The Family Code of the Philippines
Executive Order No. 209
Which provisions are explained in plain language?
Title I: MARRIAGE
Chapter 1: Requisites of Marriage
- Article 1: What marriage isMarriage is a special contract of permanent union between a man and a woman entered into in accordance with law for the establishment of…
- Article 2: Essential requisites of marriageNo marriage shall be valid, unless these essential requisites are present: (1) Legal capacity of the contracting parties who must be a…
- Article 3: Formal requisites of marriageThe formal requisites of marriage are: (1) Authority of the solemnizing officer; (2) A valid marriage license except in the cases provided…
- Article 4: Missing or defective requirementsThe absence of any of the essential or formal requisites shall render the marriage void ab initio, except as stated in Article 35 (2). A…
- Article 5: Minimum age to marryAny male or female of the age of eighteen years or upwards not under any of the impediments mentioned in Articles 37 and 38, may contract…
- Article 7: Who may solemnize a marriageMarriage may be solemnized by: (1) Any incumbent member of the judiciary within the court’s jurisdiction; (2) Any priest, rabbi, imam, or…
- Article 14: Parental consent for ages 18 to 21In case either or both of the contracting parties, not having been emancipated by a previous marriage, are between the ages of eighteen…
- Article 15: Parental advice at 21 to 25Any contracting party between the age of twenty-one and twenty-five shall be obliged to ask their parents or guardian for advice upon the…
- Article 20: Validity of the marriage license (120 days)The license shall be valid in any part of the Philippines for a period of one hundred twenty days from the date of issue, and shall be…
- Article 21: Certificate of legal capacity for foreignersWhen either or both of the contracting parties are citizens of a foreign country, it shall be necessary for them before a marriage license…
- Article 26: Marriages and divorce abroadAmendedAll marriages solemnized outside the Philippines in accordance with the laws in force in the country where they were solemnized, and valid…
Chapter 2: Marriages Exempted from License Requirement
Chapter 3: Void and Voidable Marriages
- Article 35: Marriages void from the beginningThe following marriages shall be void from the beginning: (1) Those contracted by any party below eighteen years of age even with the…
- Article 36: Psychological incapacityAmendedA marriage contracted by any party who, at the time of the celebration, was psychologically incapacitated to comply with the essential…
- Article 37: Incestuous marriagesMarriages between the following are incestuous and void from the beginning, whether relationship between the parties be legitimate or…
- Article 38: Marriages void for reasons of public policyThe following marriages shall be void from the beginning for reasons of public policy: (1) Between collateral blood relatives whether…
- Article 39: No deadline to file for nullityAmendedThe action or defense for the declaration of absolute nullity of a marriage shall not prescribe.
- Article 40: Court declaration needed before remarriageThe absolute nullity of a previous marriage may be invoked for purposes of remarriage on the basis solely of a final judgment declaring…
- Article 41: Remarriage when a spouse is missingA marriage contracted by any person during subsistence of a previous marriage shall be null and void, unless before the celebration of the…
- Article 42: When the absent spouse reappearsThe subsequent marriage referred to in the preceding Article shall be automatically terminated by the recording of the affidavit of…
- Article 45: Grounds for annulmentA marriage may be annulled for any of the following causes, existing at the time of the marriage: (1) That the party in whose behalf it is…
- Article 46: What counts as fraud in annulmentAny of the following circumstances shall constitute fraud referred to in Number 3 of the preceding Article: (1) Non-disclosure of a…
- Article 47: Who may file for annulment and until whenThe action for annulment of marriage must be filed by the following persons and within the periods indicated herein: (1) For causes…
- Article 49: Support and custody while the case is pendingDuring the pendency of the action and in the absence of adequate provisions in a written agreement between the spouses, the Court shall…
- Article 50: Effects of the final judgmentThe effects provided for by paragraphs (2), (3), (4) and (5) of Article 43 and by Article 44 shall also apply in the proper cases to…
- Article 52: Recording the judgment and the partitionThe judgment of annulment or of absolute nullity of the marriage, the partition and distribution of the properties of the spouses and the…
- Article 53: When former spouses may remarryEither of the former spouses may marry again after compliance with the requirements of the immediately preceding Article; otherwise, the…
- Article 54: Children conceived before the judgment are legitimateChildren conceived or born before the judgment of annulment or absolute nullity of the marriage under Article 36 has become final and…
Title II: LEGAL SEPARATION
- Article 55: Grounds for legal separationA petition for legal separation may be filed on any of the following grounds: (1) Repeated physical violence or grossly abusive conduct…
- Article 56: Grounds to deny legal separationThe petition for legal separation shall be denied on any of the following grounds: (1) Where the aggrieved party has condoned the offense…
- Article 57: Five years to file for legal separationAn action for legal separation shall be filed within five years from the time of the occurrence of the cause.
- Article 58: Six-month cooling-off periodAn action for legal separation shall in no case be tried before six months shall have elapsed since the filing of the petition.
- Article 63: Effects of legal separationThe decree of legal separation shall have the following effects: (1) The spouses shall be entitled to live separately from each other, but…
Title III: RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS BETWEEN HUSBAND AND WIFE
- Article 68: Duties of husband and wifeThe husband and wife are obliged to live together, observe mutual love, respect and fidelity, and render mutual help and support.
- Article 73: Right to work or run a businessAmendedEither spouse may exercise any legitimate profession, occupation, business or activity without the consent of the other. The latter may…
Title IV: PROPERTY RELATIONS BETWEEN HUSBAND AND WIFE
Chapter 1: General Provisions
- Article 75: Default property regime: absolute communityThe future spouses may, in the marriage settlements, agree upon the regime of absolute community, conjugal partnership of gains, complete…
- Article 77: Form of a prenuptial agreementThe marriage settlements and any modification thereof shall be in writing, signed by the parties and executed before the celebration of…
Chapter 2: Donations by Reason of Marriage
Chapter 3: System of Absolute Community
Section 2: What Constitutes Community Property
Section 4: Ownership, Administrative, Enjoyment and Disposition of the Community Property
Section 5: Dissolution of Absolute Community Regime
Section 6: Liquidation of the Absolute Community Assets and Liabilities
Chapter 4: Conjugal Partnership of Gains
Section 2: Exclusive Property of Each Spouse
Section 3: Conjugal Partnership Property
Section 5: Administration of the Conjugal Partnership Property
Section 7: Liquidation of the Conjugal Partnership Assets and Liabilities
Chapter 5: Separation of Property of the Spouses and Administration of Common Property by One Spouse During the Marriage
Chapter 7: Property Regime of Unions Without Marriage
- Article 147: Property of couples who live together and could marryWhen a man and a woman who are capacitated to marry each other, live exclusively with each other as husband and wife without the benefit…
- Article 148: Property of other cohabiting couplesIn cases of cohabitation not falling under the preceding Article, only the properties acquired by both of the parties through their actual…
Title V: THE FAMILY
Chapter 1: The Family as an Institution
Chapter 2: The Family Home
- Article 152: The family homeThe family home, constituted jointly by the husband and the wife or by an unmarried head of a family, is the dwelling house where they and…
- Article 155: When the family home can be seizedThe family home shall be exempt from execution, forced sale or attachment except: (1) For nonpayment of taxes; (2) For debts incurred…
Title VI: PATERNITY AND FILIATION
Chapter 1: Legitimate Children
- Article 163: Natural and adoptive filiationThe filiation of children may be by nature or by adoption. Natural filiation may be legitimate or illegitimate.
- Article 164: Who are legitimate childrenChildren conceived or born during the marriage of the parents are legitimate. Children conceived as a result of artificial insemination of…
- Article 165: Illegitimate childrenChildren conceived and born outside a valid marriage are illegitimate, unless otherwise provided in this Code.
- Article 166: Grounds to impugn legitimacyLegitimacy of a child may be impugned only on the following grounds: (1) That it was physically impossible for the husband to have sexual…
Chapter 2: Proof of Filiation
Chapter 3: Illegitimate Children
- Article 175: Proof of illegitimate filiationIllegitimate children may establish their illegitimate filiation in the same way and on the same evidence as legitimate children. The…
- Article 176: Illegitimate children: surname, parental authority, legitimeAmendedIllegitimate children shall use the surname and shall be under the parental authority of their mother, and shall be entitled to support in…
Chapter 4: Legitimated Children
- Article 177: Which children can be legitimatedAmendedChildren conceived and born outside of wedlock of parents who, at the time of the conception of the former, were not disqualified by any…
- Article 178: Legitimation by subsequent marriageLegitimation shall take place by a subsequent valid marriage between parents. The annulment of a voidable marriage shall not affect the…
Title VIII: SUPPORT
- Article 194: What support includesSupport comprises everything indispensable for sustenance, dwelling, clothing, medical attendance, education and transportation, in…
- Article 195: Who must support each otherSubject to the provisions of the succeeding articles, the following are obliged to support each other to the whole extent set forth in the…
- Article 199: Order of persons who must give supportWhenever two or more persons are obliged to give support, the liability shall devolve upon the following persons in the order herein…
- Article 201: How the amount of support is setThe amount of support, in the cases referred to in Articles 195 and 196, shall be in proportion to the resources or means of the giver and…
- Article 202: Support goes up or downSupport in the cases referred to in the preceding article shall be reduced or increased proportionately, according to the reduction or…
- Article 203: When support becomes demandableThe obligation to give support shall be demandable from the time the person who has a right to receive the same needs it for maintenance,…
Title IX: PARENTAL AUTHORITY
Chapter 1: General Provisions
- Article 211: Joint parental authorityThe father and the mother shall jointly exercise parental authority over the persons of their common children. In case of disagreement,…
- Article 213: Custody after separation and the tender-age ruleIn case of separation of the parents, parental authority shall be exercised by the parent designated by the Court. The Court shall take…
- Article 214: Grandparents' substitute parental authorityIn case of death, absence or unsuitability of the parents, substitute parental authority shall be exercised by the surviving grandparent.…
Chapter 3: Effect of Parental Authority Upon the Persons of the Children
- Article 220: Rights and duties of parentsThe parents and those exercising parental authority shall have with the respect to their unemancipated children on wards the following…
- Article 221: Parents liable for acts of minor childrenParents and other persons exercising parental authority shall be civilly liable for the injuries and damages caused by the acts or…
Chapter 5: Suspension or Termination of Parental Authority
Title X: EMANCIPATION AND AGE OF MAJORITY
- Article 234: Age of majority is 18AmendedEmancipation takes place by the attainment of majority. Unless otherwise provided, majority commences at the age of eighteen years.
- Article 236: Emancipation at 18AmendedEmancipation shall terminate parental authority over the person and property of the child who shall then be qualified and responsible for…
What questions about the Family Code are answered here?
- Annulment vs Nullity vs Legal Separation: What Is the Difference?Nullity: void from the start. Annulment: ends a voidable marriage. Legal separation: live apart but stay married. Grounds, deadlines and remarriage.
- Are Children Legitimate After an Annulment or Nullity?Children conceived or born before an annulment or an Article 36 nullity becomes final are legitimate. What the judgment must say about custody and support.
- Are Parents Liable for What Their Minor Child Does?Parents can be ordered to pay for damage caused by a minor child living with them. Article 221, Civil Code Article 2180 and the defense of diligence.
- Bigamy in the Philippines: Penalty and DefensesBigamy in the Philippines: prision mayor of 6 years and 1 day to 12 years, 15 years to file, and the void-first-marriage defense after Pulido v. People.
- Can a Child Prove Who the Father Is After He Dies?A child can prove filiation after the father dies if there is a signed record or written admission. Other proof had to be filed in his lifetime.
- Can a Husband Deny He Is the Father of His Wife's Child?A child born in a marriage is presumed legitimate. Only the husband, or in some cases his heirs, may impugn it, on set grounds and within short deadlines.
- Can a Married Woman Keep Her Maiden Name?Using the husband's surname is an option, not a duty: a married woman may keep her maiden name. The Civil Code rules, Remo, and passport reversion.
- Can a Spouse Sell or Mortgage Conjugal Property Without Consent?A spouse cannot sell or mortgage common property without the other's written consent or a court order: the deal is void. Exclusive property is different.
- Can Child Support Be Increased or Reduced?Child support can go up or down when the child's needs or the parent's means change. Article 202 and why a judgment for support never becomes final.
- Can I Remarry After an Annulment or Legal Separation?After annulment or nullity, yes, but only once the judgment is final and recorded. After legal separation, no: you are still married. The bigamy risk.
- Can I Remarry If My Spouse Has Been Missing for Years?You may remarry only after a court declares your missing spouse presumptively dead: four years of absence, or two years if there was danger of death.
- When Can a Court Deny Legal Separation?Legal separation is denied for condonation, consent, connivance, mutual guilt, collusion or prescription. Article 56 and the Supreme Court rulings.
- Can Husband and Wife Give Property to Each Other?Donations between spouses during the marriage are void, except moderate gifts on family occasions. The ban also covers unmarried couples living together.
- Can Creditors Take the Family Home?The family home is exempt from execution and forced sale, except for taxes, older debts, mortgages or unpaid builders. What the Family Code says.
- Who Gets Custody of a Child Under 7 in the Philippines?A child under 7 stays with the mother unless a court finds compelling reasons, such as neglect or abuse. What courts accept, and what happens after age 7.
- Child Marriage Ban (RA 11596): Penalties and Who Can ReportRA 11596 bans child marriage: it is void, and arranging it, officiating it or an adult living with a child as a partner is a crime anyone can report.
- Duties of Husband and Wife Under the Family CodeThe Family Code says spouses must live together, be faithful, help and support each other, and share the household. What each rule means, and its limits.
- Visitation Rights of the Father of an Illegitimate ChildThe mother has parental authority over a child born outside marriage, but courts have given the father visitation rights. What the Supreme Court has said.
- Is a Foreign Divorce Valid in the Philippines?A divorce abroad counts in the Philippines only if one spouse was a foreigner when it was obtained, and a court must recognize it first. What to prove.
- What Are the Grounds for Annulment in the Philippines?The six grounds for annulment under Article 45 of the Family Code, the only four kinds of fraud that count, and the five-year deadlines to file.
- What Are the Grounds for Legal Separation?The ten grounds for legal separation under Article 55 of the Family Code, when a petition is denied, the five-year deadline and what the decree changes.
- How Long Does an Annulment Take in the Philippines?No law or official source sets how long an annulment takes. The steps that add time, the six-month wait in legal separation, and the deadlines to file.
- How Much Does an Annulment Cost in the Philippines?No law sets a price for an annulment. What the cost is made of, why a psychologist is no longer required, and when PAO clients do not pay filing fees.
- How Much Is Child Support in the Philippines?Philippine law sets no fixed amount or percentage for child support. Courts base it on the parent's means and the child's needs. How to claim and collect.
- How to Adopt a Child in the Philippines Under RA 11642Adoption in the Philippines is now administrative: you file with the NACC regional office, not a court. Who may adopt, consents, documents and the steps.
- How to Prove Who the Father IsPaternity is proved by a birth record or writing signed by the father, or by other evidence such as DNA, filed while he is alive. What courts accept.
- Can an Illegitimate Child Use the Father's Surname?Under RA 9255 a child born outside marriage may use the father's surname if he recognized the child, but the father cannot force it. What the law says.
- Is a Marriage Without a Marriage License Valid?A marriage without a license is void in the Philippines, except in four cases such as five years of living together. What Niñal and Abbas decided.
- Is a Spouse Liable for the Other Spouse's Debts?Whether common property pays a spouse's debt depends on who signed and whether the family benefited. Articles 94, 121 and 122 of the Family Code compared.
- Is a Church Annulment Valid Under Philippine Law?A church annulment does not change your civil status. Only a final court judgment, recorded as the Family Code requires, lets you remarry under civil law.
- Suing a Family Member: The Earnest Efforts RuleBefore suing a spouse, parent, child or sibling, the complaint must show earnest efforts to settle that failed. Who counts as family, and when it applies.
- How to Legitimate a Child After the Parents MarryA child born before the parents married becomes legitimate by their later valid marriage, if they were free to marry when the child was conceived.
- Do Live-In Partners Share Property in the Philippines?Live-in partners free to marry share wages and joint property equally (Art. 147). In other unions only proven joint contributions count (Art. 148).
- Marriage License Requirements in the PhilippinesMarriage license in the Philippines: who can apply, documents, parental consent at 18-21, advice at 21-25, the 10-day posting and the 120-day validity.
- Marrying a Foreigner in the Philippines: Legal RequirementsMarrying a foreigner in the Philippines: the certificate of legal capacity, the marriage license, marriages abroad, property rules and visa marriages.
- Are Children Legally Required to Support Their Parents?Yes. The Family Code makes parents and children obliged to support each other. Who pays first, how much, and from when support can be claimed in court.
- Must Grandparents Support Their Grandchildren?Grandparents can be ordered to support grandchildren when the parents cannot. The order of support under Article 199 and what the Supreme Court has ruled.
- Marrying at 21 to 25: Do You Need Your Parents' Advice?At 21 to 25 you must ask your parents for advice before a marriage license. No advice or bad advice delays the license by three months. What the law says.
- Prenuptial Agreement in the Philippines: RequirementsA prenup in the Philippines must be in writing, signed and made before the wedding, and registered to bind third persons. What it can and cannot say.
- Psychological Incapacity After Tan-Andal: Is a Psychologist Needed?Since Tan-Andal v. Andal (2021), no psychologist's report is required under Article 36. What must still be proven, and who can testify.
- Selling Conjugal Property After a Spouse DiesWhen a spouse dies, the common property must first be liquidated. Without liquidation in time, the Family Code says a sale or mortgage of it is void.
- Can Spouses Separate Their Property While Still Married?Spouses can separate their property during the marriage only by court order: jointly, or for a cause in Article 135 such as abandonment or a year apart.
- What Can You Do If Your Spouse Abandoned the Family?A spouse who leaves can be asked for support, and the court can give the other spouse control of the property. Legal separation and VAWC may also apply.
- Support While an Annulment or Separation Case Is PendingWhile a nullity, annulment or legal separation case is pending, the court can order support for the spouse and children. How support pendente lite works.
- What Happens If a Spouse Declared Dead Comes Back?If a spouse declared presumptively dead reappears, the second marriage ends when a sworn statement of reappearance is recorded. Conditions and effects.
- Which Property Stays Yours After Marriage?Which property stays exclusive to one spouse: inheritance, donations, property bought with own money. The Article 116 presumption and how to rebut it.
- When Does Parental Authority End?Parental authority ends at 18, on the death of the parents or the child, and in court cases like adoption or abandonment. What still applies after 18.
- Who Takes Care of a Child If Both Parents Die?If both parents die, the grandparent, then an adult sibling, then the custodian exercises parental authority, unless a court names a guardian.
- Who Has Custody of an Illegitimate Child?The mother has sole parental authority over a child born outside marriage, even if the father signed the birth certificate. The father's rights and duties.
General information, not legal advice. For your case, ask a lawyer, the Public Attorney's Office (PAO) or the agency.
Was this page helpful?