MARRIAGE LICENSE APPLICATION IN PASIG CITY

Subsequent to finishing the 3-day Pre-marital Seminar & Counseling (aka Engagement Seminar) in Victory Ortigas, Ralph and I made sure to follow our wedding preparation timeline by accomplishing the application of our marriage license immediately.

Since not all municipal halls would recognize Victory's Engagement Seminar certificate, we opted to go to Pasig City hall to apply for it though the original plan was to go to Marikina City (where Ralph is a resident). We didn’t have the time to check if they would accept our certificate of attendance to the said required seminar.

Below is the list of requirements and the corresponding guide on how to acquire them.

1. CENOMAR or Certificate of No Marriage from NSO (both). This can be acquired from NSO via online or phone, or if you have the time you can also visit their office. Just make sure you have reserved most of the day, if not the entire day, as the lines could get frustrating. For full-time employees like us, we decided it would to be wiser to just order them online so I ordered ours via https://www.ecensus.com.ph/Default.aspx and it cost us Php415.00 including the delivery fee. I placed the order on a Thursday, paid via over-the-counter deposit in BDO, and received the document Monday after that week. It normally takes them only 2-3 business days for deliveries within Metro Manila.

2.   A. IF CHURCH WEDDING – Counseling Certificate from Church. Since ours would be a church wedding (though not literally because it will be held in a garden), we were encouraged by our church, Victory Christian Fellowship in Robinson’s Galleria to attend their Wedding Preparation Seminar for 3 consecutive Wednesdays. I’m glad that our home church offers something like this because we were not only blessed of the things we need to know in preparation to our marriage, they also helped us even on the little details of the legal and social aspects of our upcoming big day. At the end of the seminar, we were provided with a certificate which we submitted to the City Civil Registry as part of the requirements.

      B. IF CIVIL WEDDING – Family Planning Certificate from DSWD. I wasn’t given much information about this but I believe a couple basically just needs to approach the DSWD office in their city to get the schedule of the seminar they need to attend to be able to acquire the certificate.

3. Certified True Copy of BIRTH CERTIFICATE (new) OR Authenticated BIRTH CERTIFICATE from NSO. Together with our CENOMAR, we ordered this online via https://www.ecensus.com.ph/Default.aspx and it cost us Php315.00 including the delivery fee. Please see Item No. 1 for details.

4. BARANGAY CLEARANCE for residence of Pasig. This is normally obtained from any barangay halls in the city but since Manggahan (where I reside) is a relatively big barangay, I got it from the closest NAHA office in our place. If the barangay hall is not that accessible, you might want to check with your neighbors on the closest NAHA office. Chances are they know if these offices can provide you with Barangay Clearance. Since between Ralph and me, I’m the one who resides in Pasig, I was tasked to secure this. I got mine for free which I didn't expect ‘cause previous experiences have taught me that you don’t get anything free of charge from a bureaucracy. I was only asked to present the requirements which thank God I have long before secured – CENOMAR, Birth Certificate, Cedula, and Voters Registration.

*Cedula - I didn’t know Cedula was a requirement until one of our concerned neighbors advised us that it’s a prerequisite for the barangay personnel to release a clearance. So for the Cedula, or aka as the Community Tax Certificate, we went to the Manggahan Tax/Revenue Bureau (cannot remember well if it was Bureau or Office or something else) which is located along Kaginhawaan St. in Karangalan. This one’s easier to access if you’ll be coming from Imelda Ave. (aka Felix Ave.) in Cainta, Rizal. It cost me Php43.46 but I got it in less than 5mins so I was very satisfied.

5.   FOR AGES 22-25, Appearance of Parents (Father). Since Pa was not around (he’s currently based in Bulacan), I asked Ma to come with us in the city hall. However, since they normally require the father to sign the Parental Advice form, we had to pay for Php150 for the so-called affidavit of her representation of my father.

     FOR AGES 18-21, Appearance of Parents (bring ID of Death Certificate if deceased).

6. FOR FOREIGNERS Legal capacity to marry, passport, divorces papers, CENOMAR.

7. Picture 1x1 2pcs each. This one is self-explanatory.

YES, complete requirements or
you won't be entertained.

this is how their office looks like --
you won't get lost

When you get to the Local Civil Registry Office, make sure you have these requirements with you. Unless, of course, if you have the time and resources to go back and forth. As for us, I had to file for a day of leave from work to be able to accomplish this. Thank God we were able to finish everything in the morning so I still had the entire afternoon to work on my DIY invites. Ma and I left the house at around 8:30am, went straight to Karangalan Village for our cedula, was in Upo St. in Manggahan for the Barangay Clearance at around 9:00am, and was on our way to Pasig City Hall at 9:30am. Mostly it was the travel that took our time. We were in front of the Marriage Section at the 3^rd level of the city hall at 10:05am and were on our way home by noon.

Below is the total damage for our Marriage License application:

ITEM	COST PER HEAD IN PHP	TOTAL COST IN PHP
Marriage Preparation Seminar		500/couple
Birth Certificate	315.00	630.00
CENOMAR	415.00	830.00
CEDULA	43.46	43.46
Marriage License Application		500.00/couple
UNKNOWN FEE at the Marriage Section (if asked, maybe they will call this Processing Fee. Maybe.)		60.00
Affidavit (including notarization)		150.00

TOTAL DAMAGE: Php 2713.46

For the last 2 items on the table, we were not given any Official Receipt. This is so unlike when we paid for the Marriage License Application itself wherein we were directed to windows 27-31 at the 2^nd level which I assume was the City Treasury office (or simply Cashier). Hmmm, you go ahead and think what those fees are for. One important thing to remember when paying at the Treasury windows, they do not allow you to pay for anything without presenting them your Cedula first. Maybe for records purposes? Not sure. I’m just glad I had mine with me when we were there.

one of the best things in life as a citizen: NO NOON BREAK!

Take note, Released of License. hehe

Finally, before we were let go, we were given the Release Slip which states not only the list of the requirements but also the notice that our license is available after 10 days and shall only be released with the appearance of the couple. I was already primed to be on leave again just for the release when the lady who processed our application contradicted the notice by saying that either of us will be allowed to pick up the license. I guess we’ll know on March 14 if her information was accurate.

Now the legal aspect of this marriage is 50% done! The other 50% shall be fulfilled during the wedding day itself when Ralph & I, together with our principal sponsors, finally sign the contracts! Who’s excited?!

Some friendly reminders to couples out there who will be applying for a marriage license in Pasig City:

• Have ALL your requirements photocopied before going to the city hall so you won’t have to experience going from the 3^rd to the ground floor and back multiple times just to reproduce your documents. Trust me when I say that the lady personnel in the Marriage Section wouldn’t save your energy by instructing you to photocopy ALL the requirements at once. We had to sprint the stairs to and fro for at least three times. J
• Make sure all information they encode on the documents they make using their humongous typewriters are correct. Check the spelling of your names. They tend to misspell especially when lunch time is near. J
• Be patient and polite. Maintain a smile and address the staff, especially the one assisting you, with Ma’am or Sir and not just Kuya or Ate. Chances are if they are treated with extra warmth and respect, they get the work done faster and more efficiently. J
• The most important of all: pray and ask God for guidance and favor. He loves it when we pray. (Matthew 7:7) J

Happy preps!