There is nothing more beautiful than to witness the love between two people as it transcend into wanting to spend each other’s life together through the holy matrimony of marriage. However, for couples who wish to be married in the Philippines, what are the requirements and steps to go through? 

In this topic, we will be going through the different requirements that couples will need to have and what they need to go through in order to be married in the Philippines. 

First things first, whether the couple is to have a church or civil wedding, they must obtain a marriage license first. The groom and bride to be must head and appear together in the local civil registry of the city or municipality in which one of them is a resident.  The marriage license as stated by Article 17 of the family code will be released after 10 working days and either of the couple may pick up the license as there is no delivery option. After the issuance of the license it shall be valid for a total of 120 days and the couple may use it to get married anywhere in the Philippines. 

The following are the documents and information that the couple will need in order to obtain a marriage license:

  1. Original birth certificates or baptismal certificate
  2. General information must be provided such as full name, residence, and citizenship of legal guardians 
  3. In the case that either the bride or the groom is not a Filipino citizen, they must provide their passport and a legal capacity to contact marriage. 
  4. In the case that either of the couple is between 18 to 25 years old, they must provide proof to the local civil service that they have had receive marriage counselling.
  5. Parental consent or advice
  6. Certificate of no marriage
  7. Prepare at least two valid ID
  8. 1×1 picture of each of the couple
  9. Community tax certificate
  10. Barangay Certificate
  11. A duly accomplished marriage license application form

However it is highly encouraged to visit the local civil registry first before filling for the marriage license so that the couple may be clear with the specific requirements and any questions they may have will be answered accordingly.

After the couple has obtained their marriage license, certain things must be made clear and put in to order such as the finalization of the location of the wedding and whether the couple will be having a civil or a church wedding. They may choose to have an extravagant and lavish wedding to remember and cherish or they may have a simple civil wedding that they both are contented with, usually the couple will have to take their budget into consideration in order to decide. But the couple must keep in mind that if they decide to have either a civil or church wedding, both will again have different impending requirements. 

After the wedding, the couple can now obtain their marriage certificate. As defined by the Philippine Statistic Authority a marriage certificate is “a document that shows social union or a legal contract between people that creates kinship. Such a union, often formalized via a wedding ceremony, may also be called matrimony.” Couples can now also obtain their marriage certificates through online and have it delivered to wherever they are in the Philippines and abroad.