CENOMAR, CNI and Marriage in the Philippines

[RickyR]

This is not a complete guide, but it should help answer the primary questions for anyone considering the process of getting married in the Philippines. Essentially if you intend to get married in the Philippines you need to start the process at least a month before you travel, and need to plan for around 2 or 3 weeks in the country to give you time to complete the formalities and the marriage. In addition your fiancé needs to go to the local city hall and obtain the information on local requirements for marrying, and if possible scan and e-mail you a copy of the documents stating this so you can both review it ensure you cover all the requirements.

Also ensure that you have a copy of your fiancés passport or official ID and address before you start the process so that you don’t make any clerical mistakes which could cause mayhem and ruin your wedding.


CNI

Prior to marrying in the Philippines you need to obtain various documents, the first of these is your CNI. A Certificate of No Impediment (CNI) is a certificate which confirms there are no objections to your proposed marriage.

This certificate is valid for 3 months, and is a little complicated to obtain, so you must start planning your wedding as early possible. If you start the process in the UK, you will need to have spent at least 21 days in the town in which you submit the application before you actually apply. Then the process takes around 22 days in the UK and a further 10 days in the Philippines to complete. You’ll need to apply for an appointment at your Registry Office, and sometimes you need to book as far as 2 or 3 months ahead.

Once you have the CNI, you should plan at least two weeks in the Philippines to complete the process, and book ahead an appointment with the British Embassy or Honorary Consul to exchange your CNI for a ‘Consular CNI’.

You can also completely the whole process in the Philippines, however you’d need to spend at least 54 days in the Philippines before you could actually get married to complete the entire process.

Option A
Obtain CNI in the UK, and convert in Philippines

1. 1) Visit your local registrar, request a CNI
2. 2) WAIT 21 DAYS
3. 3) Visit the British Embassy in Manila or Honorary Consul in Cebu to exchange CNI for a Consular CNI.
4. 4) Marriage License Request at City Hall
5. 5) WAIT 10 DAYS
6. 6) Receive Marriage License

Minimum of 32 days, with at least 10 days in the Philippines

Option B

Obtain CNI in the Philippines

1. 1) LIVE IN PHILIPPINES FOR 21 DAYS
2. 2) Visit British Embassy in Manila or Honorary Consul in Cebu to obtain CNI
3. 3) WAIT 21 DAYS
4. 4) Visit British Embassy or Honorary Consul to collect CNI
5. 5) Marriage License Request at City Hall
6. 6) WAIT 10 DAYS
7. 7) Receive Marriage License

Minimum of 54 days, with at least 54 days in the Philippines


CENOMAR

The next document you both need, for yourself and your spouse, is the CENOMAR. A Certificate of No Marriage Record (CENOMAR) from the National Statistics Office (NSO) is simply what its name implies. It is a certification issued by the NSO stating that a person has not contracted any marriage.

Both you and your fiance will need this, and it is a local equivalent of the CNI to say that you haven’t been married in the Philippines before.

The great thing is that this can be obtained online at https://www.ecensus.com.ph . You can either pay by credit card and have it delivered to your address in the UK, or you can make the order online and give your fiancé the reference number, she then makes the payment locally at a bank and has the documents delivered to her house. If you deliver to the UK it can take up to 2 months, however if you deliver in the Philippines, it’s sent by courier and will arrive with your fiancé in a matter of days.

Marriage

Once you have the CNI and CENOMAR, you are almost there. There are some final hurdles though, you may need to attend a seminar or interview in your local area to discuss your marriage. These vary from town to town, so you need to ask your fiancé to visit the local city hall/municipal office and discuss the requirements in detail for obtaining the Marriage License.


Marriage in the Catholic Church

If you intend to get married in the Catholic Church, there are yet more hurdles. I married in a Catholic church and the process took several months. We had to attend interviews at the local church and the chancery, in addition to providing all the evidence of our baptismal and confirmation certificates. In addition we needed to attend a seminar, and in addition was required to sign a document stating that all of our children would be brought up in the Catholic Church.
If your fiancé has been ‘annulled’ she can marry in the church, however if you have been previously married, it is highly unlikely that the church will allow you to marry there.

[rusty]

Very informative post, thanks

I think the requirements for marriage differ depending where you are planning to get married.

In our case, I have previously been married and am not catholic but we were given permission to marry in the catholic church.

I think the whole process took us about 4 week, including attending the seminars.

[songz777]

Thanks Ricky that really helps me to focus on details for the future... very informative and helpful

[songz777]

Hi Ricky I am little confused about these details here
==Option A
Obtain CNI in the UK, and convert in Philippines

1) Visit your local registrar, request a CNI
2) WAIT 21 DAYS
3) Visit the British Embassy in Manila or Honorary Consul in Cebu to exchange CNI for a Consular CNI.
4) Marriage License Request at City Hall
5) WAIT 10 DAYS
6) Receive Marriage License

Minimum of 32 days, with at least 10 days in the Philippines==

I understood that take my CNI go to embassy get it converted collect it I am told next day of very soon wait 10 days in the local town of marriage.

2 days Travel.
1 day embassy appointment.
2 days get back to local town after collecting my Convereted CNI.
10 days wait for marriage license.
(during the 10 days get my CENOMAR delivered in 3 days )
allow another day for delays.

So thats about 17 days so far.
Get married leaves me a few days for honeymoon or longer if get Visa extension.

Am i correct here?

Many thanks John

[raynaputi]

I've just made this a sticky thread

[songz777]

Hi Ricky .. I re-read your post & realized the 21 days refers to here in UK waiting for my CNI dohhhh thanks for brilliant post!

[gcarn]

HI, Can you please confirm the 10 days for marriage license are business days (ie Monday to Friday only)?

I'm currently trying to plan everything for a wedding in December.

Thanks

[Rory]

All days will count, saturday and sunday will count in the 10 days.

[gcarn]

That's what I thought, but wanted to check.

Thanks

[blackcat22]

Just one question,

For civil wedding, do you need to have received a valid marriage license first before booking a slot for the actual marriage ceremony or can you book in advance of waiting to receive marriage license?

[pinayadmirer 74]

it all seems a bit complicated me anf my fiance ' plan to have get married in a catholic church as we are both catholic's has any other cathoic couples had any problems with regards to marriage guidance lessons how long does this actually take before we can set a date to marry' once ive obtained the marriage certificate in the philippines how long is this valid for.... i plan to go to the philippines in december to get the relevant paperwork sorted out and then plan to marry in july or august next year

[irishman12]

i dont think it should be too complicated - got married there in 2005 in church - it was 10 days after applied for marriage license - didnt have to spend 21 days there before - it may depend where you will get married and who you know.

[Steve.r]

it all seems a bit complicated me anf my fiance ' plan to have get married in a catholic church as we are both catholic's has any other cathoic couples had any problems with regards to marriage guidance lessons how long does this actually take before we can set a date to marry' once ive obtained the marriage certificate in the philippines how long is this valid for.... i plan to go to the philippines in december to get the relevant paperwork sorted out and then plan to marry in july or august next year

It's not a case of being complicated, its a a case of being the law. You just have to work with it as trying to buck the system will only give you more problems.

You will have to get the UK CNI and go through the exchange procedure as everyone else does, but this is a case of proper timing and something you will have to work out is best for the time you intend to get married.

[pinayadmirer 74]

well if the uk version cni is only valid for 3 months from date of issue myself and my fiance will need to be married in march 2013 i'm wondering will there any difficulty in getting an interview during the month of december' obviously the embassy will close for the festive period to do the exchange for local version of cni

[pinayadmirer 74]

i plan to apply for my cni the 1st of november hope to have it by the 3rd week as i intend to fly to to the philipines on the 1st or 2nd of december

[lastlid]

it all seems a bit complicated me anf my fiance ' plan to have get married in a catholic church as we are both catholic's has any other cathoic couples had any problems with regards to marriage guidance lessons how long does this actually take before we can set a date to marry' once ive obtained the marriage certificate in the philippines how long is this valid for.... i plan to go to the philippines in december to get the relevant paperwork sorted out and then plan to marry in july or august next year

This was a problem for us owing to time restrictions i.e. available holiday allowance. We went through an agent to enable us to forgo the marriage guidance lessons.

[Steve.r]

We went through an agent to enable us to forgo the marriage guidance lessons.

As a forum, we can only recommend you follow the required procedure and not try to circumnavigate the requirments of the Philippines.

Any deviance from Philippine requirements is done at your own risk.

[lastlid]

As a forum, we can only recommend you follow the required procedure and not try to circumnavigate the requirments of the Philippines.

Any deviance from Philippine requirements is done at your own risk.

A disclaimer.

We did what we had to do at the time. I only had a limited amount of available days to spend in the Philippines and we were struggling to fit the seminar in. It was proving to be a stumbling black in our plans. The judge in Cavite just wasn't available within the allotted time frame. So we had to come up with Plan B.

[irishman12]

All days will count, saturday and sunday will count in the 10 days.

where did u get that info? Book and these will be displayed in a public place (in the case of a civil wedding at the local Municipal Trial Court, as the marriage takes place in the Court) for a period of 10 (working) days

[Steve.r]

A disclaimer.

We did what we had to do at the time. I only had a limited amount of available days to spend in the Philippines and we were struggling to fit the seminar in. It was proving to be a stumbling black in our plans. The judge in Cavite just wasn't available within the allotted time frame. So we had to come up with Plan B.

Disclaimer

On a side note, we never sat the seminar either, not sure why we got out of it, perhaps because it was a civil wedding not in church... or was it that 500 peso we slipped the lady in the office

BUT... all done at your own risk.

[RickyR]

For church weddings, the rules on marriage guidance vary depending on the parish and the individual church. Your fiance can visit the churches she likes and find out about those procedures, but you can prepare and complete those any time you want.

[gcarn]

All days will count, saturday and sunday will count in the 10 days.

where did u get that info? Book and these will be displayed in a public place (in the case of a civil wedding at the local Municipal Trial Court, as the marriage takes place in the Court) for a period of 10 (working) days

Can someone please confirm which is right? I need to know if I have to change dates. For information, it will be a Civil Wedding in Angeles City.

Also, I'm applying for the UK CNI on Friday but have been advised by my local registry office that I might need to provide details such as where the wedding is taking place (possible even the suite/room number). Can anyone advise advise on what information they gave when applying for CNI?

Just another thought, do I need to give Notice Of Marriage at the embassy or do I just need to change over the CNI?

Thanks

[Steve.r]

gcarn,

I can't 100% tell you if 10 days in ten working days or 10 straight days, sometimes this can depend on where you submit your papers, but allow for a couple of extra days.
For the UK CNI, you give details of where you are going to get married (in Phils), but it is only the location, ie: town/church/municiple nothing more in my experience. They don't need to know your inside leg measurement Just make sure you take your original copy of your final decree of any previous marriage as the DO need that, plus birth cert, details of your fiancee again, basic details that you should know anyway.

As for your last point, when you go to the embassy to exchange your UK CNI, I guess they already know your intention to marry as it's a pointless exercise otherwise.

Good luck, just be organised and leave nothing to chance.

[Terpe]

Can someone please confirm which is right? I need to know if I have to change dates. For information, it will be a Civil Wedding in Angeles City......

gcarn,

For what it's worth Executive Order No.209 (The Family Code of the Philippines)

States:-

Art. 17. The local civil registrar shall prepare a notice which shall contain the full names and residences of the applicants for a marriage license and other data given in the applications. The notice shall be posted for ten consecutive days on a bulletin board outside the office of the local civil registrar located in a conspicuous place within the building and accessible to the general public. This notice shall request all persons having knowledge of any impediment to the marriage to advise the local civil registrar thereof. The marriage license shall be issued after the completion of the period of publication.

Just for completeness it goes on to state:-

Art. 20. The license shall be valid in any part of the Philippines for a period of one hundred twenty days from the date of issue, and shall be deemed automatically canceled at the expiration of the said period if the contracting parties have not made use of it. The expiry date shall be stamped in bold characters on the face of every license issued.

As you know and in line with what Steve.r mentions, there may always be 'local variations' in Philippines.
After all if the licence is not issued until after 11,12 or 13 days then it still complies with the legal requirement provided it has been posted continuously for a minimum 10 consecutive days.
Better to always check and verify. IMO

[gcarn]

Thanks for that Terpe, I was starting to panic a little.

[Steve.r]

I was starting to panic a little.

Dont panic, in fact embrace it. I really enjoyed the going here.. going there... sorting stuff out before we got married. I think it really seals the deal when you both work together to make the day one to remember.
Ours was a very small occasion, very personal, so we did everything and my/our time was not rushed as I was there for a while. Just relax.. it will all be worth it.

[RickyR]

Whilst sorting through some paperwork today, I found the Civil Registrars guidance document for Marriage License. I'm sure that the information is valid for most cities, and could be useful in just getting an idea of what you need to pull together. That being said, it's always good to get you fiance to go and get the upto date list of required documents from the Civil Registrar and scan and e-mail a copy to you so that you can both check off the documents as you go. Especially useful for anyone planning to get married in a very short period in the Philippines, preparation is key.

Requirements for Marriage License Application

1. Birth Certificate (NEW) - 1 Orig. & 2 xerox copies
2. Certficate of Attendance, issued by the HRD Office -1 orig. & 1 xerox copy.
3. CEDULA w/signature - 1 orig & 2 xeox copies.
4. Barangay Certificate - 1 orig & 2 xerox copies
5. CENOMAR (Certificate of No Marriage, issued by National Statistics Office) - 1 orig & 1 xerox copy
6. For ages 18-25 - appearance of both parents, with valid I.D for parental consent/advice.
7. Valid ID - Orig and 2 xerox copies.

For Widow/Widower

1. Death Certificate, issued by the Local Civil Registrar's Office/National Statistics Office, of deceased husband/wife 1 orig and 2 xerox copies.
2. CENOMAR (Certificate of No Marriage, issued by the NSO) 1 orig & 1 xerox copy.
3. Certificate of Attendance, issued by the HRD Office - 1 orig & 1 xerox copy
4. CEDULA w/signature - 1 orig. & 2 xerox copies
5. Birth Certificate - 2 xerox copies
6. Barangay Clearance - 1 orig & 1 xerox copies.
7. Valid ID - Orig and 2 xerox copies.

For Annulled Marriage

1. Certificate of Finality of Annullment, issued by the court - 1 orig & 2 xerox copies.
2. Certificate of Registration, from Local Civil Registrars Office - 1 orig and 1 xerox copy.
3. CENOMAR (Certificate of No Marriage, issued by the NSO) 1 orig & 1 xerox copy.
4. CEDULA w/signature - 1 orig. & 2 xerox copies
5. Birth Certificate - 2 xerox copies
6. Barangay Clearance - 1 orig & 1 xerox copies.
7. Valid ID - Orig and 2 xerox copies.

For a Foreigner Applicant

1. Passport ID - 2 xerox copies
2. Date of Arrival (Latest) from the passport, 2 xerox copies
3. Legal Capacity, issued by the diplomatic official in the Philippines - 1 original and 3 xerox copies (Local CNI from the Embassy)
4. CENOMAR (Certificate of No Marriage, issued by the NSO) 1 orig & 1 xerox copy.
5. For Divorced Applicant - 1 orig. Divorce Decree & 2 xerox copies
6. For widow/widower - Death Certificate of Deceased husband/wife - 1 orig. & 2 xerox copies.


NOTE:

* Appearance of both applicants is necessary in applying for marriage license.
* Marriage License - release after 10-days posting period
* At least one of the applicant is resident of Cebu City
* Address in the Cedula, Barangay Certificate and Certificate of Attendance must coincide (be consistant)
* For Naturalized Citizen - bring orig and xerox copy for naturalization papers.

[RickyR]

I also found the documents we were given from the Chancery in Cebu for our Church Wedding. This is in addition to the standard marriage requirements above.

Chancery, Archdiocese of Cebu, Partria de Cebu, Cebu City, Tel. No. 2541861, 2530123

Circular LEtter N.2/82 issued on March 1983, requires that all marriages involving non-Filipinos must be obtain non-clearance from the CHANCERY before any parish may entertain their applications. The same Circular prohibits priests from baptizing foreigners who are applying for marriage or to perform blessings on couples who cannot be married by reason of DIVORCE of any one of the parties. The Chancery require the following documents to be submitted:

MARRIAGES WITH FOREIGNERS

A. For Single Persons

1. Baptismal Certficates (must be issued within the last THREE (3) months)
2. Confirmation Certificiates (must be issued within the last THREE (3) months)
3. Marriage License (takes TEN days to secure from the Civil Registrar)
4. Permit form the Parish Priest (if the woman is to be married outside her parish)

B. For Widows and Widowers

1. Same as above "A"
2. Death Certificate of former spouse.

C. For Single Foreigners:

1. Civil Status Certificate from the respective Consulate/Embassy (CNI)
2. Permit/Recommendations from Catholic Parish (even if the foreigner belongs to other religious sects since he/she is marrying a Catholic this time)
3. Baptismal Certificate (for Catholic persons)
4. Confirmation Certificate (for Catholic persons)
5. Birth Certificate for non-Catholics

D. For Divorced Persons

1. Decree of Absolute Divorce (from Civil Court)
2. Declaration of Freedom to Marry from Catholic Matrimonial Tribunal or Annulment (from the Chancery of the State where one resides)
3. Same as above "A".

E. For Widowed Foreigners

1. Same as requirements as for single foreigners "C".
2. Death Certificate of former spouse ("B", No.2)

To meet the requirements of the Civil Registrar's Office, foreigners must make marriage application before the Civil Registrar or any duly authorised government agencies in their native country. Translations into English must be supplied and duly authenticated. All documents must be presented to their respective Embassies in order to be officially authenticated before being presented to the Civil Registrars Office in the Philippines.

Some Embassies will then issue a certificate of No Legal Impediment which is require by the Civil Registrars Office.

OTHER REQUIREMENTS

1. Couples are required to undergo Pre-Cana Seminar
2. For mixed-marriages (Catholic and non-Catholic) dispensation must be secured. Banns are no longer required according to Canon Law.
3. Please wear decent attire when you come for the interview.
4. To ease some problems beforehand, consultations may be made at the Chancery long before the marriage is to be scheduled.

[RickyR]

We married in Dalaguete Church in Cebu, and had to jump through quite a few hoops. Obtaining a letter from the Catholic Church Parish Priest in the UK was quite a difficult one (especially since i'm Church of England), and required attendance at his mass and a few meetings with him, and he really didn't know what he was supposed to be giving and referred it to up the chain of command.

We ended up having an interview with priest at the chancery, then at Dalaguete church and also attending the Pre-Cana Seminar. The whole process took weeks.

The Pre-Cana Seminar costs 700 peso, and is held on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays in the Cardinals Palace, running from 08:30 to 12:00 (ours took a lot longer). You need an appointment for this and sometimes its book up for weeks in advance.

[jock_in_a_frock]

Hullo guys n gals, i stumbled across this site whilst looking for some info on marrying in phills.

i plan on marrying in phills on January 2013, so as i understand i will apply for my CNI in the local register office in Scotland, book appointment for the British Embassy in Manila in order to obtain a ‘Consular CNI’

i need my passport, original birth certificate, and as far i can tell we both need a CENOMAR is this required to obtain the ‘Consular CNI’ at the Embassy ? or just for the wedding itself ?

also just looking to find out what documents my fiancee has to provide at the Embassy, just so we can get things to run as smooth as possible.. shes from Ozamiz City, so need to set the wheels in motion as she will need to make sure everythings in order at her end before flying to meet me in Manila..

also whats the costs involved ?

thxx in advance all.. and great site !!