Wedding + legal = Marriage license

Mr. J and I are slowly able to tick off a lot of very important tasks from our wedding assignments.  We’ve finished the pre-cana seminar already (done at SSJ), gotten our copies of baptismal certificates (with the required “for marriage purposes” annotation), and most recently, having applied for a marriage license.

Since we're both from Antipolo, this was the only city where we could apply for our marriage license  (for the record, you can apply at any city for as long as one of you, the couple, resides in it).  

According to the Antipolo City government website, the following are the requirements to apply for a marriage license:

1) Birth/Baptismal Certificates of the couple
       I’m surprised the baptismal certificate is an option but I’m not sure if anyone really gives the baptismal over the birth certificate option.  I suggest to just sticking with giving the birth certificate just to be sure. You can easily get a copy of your birth certificate online thru NSO or by going to an SM Mall near you --- not sure if all SM malls have this service, so best to check first.  SM Masinag and SM Marikina offer NSO services.
2) 1x1 ID picture
3) CENOMAR or Certificate of No Marriage
       Get it at the same time you’ll get your birth certificate copy.  This way you only need to request for your documents once.  Also, remember to take note of the 6 months validity rule.  Actually, if I remember correctly, when I asked about the CENOMAR’s validity, the girl in the SM counter told me that CENOMAR has no “expiry” date just like a birth cert.  But just to be super sure, just stick with the 6 months validity rule.
4) If you’re 18-20 years old, the consent and personal appearance of parents or guardians are required.
5) If you’re 21-25, you just need a letter of advice from parents or guardian (appearance, I think, is no longer needed).
6) Pre-Marriage Counseling Certificate
7) Php 350 processing fee

The list I mentioned above is just the basic requirements for regular couples (both are Filipinos and first time in getting married).  If you (or the person you’re marrying) have been married before, or is a widow/widower, or a foreigner, there are additional requirements that you’d need to submit.  You may find them here.

Now here’s what they don’t tell you on the website:

1) I don’t know why but they’ll ask for the receipt of the CENOMAR to be submitted (or maybe just presented) as well.  I didn’t bring it with us because I didn’t think they’d need it since it’s simply a proof of payment for transacting with SM for their NSO services and at the same time, they did not list this as requirement in their website (they also didn’t mention this when I called to verify the requirements to be submitted).  Thankfully, we were still able to accomplish applying for the license and were just advised to bring the receipt upon releasing of the license (which will take 11 days).
 

2) The Pre-Marriage Counseling that you’ll need to attend will ask you to pay Php 100 for the certificate (at least that’s what they told us when they were handing out the certificates at the end of the seminar).  Also, there’s a family planning sheet that you’d fill-out and have to pay Php 12.00 each.  Actually, the worksheet was just a Tagalog version of the same questionnaire that we filled out during our pre-cana at SSJ.  The seminar is held only on Fridays from 8AM – 12PM (though we started at around 9AM).  Best strategy would be to attend the seminar in the morning then apply for the license afterward.
 

3) The birth certificate and family planning certificate that they’ll keep is the photocopied version.  There’s a photocopying machine just outside the room where you’ll be applying for the license.  We were instructed to have them photocopied, which we did.  Not sure how much it costs since Mr. J was the one who did this task while I went to the cashier window to pay for the processing fee.
 

4) There is also another form that they’ll ask you to photocopy (3 copies).  I’m not sure what it was since Mr. J was the one who took the form and I could only read out the word “NOTICE” that was written in big, bold letters.  My guess is that it has something to do with posting a notice of the application to the city hall (kind of like wedding banns, I suppose).  Mr. J didn’t bother reading what it was as well since he was already hungry and sleepy (he just came off from work and went straight to the seminar with me).

All in all, it was a pretty decent experience.  I liked how the seminar was only half-day and with multiple speakers and that it took us probably just 15-25 minutes to complete the application for the marriage license.  Below is the map (where I’ve circled a green arrow), where you’ll find the Gender Advocacy and Development Center.  

At the 2nd floor of this building is where you would find both the room where you’ll apply for a marriage license as well as the room where the seminar is held.  If you’re traveling by car, the place would just be a short walk if you park at the Victory Park & Shop mall (in the map, it's where Starbucks is located).

So there you have it.  My guide on getting your marriage license in Antipolo.  Oooh, by the way, for the releasing of the license, either one of the couple may be present to get it.  I'm not sure if they allow for the couple to send for an authorized representative as I didn't ask this anymore since I was planning to be the one to pick up the license on the date they specified for the releasing.