  • Incumbent member of the judiciary within the court’s jurisdiction;
  • Priest, rabbi, imam, or minister of any church or religious sect duly authorized by his church or religious sect and registered with the civil registrar general, acting within the limits of the written authority granted by his church or religious sect and provided that at least one of the contracting parties belongs to the solemnizing officer’s church or religious sect;
  • Ship captain or airplane chief only in the case mentioned in Article 31 of the Family Code;
  • A military commander of a unit to which a chaplain is assigned, in the absence of the latter, during a military operation, likewise only in the cases mentioned in Article 32 of the Family Code;
  • Consul-general, consul or vice-consul in the case provided in Article 10 of the Family Code.

Marriage Ceremony

  1. Book the public chambers of a judge or an open court, an office (e.g. Mayor or Consul General’s), church, chapel or temple.
  2. Bring at least 2 witnesses of legal age; the solemnizing officers, and of course the marrying parties. 
  3. Formal Marriage Ceremony by the solemnizing officer.
  4. The signing of the Marriage Contract.

Final Thoughts

Preparing for marriage can be overwhelming, but with the right planning, everything will go smoothly. And then, it’s congratulations! Because after signing, you are now husband or wife! You may think it’s a lot of documents but they are a bit bearable if you are Filipinos. However, more is needed if one of you is either under 25 or a foreigner.

Marriage is different than being a boyfriend-and-girlfriend. It is a level up version and there are times of ups and downs. However, no matter what you will always be bound together and learn what to do in conflicts.

Also, you can start a happy family with kids or pets like cats. It’s not something easy to get out of, so you need to think deeply before getting into it. 

Being married is one of the best feelings in the world; sharing everything with the love of your life forever. I hope you find your true love, marry the one who completes you, and enjoy a lifetime of joy and bliss together!

FAQ

How many witnesses are needed for a civil wedding in the Philippines?

The contracting parties must also provide two witnesses who are both aged 21 years or older, and will attend the marriage ceremony and sign as witnesses in the Contract of Marriage.

How to get married by a judge in the Philippines?

Regarding the procedure, there requirements vary depending on the Justice who will solemnize the wedding. Common requirements are: marriage license, payment of the PHP 300.00 fee and PHP 20.00 for documentary stamps, and birth certificates of the contracting parties.

How much is the judge fee for a civil wedding in the Philippines?

The judge service fee will depend on whether you hold your civil wedding on a weekday or a weekend, and where your ceremony will be held.