Marriage Certificate: Articles 22, 23, Family Code

1. Concept

Marriage certificate – refers to documentary evidence attesting to the fact of marriage between individuals.

2. Contents of a Marriage Certificate

Art. 22. The marriage certificate, in which the parties shall declare that they take each other as husband and wife, shall also state:

(1) The full name, sex and age of each contracting party;

(2) Their citizenship, religion and habitual residence;

(3) The date and precise time of the celebration of the marriage;

(4) That the proper marriage license has been issued according to law, except in marriage provided for in Chapter 2 of this Title;

(5) That either or both of the contracting parties have secured the parental consent in appropriate cases;

(6) That either or both of the contracting parties have complied with the legal requirement regarding parental advice in appropriate cases; and

(7) That the parties have entered into marriage settlement, if any, attaching a copy thereof. (67a)

1) This article outlines the contents of a marriage certificate. See above.

a. Marriage settlement

The critical part in the marriage certificate is the content with respect to a marriage settlement. As provided in the article, it has to be stated in the marriage certificate if there is any marriage settlement (a.k.a. prenuptial agreement) entered into between the parties and, if there is one, it must be attached or stapled together with the certificate. Both the marriage certificate and the prenuptial agreement must be submitted and recorded with the LCR.

While it is primarily the duty of the solemnizing officer to make the submission, it is strongly recommended that the husband and wife ensure that the solemnizing officer has performed such duty by checking/verifying with the LCR as there is a 15-day deadline of its submission. If the documents have not yet been submitted for recording, the couple may make the submission with the LCR to avoid any issues with the recording of the marriage, as well as issues on the validity of the prenuptial agreement.

For clarity, if the prenuptial agreement is not submitted together with the marriage certificate and not recorded, the prenuptial agreement will not be valid and thus will not affect third parties.

3. Duties of Solemnizing Officer

Art. 23. It shall be the duty of the person solemnizing the marriage to furnish either of the contracting parties the original of the marriage certificate referred to in Article 6 and to send the duplicate and triplicate copies of the certificate not later than fifteen days after the marriage, to the local civil registrar of the place where the marriage was solemnized. Proper receipts shall be issued by the local civil registrar to the solemnizing officer transmitting copies of the marriage certificate. The solemnizing officer shall retain in his file the quadruplicate copy of the marriage certificate, the copy of the marriage certificate, the original of the marriage license and, in proper cases, the affidavit of the contracting party regarding the solemnization of the marriage in place other than those mentioned in Article 8. (68a)

1) The solemnizing officer has the following duties:

(a) Solemnize the marriage;

(b) Furnish the contracting parties the original of the marriage certificate;

(c) Send duplicate and triplicate copies of the marriage certificate within 15 days from marriage to the LCR where the marriage was celebrated; and

(d) Safe keep the quadruplicate copy of the marriage certificate, the copy of the marriage certificate, the original of the marriage license and, in proper cases, the affidavit of the contracting party regarding the solemnization of the marriage in place other than those mentioned in Article 8 of the Family Code, i.e. written request by the parties of their preferred venue.

a. Failure to submit documents

There are cases when the solemnizing officer fails to submit the marriage certificate and the prenuptial agreement, if any. For instance, some solemnizing officers simply forget or there is oversight on their end; in some cases, they get sick, injured, or die. It is thus critical that the husband and wife confirm/verify with the solemnizing officer if the documents have been submitted and likewise verify the same with the LCR. If the documents remain unsubmitted, the couple may make the submission themselves.

b. Submit to LCR where marriage was celebrated

The marriage certificate and prenuptial agreement, if any, should be submitted to the LCR where the marriage was celebrated. This is important to note as the LCR who issued the marriage license (e.g. Puerto Princessa City) may be different from the LCR where the marriage was celebrated (e.g. Tacloban City).

1) LCR receipts

The receiving LCR is required to issue proper receipts to show that submission has been done.