Legal Guide: Requesting a CENOMAR with Annotated Marriage Records in the Philippines
In the Philippine legal landscape, the Certificate of No Marriage Record (CENOMAR) is a vital document issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). It serves as official certification that a person’s name does not appear in the National Indices of Marriages. However, a unique legal situation arises when an individual has been previously married, but that marriage has since been legally terminated or declared void.
In such cases, the document often transitions from a standard CENOMAR to an Advisory on Marriages, which reflects the history of marriages and their subsequent legal status through annotations.
1. Understanding the Document Shift
Strictly speaking, once a marriage is recorded in the PSA database, the system will no longer issue a "CENOMAR" (which implies zero marriage records). Instead, the PSA issues an Advisory on Marriages.
When a marriage is annulled, declared void, or dissolved via legal means, the "CENOMAR" request results in this Advisory, which must contain the Annotation. The annotation is a marginal note on the marriage certificate and the PSA’s database indicating that the marriage is no longer subsisting due to a court decree or legal process.
2. Legal Grounds for Annotation
For a marriage record to be annotated and reflected in an Advisory on Marriages, one of the following legal events must have occurred:
- Declaration of Absolute Nullity of Marriage (Article 35 or 36 of the Family Code).
- Annulment of Marriage (Article 45 of the Family Code).
- Recognition of Foreign Divorce (Article 26, Paragraph 2 of the Family Code).
- Legal Separation (Note: This does not dissolve the marriage bond, but is annotated for record purposes).
- Death of a Spouse.
3. Essential Requirements for Requesting Annotated Records
To ensure the PSA issues a record that correctly reflects the dissolution of a prior marriage, the following requirements must be satisfied at the Local Civil Registry (LCR) level before the PSA can update its central database:
A. The Judicial Decree and Entry of Judgment
The petitioner must provide a certified true copy of the Court Decision and the Entry of Judgment (the document certifying the court's decision is final and executory).
B. Certificate of Finality
Issued by the Clerk of Court, this confirms that no motion for reconsideration or appeal was filed within the prescriptive period.
C. Certificate of Registration (LCR)
The court documents must be registered with the Local Civil Registrar of the city or municipality where the court is located. The LCR will then issue a Certificate of Registration of the court order.
D. The Annotated Marriage Contract
A copy of the Marriage Certificate containing the marginal note signed by the Local Civil Registrar, detailing the court's decision (e.g., "Marriage declared void under Art. 36...").
4. The Process of Updating the PSA (CENOMAR to Advisory)
Once the LCR has the records, they must be transmitted to the PSA. If the PSA database has not yet been updated, the applicant must undergo a Manual Endorsement or Electronic Transmission process:
- Verification: Request a CENOMAR/Advisory at any PSA outlet.
- Request for Annotation: If the record is still "clean" or "unannotated," submit the LCR-authenticated documents (Decision, Entry of Judgment, and Annotated Marriage Contract) to the PSA for "Data Update."
- Processing Time: The PSA typically takes several weeks to verify the court documents with the issuing court before updating the national database.
5. Documentary Checklist for the Applicant
When appearing at a PSA outlet or using an online portal (PSA Serbilis/PSA Helpline) to request the final Advisory on Marriages with annotations, ensure the following are prepared:
| Document Type | Details |
|---|---|
| Valid Identification | Government-issued ID (Passport, UMID, Driver’s License). |
| Authorization Letter | Required if the requester is not the document owner, spouse, parent, or direct descendant. |
| LCR Copy of Marriage Cert | Must bear the clear, handwritten or typed annotation on the side margin. |
| PSA-Copy of Marriage Cert | A copy of the marriage record from the PSA to verify if the annotation has already synced. |
6. Common Legal Challenges
- Delayed Transmission: The most common hurdle is when the Local Civil Registrar fails to transmit the annotated records to the PSA. In this case, the applicant must personally facilitate the "Endorsement" process.
- Discrepancies: If the names or dates in the court decree differ even slightly from the original marriage certificate, a Supplemental Report or further court correction may be required before the annotation is processed.
- Foreign Divorce: For Filipinos divorced abroad, the "CENOMAR with annotation" cannot be issued until a Philippine court judicially recognizes the foreign divorce decree (Petition for Recognition of Foreign Judgment).
Summary of Status
The issuance of an Advisory on Marriages with Annotations is the legal equivalent of a "CENOMAR for the previously married." It is the definitive proof required for those wishing to remarry in the Philippines or for certain visa applications, confirming that while a marriage record exists, the individual is now legally "free to marry."