A wrong “first marriage” entry in your PSA records or CENOMAR (now usually issued as a Certificate of No Marriage Record or Advisory on Marriages) can completely derail your plans: new marriage license, visa, migration, job application, even banking.

Here’s a full, Philippine-context guide to how this happens, what the law says, and what you can actually do about it.

1. What exactly is being “corrected”?

Before talking about remedies, it’s important to understand what document you’re really dealing with.

1.1 PSA civil registry vs. CENOMAR / Advisory on Marriages

Civil registry records These are the “source” records: your:
- Certificate of Live Birth
- Certificate of Marriage
- Certificate of Death
They originate at the Local Civil Registry (LCR) of the city/municipality (or at a Philippine consulate for events abroad), and are then transmitted to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) for national consolidation.
CENOMAR / Advisory on Marriages
- A CENOMAR is a PSA certification that you have no recorded marriage in the civil registry.
- An Advisory on Marriages is issued if the system shows one or more marriages under your name; it lists your marriages chronologically (so the “first marriage” entry appears there).

👉 You do not correct the CENOMAR directly. The CENOMAR is just a printout of what’s in PSA’s database. You correct the underlying civil registry entry, and PSA’s certifications should then reflect the correction.

2. Typical “wrong first marriage” scenarios

“Wrong first marriage” can mean different things, and your remedy depends heavily on the exact scenario.

Namesake / homonym problem
- Someone else with a similar name (and often same or close birth date) got married.
- PSA’s system links that marriage to you, so your CENOMAR shows a marriage you never contracted.
Real marriage, but details are wrong
- You are indeed the person who married, but:
  - Your first name or surname is misspelled
  - Your birth date or age is wrong
  - The spouse’s name is misspelled
  - The date or place of marriage is wrong
- The “first marriage” entry exists, but its details are inaccurate.
Real marriage, but marriage is void or annulled
- Example: you had a prior marriage that is legally void (e.g., bigamous, no license) or annulled (voidable).
- Even if the marriage is void or voidable, it still appears as a marriage in PSA records until properly annotated via court decree.
Fake or irregularly registered marriage
- You insist you never signed any marriage contract and never had any wedding, but a marriage certificate exists under your name (e.g., forged signature, sham ceremony, fraud).

Each situation will push you toward either:

(a) administrative correction under the Clerical Error Law, or
(b) a judicial petition (court case) to correct or cancel the entry.

3. Legal framework

The main laws and rules involved are:

Civil Code, Articles 407–412
- Provide that acts, events, and judicial decrees concerning the civil status of persons must be recorded in the civil register, and changes/corrections must be done by proper judicial order, subject to certain statutory exceptions.
Rule 108, Rules of Court (Cancellation or correction of entries in the civil registry)
- Governs court petitions to correct/cancel substantial errors (e.g., civil status, legitimacy, entries about marriage, etc.).
Republic Act No. 9048 (Clerical Error Law), as amended by RA 10172
- Allows administrative corrections (no court case) for:
  - Clerical/typographical errors in first name, middle name, surname, and other entries;
  - Change of first name or nickname;
  - Day and month of date of birth;
  - Sex, when due to clerical/typographical error.
- These petitions are filed with the Local Civil Registrar, or Philippine consulate for events abroad.
Family Code of the Philippines Relevant for:
- Void marriages (Art. 35, 36, 37, 38, etc.)
- Voidable marriages (Art. 45) and annulment
- Judicial declarations of nullity, annulment, legal separation, which eventually must be annotated on the marriage record and transmitted to PSA.

Key principle:

Simple clerical errors (spelling, obvious typographical mistakes) → may be corrected administratively under RA 9048/10172.
Substantial matters (whether you are married at all, who you are married to, change in civil status) → require a court proceeding under Rule 108 and/or a case for nullity/annulment.

4. Step 1: Pinpoint exactly what kind of error you are dealing with

Before you file anything, you should:

Get the relevant documents:
- Your PSA-issued CENOMAR or Advisory on Marriages
- PSA copy of the Certificate of Marriage for the “first marriage” entry
- Your PSA birth certificate
- Any ID, passport, school records, and other documents establishing your identity and civil status.
Compare the details carefully:
- Do you recognize the spouse? The date? The place?
- Is the signature on the marriage certificate yours?
- Is the address or parents’ names consistent with your records?
- Could this be a namesake?
Classify the problem:
- A. Marriage truly not yours (namesake / fraudulent entry)
- B. Marriage is yours, but information is wrong (clerical error)
- C. Marriage is yours, but you obtained or will obtain a court decree (nullity/annulment)
- D. Marriage is yours but void/defective and still needs court declaration

Your next move depends on which of these applies.

5. Scenario A: Namesake or marriage that is NOT yours

This is one of the most stressful situations: PSA records say you are married, but you insist you never married that person at all.

5.1 What the law treats this as

This is not a simple spelling or typo. It’s a substantial error with huge consequences because it affects your civil status (from “single” to “married”).

Because of that, RA 9048 is not sufficient. You generally need:

A judicial petition to cancel/correct the entry in the civil registry (Rule 108).

5.2 General steps under Rule 108 (judicial cancellation/correction)

Consult a lawyer
- You will need legal counsel; Rule 108 petitions are formal court actions.
- Your lawyer will draft a Verified Petition for Cancellation/Correction of Entry in the civil registry.
Where to file
- Regional Trial Court (RTC) of:
  - The place where the Local Civil Registrar (that holds the marriage record) is situated, or
  - Where you reside (depending on your lawyer’s strategy and jurisdictional rules).
Who should be named as parties (respondents) Typically, the petition names:
- The Local Civil Registrar concerned
- The PSA
- The supposed spouse in the wrong marriage entry
- Sometimes, other government agencies or interested parties as the court may direct.
What the petition should allege
- Your identity and civil status
- The existence of the contested marriage entry under your name
- That the marriage is not actually yours (e.g., you never contracted such marriage, never met the spouse, never signed the document, or you are a different person with same name)
- The legal basis for cancellation/correction (Civil Code Articles 407–412 and Rule 108)
- The specific relief: to order the cancellation/correction of the erroneous marriage entry and direct the LCR/PSA to amend its records.
Evidence you will likely need
- PSA CENOMAR/Advisory showing the wrong marriage
- PSA marriage certificate of the “wrong first marriage”
- Your PSA birth certificate
- Valid IDs, school records, baptismal certificate, etc., proving where you were at the supposed date of marriage
- If it’s a namesake:
  - Evidence that another person with similar name exists (e.g., their own ID, birth certificate, or testimonies)
- Witnesses who can attest that you did not contract this marriage, or that the person in the record is different from you.
Publication and notice
- Rule 108 usually requires:
  - Publication of the petition in a newspaper of general circulation for a prescribed period
  - Service of notice to the LCR, PSA, and any affected parties (including the supposed spouse).
Court hearing
- You (and possibly witnesses) testify.
- The civil registrar and PSA representative may appear.
- The court evaluates whether the marriage entry is indeed erroneously attributed to you.
Decision and finality
- If the court is convinced, it issues a Decision ordering the cancellation/correction of the contested first marriage entry as far as it refers to you.
- After the decision becomes final and executory, you get a Certificate of Finality.
Implementation with LCR and PSA
- The court or your lawyer ensures that:
  - The LCR annotates the marriage registry and your records according to the Decision.
  - The LCR transmits the annotated records to PSA.
- Once PSA updates its database, any new CENOMAR/Advisory should no longer show that erroneous first marriage.

6. Scenario B: Marriage is yours, but details are wrong (clerical errors)

Here, the “first marriage” entry is real, but some data are incorrect, such as:

Misspelled name (“Jhon” instead of “John”)
Wrong middle name
Typographical errors in the date or place
Minor inconsistencies consistent with a typo/clerical mistake.

6.1 When RA 9048 and RA 10172 apply

These laws allow administrative correction without a court case if:

The error is clerical or typographical, and
It doesn’t involve changing civil status, nationality, or sex (except for sex when the mistake is clearly a typographical error as allowed by RA 10172).

So you can use RA 9048/10172 for things like:

Spelling of your name or spouse’s name
Minor mistakes in the date/place of marriage (e.g., “2023” instead of “2022” due to an obvious clerical error)
Other entries that are clearly typographical.

You cannot use RA 9048/10172 to:

Remove the marriage record
Change civil status from “married” back to “single”
Change the identity of the spouse (e.g., replacing one person with another – this is no longer a mere typo).

6.2 Administrative process at the Local Civil Registrar (RA 9048/10172)

Go to the Local Civil Registry Office where the marriage was registered.
Request the forms:
- “Petition for Correction of Clerical Error” and/or
- “Petition for Change of First Name” / “Change of Day/Month/Sex” (if applicable).
Prepare supporting documents, such as:
- PSA copies of the marriage certificate and other affected records
- Government IDs, school records, baptismal certificate, etc., showing correct entries
- Affidavit of Discrepancy, Joint Affidavits of Two Disinterested Persons if required.
Pay the filing and publication fees
- There is usually a filing fee and a publication fee (for change of first name and certain corrections).
Publication (for certain cases)
- For change of first name or certain changes, the petition has to be published in a newspaper of general circulation for a period required by law.
Evaluation and decision by the Civil Registrar
- The Civil Registrar reviews your petition and documents.
- If found sufficient, a Decision/Approval is issued granting the correction.
Endorsement to PSA and issuance of annotated record
- The LCR annotates its registry and forwards the corrected record to PSA.
- After PSA updates its database, your CENOMAR/Advisory should reflect the corrected details.

7. Scenario C: Marriage is yours and already annulled or declared void

If you had a prior marriage that:

Has been annulled (voidable marriage under the Family Code), or
Has been declared void (e.g., psychological incapacity, bigamous marriage, etc.),

that marriage will still appear on your PSA Advisory on Marriages until the court decree is annotated on the marriage record and transmitted to PSA.

7.1 What needs to happen

Annulment / nullity case has to be decided
- You must have:
  - The Decision granting annulment/nullity;
  - The Certificate of Finality issued by the court;
  - The Entry of Judgment (if applicable).
Registration and annotation
- These court documents must be:
  - Registered with the LCR where the marriage was recorded.
  - Annotated on the marriage certificate and relevant civil registry entries.
Transmission to PSA
- The LCR forwards the annotated marriage record and related documents to PSA.
Effect on CENOMAR / Advisory
- The marriage will usually still appear, but with an annotation stating that it has been annulled or declared void pursuant to the court decision.
- You will not revert to “never married” in PSA’s system for that period of your life, but you may be legally free to remarry (subject to other Family Code requirements like liquidation, etc.).

So, strictly speaking, this does not “erase” the first marriage; it annotates its legal status as annulled or void.

8. Scenario D: Marriage is void/defective but no case yet filed

This includes cases where:

The marriage is bigamous (you or your spouse were already married to someone else at the time);
No marriage license was obtained (unless exempt under the law);
There was lack of authority of the solemnizing officer, psychological incapacity, etc.

Even if the marriage is void from the start under the Family Code, it remains in the records and will appear on your Advisory on Marriages until a court declares it void and that decision is annotated in the civil registry.

So, if your “first marriage” entry is a void marriage, the typical path is:

File a petition for declaration of nullity of marriage (Family Code)
Once granted and final:
- Register the Decision and Certificate of Finality with the LCR
- Have the LCR annotate and transmit the annotated record to PSA
The Advisory on Marriages will then show the marriage with an annotation regarding its nullity.

Again, this is not a simple correction; it’s a full-blown family law case.

9. Can the LCR or PSA fix a namesake error without a court case?

In practice, people often start by going directly to PSA or the LCR to inquire:

Sometimes the civil registrar will first verify whether:
- The marriage belongs to a different person, and
- Whether that person’s full particulars (e.g., parents’ names, birthdate, birthplace) clearly differ from yours.

If the civil registrar believes that the error is still “clerical” (e.g., mixing up registry entries in encoding), they might consider administrative remedies. But once the issue clearly involves a change in civil status or denial of a whole marriage, it is generally treated as needing a judicial proceeding.

Because there’s no single uniform practice across all LCR offices in the country, the safest assumption is:

If the disputed issue is “Are you actually married or not?”, expect that a Rule 108 court petition will be required.

10. Correcting the PSA database and the CENOMAR/Advisory

Whatever path you take (RA 9048/10172 or Rule 108 / nullity/annulment), nothing is “real” for PSA purposes until:

The LCR updates or annotates the record, and
The LCR transmits the updated record to PSA, and
PSA processes the update and reflects it in the system.

Only after that can you request a new CENOMAR or Advisory on Marriages that reflects the correction.

11. Practical tips if your “first marriage” entry is wrong

Get all your PSA documents at once.
- CENOMAR/Advisory on Marriages
- Birth certificate
- Marriage certificate(s) in question This allows you and your lawyer to see the full picture.
Document your identity thoroughly.
- Keep multiple IDs, certificates, old school records, etc.
- These help distinguish you from a namesake.
Start with the Local Civil Registry.
- They can confirm the actual physical registry book entries for the marriage.
- Sometimes they can clarify whether the entry clearly pertains to another person.
Treat this as a serious legal issue.
- A wrong marriage entry can:
  - Prevent you from getting a marriage license
  - Cause immigration/visa problems
  - Complicate property and inheritance issues.
Prepare for time and cost.
- Administrative corrections (RA 9048/10172) are relatively cheaper and faster but limited to clerical errors.
- Judicial petitions (Rule 108, nullity, annulment) take longer and require legal fees, publication, etc.
Keep all receipts and certified copies.
- You’ll need proof of filings, payments, and endorsements later.

12. Sample outline of a Rule 108 petition (for namesake or erroneous marriage)

To give you an idea, a typical petition might contain:

Caption – “In the Regional Trial Court… In Re: Petition for Cancellation/Correction of Entry in the Civil Registry of [Name of Petitioner]…”
Parties – Petitioner vs. Local Civil Registrar of [City/Municipality], PSA, and the person erroneously listed as spouse.
Allegations:
- Personal circumstances of petitioner
- Existence of the wrong marriage entry under petitioner’s name
- Facts showing that petitioner is not the person who contracted that marriage (e.g., different parents, different address, was in another place, never met the spouse)
- Legal basis (Civil Code, Rule 108)
- Prayer to cancel/correct the erroneous entry and direct LCR/PSA to amend records.
Verification and Certification of Non-Forum Shopping
Attachments – PSA certificates, IDs, affidavits, etc.

This is just a conceptual outline; actual drafting must be done by a lawyer based on your precise situation.

13. Special notes for overseas Filipinos

If you discovered the wrong marriage entry while processing:

Migration
Fiancé(e) visas
Overseas employment

the principles are the same. However:

If your true marriage took place abroad and was registered in a Philippine consulate, the relevant “civil registrar” for recording is the Philippine Embassy/Consulate and later the PSA.
Erroneous entries registered abroad may still require a combination of:
- Coordination with the Embassy/Consulate, and
- Rule 108 proceedings in a Philippine court, depending on the nature of the error.

14. Key takeaways

No, the CENOMAR itself is not “edited.” You correct the underlying civil registry record; the CENOMAR/Advisory is just a reflection.
Clerical mistakes (spelling, obvious typos) → RA 9048/10172 at the Local Civil Registrar (administrative correction).
Substantial issues – like whether you were ever married, who your spouse is, or removing a whole marriage entry – → generally require a judicial petition under Rule 108 (and/or a separate nullity/annulment case under the Family Code, as applicable).
Namesake/fake marriage problems almost always demand court action, because they involve your civil status.
After a court decision becomes final, it must be registered, annotated, and transmitted to PSA before your CENOMAR/Advisory will change.
Because each case has specific facts and risks, it is important to consult a Philippine lawyer experienced in civil registry and family law to strategize and implement the proper remedy.

This is general legal information based on the usual operation of Philippine law on civil registry, not a substitute for advice on your specific case. If you’re facing a wrong “first marriage” entry in your PSA records or CENOMAR, the safest practical next step is to bring your PSA certificates and IDs to a trusted lawyer, who can tell you quickly whether your case can be handled by RA 9048/10172 at the LCR or needs a full Rule 108 / family court action.