BEFORE making all wedding preparations, what’s the most important thing to do?
Of course, file an application for marriage license. It is the most important document issued by a government authority that allows the couple to legally tie a knot.
In order to obtain a marriage license, a couple is required to complete the application process.
So what are the requirements?
According to the Davao City Civil Registrar’s Office (CCRO) Registration Officer Julie Casatan, a couple who are both 26 years old and above must get a certificate of No-marriage (Cenomar) from the National Statistics Office (NSO) first and submit to their office. Those aged between 18 to 20 years old are required to undergo a pre-marriage counseling from the Barangay Health Center.
They both have to submit either one of the four, two copies each of their birth certificate, baptismal certificate, voter’s affidavit or school records.
If the applicant is 18 to 20 years old, they must bring their father to sign the parental consent but if they are already between 21 to 25 years old, their parents' presence is still needed for parental advice.
There are also fees that need to be paid. The aspirant couple has to pay P250 for marriage application fees at City Treasurer's Office (CTO) and P150 for the marriage license.
But, in order to validate the veracity of the documents presented, both applicants have to present valid IDs of both applicants and their respective parents.
The couple also needs to get latest barangay certification or Cedula.
Meanwhile, for foreigners who want to get married here, they need to bring legal capacity to marry from their respective embassy or consulate in the Philippines.
Similar with the local applicant, they must pay another P200 for marriage registration fee (legal capacity) at a CTO collector. They must show photocopies of passport and latest arrival.
After getting all the requirements, the couple should appear personally at the office and bring the entire essential requirements.
The CRRO will post the application after 10 days before the approval of the application and on the 11th day, the license is ready to release.
According to Catañas, the license will be valid only for 120 days and it can be used anywhere in the Philippines. If they will not use the license within the prescribed number of days, the license will expire, which means another application and additional expenses.
Casatan added that under the family code article 34, a couple who are living together for five years without any legal impediment to marry each other might not anymore get a marriage license. They need to get affidavit of marital cohabitation from a lawyer and present it instead to the court or church.