When is Marriage License not Required?

Marriage License is one of the formal requisites of marriage.  Without complying this requisite, it shall render the marriage void ab initio.

What is void ab initio?

The term void ab initio, which means "to be treated as invalid from the outset," comes from adding the Latin phrase ab initio (from the beginning) as a qualifier (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Void_%28law%29).  Thus, when the marriage is void ab initio, it simply means that the marriage is void from the very beginning. 

What is a marriage license?

 A marriage license (American English) or marriage licence (British English) is a document issued, either by a church or state authority, authorizing a couple to marry (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marriage_license).

Who will issue the marriage license?

A marriage license shall be issued by the local civil registrar of the city or municipality where either contracting party habitually resides.

Who will issue the marriage license if the marriage is solemnized abroad?

The issuance of the marriage license and the duties of the local civil registrar and of the solemnizing officer with regard to the celebration of marriage shall be performed by the consular official of the Republic of the Philippines in the state where the marriage will take place.

How the marriage license be filed?

Each of the contracting parties shall file separately a sworn application for the marriage license with the proper local civil registrar.

What are specified in the marriage license?

The following shall be specified in the application of the marriage license:

1.  Full name of the contracting party;

2.  Place of birth;

3.  Age and date of birth;

4.  Civil Status

5.  If previously married, how, when and where the previous marriage was dissolved or annulled;

6.  Present residence and citizenship;

7.  Degree of relationship of the contracting parties;

8.  Full name, residence and citizenship of the father;

9.  Full name, residence and citizenship of the mother; and

10.  Full name, residence and citizenship of the guardian having charge, in case the contracting party has neither father nor mother and is under the age of twenty-one years.

What is the validity of the marriage license?

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 cancelled at the expiration of 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.

If either or both of the contracting parties are citizens of a foreign country, what is required in order to obtain a marriage license?

When  either or both of the contracting parties are citizens of a foreign country, it shall be necessary for them before a marriage license can be obtained, to submit a certificate of legal capacity to contract marriage, issued by their respective diplomatic or consular officials.

Stateless persons or refugees from other countries shall, in lieu of the certificate of legal capacity herein required, submit an affidavit stating the circumstances showing such capacity to contract marriage.

When is marriage license not required?

1.  In case either or both of the contracting parties are at the point of death, the marriage may be solemnized without necessity of a marriage license and shall remain valid even if the ailing party subsequently survives.

2.  If the residence of either party is so located that there is no means of transportation to enable such party to appear personally before the local civil registrar, the marriage may be solemnized without the necessity of a marriage license.

3. Marriages among Muslims or among members of the ethnic cultural communities may be performed validly without the necessity of marriage license, provided they are solemnized with their customs, rites or practices.

4.  No license shall be necessary for the marriage of a man and a woman who have lived together as husband and wife for at least five years and without any legal impediment to marry each other.

Source:  The Family Code of the Philippines