Licensed to Marry*: Applying for Marriage License in Quezon City

We've finally filed for our marriage license, which makes this whole wedding process official. *jitters again* This was how we applied for a marriage license in Quezon City:

• REQUIREMENTS and other details can be found here

Please note that at least one of the couple should be residing in QC to be able to apply for a marriage license there

ü  Original and Photocopy of NSO certified Birth Certificate or Baptismal Certificate of both applicants

We ordered ours from NSO Online. Be patient when ordering your certificates online, their system can has the tendency to fail especially during the part where you need to chat with a customer representative for verification. If you notice nothing’s happening, try refreshing your browser once in a while.

ü  Community Tax Certificate/Cedula of both applicants

Since I’m from Valenzuela and the fiancé is from QC, I got my cedula from our barangay, and he got his from QC City Hall. Not sure if a non-QC resident would be allowed to get his/her cedula from QC city hall in case he/she doesn't have one from her municipality so better to clarify this one.

ü  1 ID photo (colored or black and white) of each applicant

We gave 1x1 colored photos

ü  Certificate of Family Planning (given on day of seminar (1pm-4pm)

Since we were given a free Family Planning and Billings Method Seminar during our Pre-CANA session at CEFAM, we didn’t have to attend the family planning lecture provided by the city hall’s health department. I’ve read from some blogs that there are couples who are not sure if the certificate given by CEFAM is a valid requirement, but in our case, it is. Check it with health department just to be extra sure.

ü  CENOMAR (Certificate of No Marriage)

The QC page does not include this in their list of marriage license requirements but apparently, they need this one too. Make sure to have this photocopied as this will be needed during the canonical interview. We also got this from NSO online. 

• PROCESS

The fiancé spared me from all these troubles by doing the honors of filing for our marriage license. Heh. The application can be done by one person, but make sure that the forms have been signed by the couple.

1. Go to Counter 11 of Civil Registry (the website says Counter 10 but the fiance says 11), where you will be given a referral note that says “For filing and application form”, which will direct you to the Treasury. But before heading straight to the Treasury to pay the fees, check with the Health Department first the Family Planning Seminar schedule. You can have the seminar scheduled on the same day but in our case, we just had our CEFAM certificates checked and approved by the Health Department
2. Pay all the necessary fees at the Treasury
3. Go back to Counter 11 to submit the application forms and the rest of the requirements , and pay the notarization fee of Php 50 at Counter 11 (which the website didn’t tell us about)
4. Go back after 11 days and pay the marriage license fee of Php 100 upon claiming

Total expense:

Birth Certificates: Php330 x 2
CeNoMar: Php430 x2

TOTAL: Php 1,520 
We obviously double the expense here since we opted to order the certificates online. But if you have the luxury to queue up inside NSO, you can save up a few cash. Prices of the BC and Cenomar are Php 140 and Php 195 respectively, but that is if you're willing to take a leave from work and manually file for the documents.

---I’ll update this post once we get the license. WEEE :)--

EDIT OCT 31:

Finally, our license!

The fiance didn't have a hard time picking this one up, he just had to present the claim form to Counter 11 of the Civil Registry, pay Php100, and wait for a few minutes. That's it. We're officially licensed to marry!

The big day's really drawing nearrrrr OMG!

A Weekend Of Marriage Enlightenment: Pre-CANA Seminar by CEFAM

I just came from the last day of our Pre-CANA seminar held at the Center for Family Ministries and boy, what a weekend it has been.

We both didn't know how to feel about going into a 2-day seminar with other marrying couples and so it felt kind of weird that we're actually dealing with some serious grown-up stuff. We thought we'd only go there to fulfill our requirements for Chapel on the Hill but obviously I was wrong. We actually learned a lot of things and it currently feels like I'm more ready to get married now than I have ever been since I said "Yes". 

Ms. Susan Syquia talks about the roles of men and women in marriage

The seminar was fun in a way that it didn't have too much of those open forum, recollection-kind of an ordeal; it was pretty much an assessment of our compatibility as a couple and our preparedness to dive into a deeper level in our relationship.

Fr. Ruben Tanseco S.J., Founder and Chairman of CEFAM, discussing sensuality/sexuality/spirituality. We've been lucky to have his presence there, because we were told that he rarely talks in CANA seminars

I'm so thankful that the church required us to go into a marriage preparation seminar. And I feel so relieved that we didn't end up calling off or postponing the wedding. We took off with very certain feelings for each other and a stronger affirmation of why we're doing the right thing in choosing to marry each other.

It's been such a great day.:)




Seminar fee: Php 4,000 per couple, snacks and lunch included
Bonus: Family Planning seminar certification

Center for Family Ministries
Ateneo de Manila University Campus
Loyola Heights, Quezon City
Fax :  (632) 426-4285
Telephone numbers :  (632) 426-4289 to 92