Article 3 of the Family Code: Formal requisites of marriage
Status: In force
What does Article 3 say?
The formal requisites of marriage are:
(1) Authority of the solemnizing officer;
(2) A valid marriage license except in the cases provided for in Chapter 2 of this Title; and
(3) A marriage ceremony which takes place with the appearance of the contracting parties before the solemnizing officer and their personal declaration that they take each other as husband and wife in the presence of not less than two witnesses of legal age.
What does it mean in plain language?
Article 3 lists the three formal requisites of a marriage, the things the wedding itself must have. The person who marries the couple must have authority. The couple must have a valid marriage license, unless the law exempts them. And there must be a ceremony where both appear before the officer and declare, in front of at least two adult witnesses, that they take each other as husband and wife.
The other side of the rule, the couple's capacity and consent, is in Article 2 (the essential requisites).
How does it work in real life?
Nora and Ed: a wedding with no license
Nora and Ed hold a wedding at a resort with a pastor, a ceremony and 50 guests. They never applied for a marriage license, and they have known each other for only one year, so no exemption applies. The marriage is void because a formal requisite is absent (Articles 3(2), 4 and 35(3)). This is a made-up example.
Mia and Jon: a simple civil wedding
Mia and Jon marry in the chambers of a judge of their city. They have a valid license, two adult friends as witnesses, and no religious rite. Both say in person that they take each other as husband and wife. All three formal requisites are present, and Article 6 says no religious rite is needed. This is a made-up example.
Cora and Dan: a "judge" who was not a judge
Cora and Dan are married by a man who says he is a judge. He is not. Both believed in good faith that he had authority. Under Article 35(2), their good faith saves the marriage from being void on this ground. This is a made-up example.
These examples only show how the rule works. They are not advice for a real case.
What does this mean in practice?
- The license comes from the local civil registrar of the city or municipality where either party habitually resides (Article 9).
- After the wedding, the officer must send copies of the marriage certificate to the local civil registrar of the place of the wedding not later than fifteen days after the marriage (Article 23). To get a copy of the certificate later, see the guide to the PSA marriage certificate.
- A void marriage still needs a final court judgment declaring it void before either spouse can remarry (Article 40).
Who has authority to solemnize a marriage?
The Family Code lists them in Article 7: judges within their court's jurisdiction, authorized and registered priests, rabbis, imams and ministers (when at least one party belongs to their church or sect), ship captains, airplane chiefs and military commanders in the special cases of the Code, and Philippine consuls for marriages between Filipino citizens abroad (Article 10).
If the officer had no authority, the marriage is void, unless either or both parties believed in good faith that the officer had that authority (Article 35(2)).
When is a marriage license not needed?
The license is required "except in the cases provided for in Chapter 2 of this Title". Chapter 2 covers marriages where no license is needed:
- A party is at the point of death (Article 27).
- A party lives where there is no means of transportation to reach the civil registrar (Article 28).
- Marriages among Muslims or members of ethnic cultural communities, done under their own customs, rites or practices (Article 33).
- A man and a woman who have lived together as husband and wife for at least five years, with no legal impediment to marry each other (Article 34).
A license is valid anywhere in the Philippines for 120 days from the date it is issued (Article 20). The papers you need to get one are explained in marriage license requirements.
What happens if a formal requisite is missing or irregular?
Article 4 makes a difference between a requisite that is absent and one that is only irregular:
The absence of any of the essential or formal requisites shall render the marriage void ab initio, except as stated in Article 35 (2).
An irregularity in the formal requisites shall not affect the validity of the marriage but the party or parties responsible for the irregularity shall be civilly, criminally and administratively liable.
So a marriage with no license at all, and no exemption, is void. An irregularity does not make the marriage void, but the persons responsible for it can be held liable.
What did the Supreme Court say about a marriage with no valid license?
In Abbas v. Abbas (2013), the marriage contract showed a license number. The civil registrar of the town that supposedly issued it certified that the number belonged to a license issued to another couple, and that no license appeared to have been issued to the spouses on that date. The Supreme Court held that the marriage was void and reinstated the trial court's decision. It said the evidence that a ceremony took place and a contract was signed "does not operate to cure the absence of a valid marriage license."
Read more in Is a marriage without a license valid?
Frequently asked questions
What are the formal requisites of marriage in the Philippines?
Article 3 of the Family Code lists three: the authority of the solemnizing officer, a valid marriage license (unless the marriage is exempt), and a ceremony where the couple appear before the officer and declare, before at least two witnesses of legal age, that they take each other as husband and wife.
Is a marriage without a license void?
Yes, unless it falls under one of the license exemptions in Articles 27 to 34, such as five years of living together under Article 34. Article 35(3) lists marriages solemnized without license among the void marriages.
How many witnesses are needed at a wedding?
At least two, and they must be of legal age (Article 3(3)). Since Republic Act No. 6809, the age of majority is 18 (Article 234).
Is a marriage valid if the officer had no authority?
As a rule it is void (Article 35(2)). The exception is when either or both parties believed in good faith that the officer had the legal authority to marry them.
What if there was only an irregularity, not a missing requisite?
Article 4 says an irregularity in the formal requisites does not affect the validity of the marriage. The persons responsible for the irregularity can be held civilly, criminally and administratively liable.
Is a church wedding or a religious rite required?
No. Article 6 says no prescribed form or religious rite is required. What the law requires is that the couple appear in person and declare before at least two adult witnesses that they take each other as husband and wife.
General information, not legal advice. For your case, ask a lawyer, the Public Attorney's Office (PAO) or the agency.
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