How to Apply for a Marriage License at the Quezon City Hall

Last week, I had the experience of a lifetime — I filed my application for a marriage license! Yes, I’m getting married! So, while there, I grabbed the opportunity to take as much photos as I can to document the process. I’m sharing my firsthand experience here today hoping it could help others who may be planning to do the same any time soon. Please take note that ours was done at the Quezon City Hall and so some of the processes may be different if you are applying in a different area.

The whole process took all of 45 minutes to complete and all the things we needed to do: submit, pay, and notarize the documents, we were able to do in one building. Good thing because it was raining hard that day and walking from one building to another would have been nightmarish.

How to apply for a Marriage License at the Quezon City Hall:

Requirements:

1. Certified true copy of Birth Certificate or Baptismal Certificate of both applicants. – We brought the original copies of our PSA Birth Certificates which we ordered at www.PSAHelpline.ph. We had these photocopied before proceeding to the QC Hall.
2. Community Tax Certificates of both applicants. – We brought government-issued IDs instead: I presented my PhilHealth plastic ID and my fiance presented his UMID card. We had both photocopied as well.
3. 2×2 colored photos of the couple.
4. PSA CENOMAR (Certificate of No Marriage). Again, we ordered ours at http://www.PSAHelpline.ph because it is much convenient for us — both of us are working. We simply ordered online, paid for our documents at a 7-11 store, and in 2 working days, we received our PSA certificates. We had our CENOMARs photocopied too. They also offer photocopying services inside the Civic Center building so no need to worry if you forgot to have your documents photocopied beforehand.

Procedure:

1. Proceed to the Civic Center building and inform the guard that you are there to apply for a marriage license. You will be given a small health declaration slip which you need to fill-out before they allow you inside the building. Only the applicants will be allowed inside, and of course, when applying for a marriage license, both the bride and groom must be present.
2. Go to the information desk on the right side of the room and ask for a number for marriage license application. During our visit, marriage license applications were attended to at counter 11. Wait for your number to be called.

There were a lot of posted reminders on social distancing and other minimum health protocols in the room. There were also civilian marshals who would go around every now and then to remind everyone to wear their face masks and face shields properly.

People were told to sit one seat apart, keep their face shields and face masks on, and to refrain from speaking to one another. The counters were covered with plastic covers as well. Bring your own pen and alcohol or sanitizer. They allow black-ink pens only.

3. When our number was finally called, the staff gave us forms for marriage license application. One column is dedicated for the groom and another for the bride. Both of you must accomplish both columns. Use black-ink pens when filling out the application forms.

Pay close attention to numbers 8, 9, 10, and 11 as these should only be filled out if you have a previous marriage that was dissolved through legal means (annulment or divorce). We were also asked to skip numbers 18, 19, 20, and 21 because we no longer need our parents’ consent to get married as we are already in our 40s 🙂

Use only black ink when filling out this form. I made the image extra larger so you can see what information will be asked of you. Best that you and your fiance be prepared with the details so you won’t have to spend so much time asking each other for details.

4. After we filled out the forms, we were told to bring these to the second floor and have the documents notarized. Only one person is allowed to go upstairs, the other one may wait at the ground floor. I waited downstairs so I was not able to take pictures of the notary area. We paid Php 50 for the notarization of each document.

5. We attached our 2×2 photos on the marriage application forms and had this photocopied. We then submitted the following to counter 11:

• Photocopy of notarized marriage application form with ID photos (even the ID photos were photocopied);
• Photocopies of our PSA birth certificates and CENOMAR;
• Payment of Php 150 for the marriage license form and the filing fee (Php 50 for the application form and Php 100 for the filing fee).

We were told to come back and claim our marriage license on August 2. Meantime, we needed to seek an appointment with the Family Planning unit for our Family Planning Seminar. Since we are already in our 40s, we no longer need to attend the Marriage Counseling seminar. I think Marriage Counseling is only for couples in their early 20s or those who still need their parents’ consent to get married.

We called the published number to get an appointment for the Family Planning Seminar and we were given a slot on July 27, 9AM at the Bernardo Health Center in Quezon City. Both of us need to attend this too. According to the staff we spoke with, the seminar will last for 2 hours. I will make sure to take photos and notes during the seminar and will share my experience here too 😉

After paying and getting our receipt, we left the building. We were done in less than an hour.

Below are other photos I took while waiting:

If you are planning to go on a Wednesday, make sure you come in early (they open at 8AM) because they will stop receiving applications by 2PM.

This is how you file for the registration of a Marriage Certificate.

The above photos are the steps in filing for admission of paternity to legitimize a child’s birth. I should remind myself to write a piece on this topic soon.

Here is the official list of requirements when applying for a marriage license at the QC Hall.

Other reminders:

• The marriage license is valid and will be honored any where in the country. So even if we filed our marriage license in Quezon City, we can use this in Baguio City where we plan to get married.
• The marriage license is valid for 120 days. This means you have to be married within 120 days from the date the license was issued.
• We were told we can pay the marriage license fee upon claiming on August 2.
• Keep the receipt and the original copies of your marriage application forms as these will be asked of you when you claim your marriage license.

Over all, we were happy and impressed with the speed and efficiency of the Civic Center staff who attended to us. I also noticed that the marshals assigned in the building would pay close attention to senior citizen clients — they would proactively approach them and ask them if they need help. They would accompany the senior citizens up to the counters and they would speak with the city hall staff and just relay the instructions to the senior citizen. The Civic Center building is where death certificates are filed too; this may be the reason why there were quite a handful of senior citizens transacting that day. It is good to see that they have conscientious marshals assisting those who need help.

I hope you found this blog useful. You can drop me an email or a comment for any questions and I will do my best to get back to you as soon as I can.

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