Wednesday, February 17, 2016

How to get married (legally) in Baguio City

It was our wedding day last 15 February 2016 and it is beneficial to those planning to get married in Baguio City in a civil way to read these tips when the couple opted for a civil wedding.

For both, get the following documents:
1.       CENOMAR (Certificate of No Marriage)
There are 2 methods
a.       SM business centre
                                                               i.      Go to SM City Baguio, 2flr
                                                             ii.      Fill up the form for application of CENOMAR, write legibly
The following are the data needed:
·         Number of copies you are requesting
·         Name (maiden name if married female)
·         Sex
·         Place of birth
·         Date of birth
·         Mother’s maiden name
·         Father’s name
·         Purpose of your request
                                                            iii.      Clerk will double check data entries and will confirm verbally specially when there are unclear entries
                                                           iv.      Pay Php195.00 plus a service charge of Php20.00
                                                             v.      Claim CENOMAR after 4 working days
b.      NSO
                                                               i.      Proceed to  the NSO office located at Lower Bonifacio St
                                                             ii.      Get a number and application form from the Information desk/guard
                                                            iii.      Fill up the entries and proceed to the screener’s desk once your number is called
                                                           iv.      Pay the fee of Php 195.00
                                                             v.      Claim CENOMAR after 4 working days

2.       Proof of Age (NSO Birth Certificate or Baptismal certificate)
a.       Birth Certificate
                                                               i.      The 2 methods for acquiring for CENOMAR applies for getting a birth certificate
                                                             ii.      Fee is Php 140.00
                                                            iii.      Document is released within 2 hours or on the next working day. Other cases require a certain amount of days to claim the document
b.      Baptismal Certificate

3.       Community Tax Certificate (CEDULA)
You and your partner must apply for a cedula
a.       Proceed to the one-stop shop of the Baguio City Hall
b.      A small piece of paper is provided for you to write the data needed
c.       Fall in line and wait your turn (waiting time depends on the volume of applicants)
d.      Valid ID is required. Recent payslip or previous cedula may be presented for easier computation of tax to be paid.
e.       Pay the amount, affix signature and thumb mark

4.       Barangay Certification
To get married in Baguio, one of the requirements is to prove that one of the couple is a resident of Baguio
a.       Proceed to your Barangay hall and request for Barangay Certification
b.      Some barangays require a cedula while other just needs a valid ID
c.       Fees for certification may also vary in different Barangays. (Php 50.00)
d.      Form is released after 15 minutes.

5.       Pre-Marriage Counselling or Seminar on Family Planning and Responsible Parenthood
a.       Proceed to the Health Services Office at T. Alonzo St.
b.      Proceed to the cashier and pay a fee of Php 20.00 as seminar fee.
c.       Schedule of seminar is as follows:
                                                               i.      Tuesdays: 1:00 – 4:00 PM
                                                             ii.      Thursdays: 8:00 – 11:00 AM

6.       Attend the Pre-Marriage Counselling or Seminar on Family Planning and Responsible Parenthood
a.       Proceed to the PMC/ Population Office, 3rd floor of the Health Services Office at T. Alonzo St.
b.      Prepare payment receipt and CENOMAR
c.       Each couple goes through a short interview to assess their family planning knowledge
d.      The couple proceeds to attend a 3-4 hour seminar. Speakers are from the civil registry office, health department, and other private organizations. 
e.      Certificate of Attendance is given at the end of the seminar.

7.       Submit requirements at the CIVIL REGISTRY Office
a.       Photocopy all requirements
b.      Proceed to CIVIL REGISTRY Office just beside Health Services Office at T. Alonzo St.
c.       Ask the information officer for a number and sign the log book
d.      Present all requirements to the Civil registry employee
e.      Once all requirements are validated, a form is provided to be filled up (3 copies)
f.        Submit the form to officer
 
8.       Pay MARRIAGE LICENSE fee
a.       Ask the information officer for a number
b.      Proceed to the 2nd floor of the Civil Registry Office and pay a fee of  Php 142.00
c.       Keep the receipt, as this serves as your claim stub
d.      Marriage License is released after 10 calendar days

9.       Schedule a wedding date
The following process does not really let you choose a date for your wedding. There are 2 options:
a.       City Mayor as presiding officer
                                                               i.      Proceed to the Mayor’s office located at the Baguio City Hall and inquire on the schedule. The Mayor’s office only schedules one date for marriages per month and accommodates only 15 couples.
                                                             ii.      Pay a solemnization fee of Php500.00 at the one-stop
                                                            iii.      Submit the original copy of the marriage license, names of sponsors or witnesses and the solemnization fee receipt.

b.      Judge assigned by Regional Trial Court
                                                              i.      Proceed to the RTC office located at the Justice hall just near Baguio City Hall
                                                            ii.      Provide the following requirements:
·         Marriage license
·         NSO Birth certificate
·         CENOMAR
·         Barangay clearance
·         CEDULA
                                                          iii.      Pay a solemnization fee of Php 800.00 at the one-stop shop
                                                           iv.      Wait for your schedule to be announced. Schedules and presiding judge will be raffled every Thursday.
                                                             v.      Visit the RTC Thursday afternoon or Friday to inquire on the date assigned for you and your partner

10.   Attend the ceremony
a.       Be on-time or even 30 minutes earlier.
b.      Check the marriage certificate, ensure that the names and dates are correct
c.       Have fun and enjoy the ceremony!

11.   Submit _ City Hall personnel will be submitting the signed marriage certificates to the Civil Registry Office
12.   Wait for 6 months for the official NSO marriage certificate 

REITERATION, in simple words:
CIVIL WEDDING
for both parties:
  1. get a CENOMAR
  2. get a BARANGAY CERTIFICATION which can be applied by either one but one should be residing here in Baguio City
  3. get a NSO BIRTH CERTIFICATES
  4. get a cedula for you and your partner
  5. pay 20 pesos for the required, mandatory and compulsory "pre-marriage counselling" conducted at the Baguio City Health Services Office
  6. attend the seminar which is held every Tuesday 1-4 or Thursday 9-12
  7. GET THE CERTIFICATE AFTER THE SEMINAR
  8. PHOTOCOPY ALL REQUIREMENTS 2 COPIES
  9. proceed to the CIVIL REGISTRY OFFICE and submit all the requirements AND fill up all forms in three copies
  10. pay marriage license fee and after 10 calendar days, the marriage licence will be ready
  11. proceed to City Hall and inquire for the schedule of the City Mayor. AND PAY FOR THE SOLEMNIZATION FEE OF 500 PESOS if there is no more available schedule, then
  12. proceed to JUSTICE HALL and inquire for the schedule of the RTC AND PAY FOR THE SOLEMNIZATION FEE OF 800 PESOS
  13. BE ON TIME ON YOUR SCHEDULED WEDDING DAY!!! 


20 comments:

Yellow Face said...

LCR does not require a Barangay Certificate as long as you have an id stating your Baguio address. Does that mean that RTC won't require you to get a Barangay Certificate?

jeb said...

Unknown,

Maybe there were changes already but you can still use the Barangay Certificate in other transactions related to civil wedding. For us, it was during the required seminar which is the pre-marriage counselling that the Barangay Certificate was required. They need it for verification purposes because it is a paid certificate from the local government unlike in IDs that you can easily falsify. Anyway, it's up to you if you do not want to apply for a Barangay Certificate but this is one of the requirements that was asked from us.

And we got married this year only, last February 2016.

Yellow Face said...

How many copies of CENOMAR is required?

jeb said...

we paid for two copies then photocopied it. one cenomar for the groom and one cenomar for the bride.

Unknown said...

Can our parent claim the marriage license on behalf of the groom/bride? Given that we have only limited time to be in the Phils because we are working abroad. :) thanks for the response!

Unknown said...

You now have to plant two pine trees at the City Hall before proceeding to the seminar.

jeb said...

You will have to ask them about it if they will allow your parent to claim your marriage license.

jeb said...

that's good to know... at least it will be a positive approach in helping the nature... look at the bright side of it... :D

Unknown said...

How long will we wait for the wedding schedule in the Justice Hall. We passed our license today. The raffle is said to be Wednesday next week.

jeb said...

We got married with the Mayor as our solemnizing officer. It is a better option. Although it is a mass wedding. For the wedding schedule in Justice Hall, you have to go there on the assigned raffle date, then that will be the time that you will know your wedding schedule. That's why a better option is in the Mayor's Office. I just don't know if they have change the schedule of the Mayor which is every third Monday. You'll just proceed at the Mayor's office and inquire for the schedule of the wedding under the Mayor's Office.

Unknown said...

Can we get married in baguio even though we are not living there

jeb said...

Madam Chamii,

Pakibasa na lang po ulit ang item number 4.

Naka-indicate po sa blog post sa item number 4 na kailangan isa sa inyo ay nakatira sa Baguio City at mapapatunayan lang ito kapag nakakuha kayo ng Barangay Certificate dahil itong Barangay Certificate ay hahanapin din sa Civil Registry Office ng Baguio City.

4. Barangay Certification
To get married in Baguio, one of the requirements is to prove that one of the couple is a resident of Baguio
a. Proceed to your Barangay hall and request for Barangay Certification
b. Some barangays require a cedula while other just needs a valid ID
c. Fees for certification may also vary in different Barangays. (Php 50.00)
d. Form is released after 15 minutes.

Unknown said...

Hi just want to clarify po 8-11 or 9-12 po schedule of seminar every Tuesday? Thank you!

jeb said...

Francess,

During our time it was 8-11. Feel free to inquire at their office if there is change of schedule.

Thanks!

MaLiz1409 said...

Hi just want to ask how long from preparation/processing docs to marriage day in your case? And how.long before we get the original marriage certificate?

jeb said...

We finished processing of papers for almost a month before we got married. After that, it's almost a month again after I got our original marriage certificate due to personal schedules beyond our control.

doodles_doodles_12 said...

But what if we want to have our civil wedding in Baguio and in a Judge's office? We were thinking of skipping the reception and all the hassle of reserving the venue and the gowns etc. We just want to get married there and bring 2 of our friends as witnesses and come back in Metro Manila as a married couple. We're thinking of getting all our requirements done here, send it there and wait for an available schedule and get it done. We're both over the age of 25 (I'm 26 he's 31). Our families know we're engaged so its no secret at all. We just want to save money and skip the hassle of entertaining guests etc. but we want it to be a bit special and I've always loved my visits in Baguio so we want to travel there and get married but without the whole "reserve a venue hassle" since its just for 4 people me and my bf and 2 of our friends so reserving a venue is not an option. We dont want a church wedding. I was wondering if there was another way that a judge there could marry us eventhough we dont live there? Thank you so much!

jeb said...

Please check and backtrack the requirements. Specifically this one:

Barangay Certification
To get married in Baguio, one of the requirements is to prove that one of the couple is a resident of Baguio
a. Proceed to your Barangay hall and request for Barangay Certification
b. Some barangays require a cedula while other just needs a valid ID
c. Fees for certification may also vary in different Barangays. (Php 50.00)
d. Form is released after 15 minutes.

Also, you cannot attend the pre-marriage seminar if you are not a Baguio City resident since the Barangay Certificate is your only proof that is required before you can attend the pre-marriage seminar.

KitKat..^_^ said...

Hi po, as per filipinoknow.com once we get our marriage license here in Manila, we can get married wherever we want to get married in Philippines. So my possible po na we can get married in Baguio? Tama po ba? Pls. Help us. TIA

jeb said...

First, I believe it's http://www.filipiknow.net/how-to-get-married-in-the-philippines/ and not filipiknow.com. Dot com is different from Dot net websites.

Second, even if you have a marriage license obtained from any city in the Philippines, you will still need to have a Barangay Clearance which shows your residency in Baguio City.

Authorities will require you a Barangay Clearance since there is a new Baguio City Ordinance, which is City Ordinance 18, requiring couples to jointly plant a tree before getting a Marriage Certificate.

Below are the links:
http://mauriciodomogan.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5650:more-trees-with-city-ordinances-compliance&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=1

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/baguio/local-news/2017/05/19/couples-seeking-marriage-certificates-get-plant-trees-542830

Even if you intend to marry in the Baguio Cathedral, you will be required to have a letter from your Parish Office that states that your Parish Priest is allowing you to be married in Baguio Cathedral. Since this blog post is about civil wedding, it is better to go to Baguio Cathedral and ask for the requirements.

Also, it's better to go to City Hall and Regional Trial Court in Baguio City and ask for requirements informing them that you already have a marriage license. If they have a new set of rules or different rules for those with existing valid marriage license already, please post it here in the comments section so that others with the same case such as yours will be enlightened.

Thanks!