Marriage without a license via a “cohabitation affidavit” is really about one very specific rule in Philippine law: Article 34 of the Family Code. Understanding it properly means separating three things that often get mixed up:

The general rule: a marriage license is required.
The exception: certain couples who have lived together for at least five (5) years may marry without a license, provided strict conditions are met.
The misconceptions: simply living together (even with an affidavit) does not by itself make you married.

Below is a detailed guide in Philippine context.

I. Legal Basis: Marriage, License, and the Article 34 Exception

1. Essential and formal requisites of marriage

Under the Family Code of the Philippines, a valid marriage requires:

Essential requisites (Art. 2):
- Legal capacity of the parties (e.g., minimum age, not already married, no prohibited relationship).
- Consent freely given in the presence of a solemnizing officer.
Formal requisites (Art. 3):
- Authority of the solemnizing officer.
- A valid marriage ceremony where the parties personally appear and exchange consent.
- A valid marriage license, except in special cases provided by law.

If any essential or formal requisite is absent, the marriage is generally void.

2. Marriage license as a general rule

Ordinarily, couples must:

Apply for a marriage license with the Local Civil Registrar (LCR) of the city/municipality where either resides.
Comply with requirements such as:
- Birth certificates
- Certificate of no marriage record (CENOMAR)
- Parental consent/advice (for certain ages)
- Publication of notice, etc.

Without this license, a marriage is usually void for lack of a formal requisite (Art. 35[3]).

3. Special cases where license is not required

The Family Code, however, lists several license-exempt marriages, including:

Marriages in articulo mortis in remote places
Certain marriages among Muslims or members of indigenous cultural communities
Marriages of parties who have lived together as husband and wife for at least five (5) years (Art. 34)

It is this last one—Article 34—that people often refer to when they say “marriage without license via cohabitation affidavit.”

II. What Article 34 Actually Says

In substance, Article 34 provides:

A marriage license is not necessary when a man and a woman who have lived together as husband and wife for at least five (5) years and are not disqualified to marry each other, desire to marry. They must state these facts in an affidavit before a person authorized to administer oaths. The solemnizing officer must also state in the marriage certificate that he ascertained the qualifications of the parties and their five-year cohabitation.

So:

The marriage license is replaced by:
- An affidavit of cohabitation executed by the parties; and
- A sworn statement by the solemnizing officer in the marriage certificate.

This does not mean the couple is “automatically married” by virtue of cohabitation or affidavit alone. They still need:

A valid ceremony, and
Due registration of the marriage certificate.

III. “Cohabitation Affidavit”: What It Is and What It Isn’t

1. What it is

The so-called Affidavit of Cohabitation (or Affidavit of Living Together, etc.) is a sworn statement by the couple that:

They have lived together as husband and wife for at least five (5) continuous years immediately prior to the marriage.
They are not disqualified to marry each other (i.e., no existing marriage to someone else, no prohibited relationship, etc.).

It is usually:

Prepared in standard form,
Sworn before a notary public or any officer authorized to administer oaths, and
Presented to the solemnizing officer (and often to the LCR for registration with the marriage certificate).

2. What it is not

It is not:

A document that by itself creates a marriage.
A substitute for a wedding ceremony.
A way to make a “common law marriage” recognized in the Philippines.

The Philippines does not recognize “common law marriage” in the sense used in some foreign jurisdictions. Cohabitation alone, even for decades, does not make you legally married.

The affidavit is merely a proof and legal requirement to avail of the Article 34 exception to the license requirement.

IV. Strict Requirements Under Article 34

To validly marry without a license via a cohabitation affidavit, all of these must be present:

1. At least five (5) years of cohabitation as husband and wife

The couple must have actually lived together, in the same household, continuously for at least five years immediately before the marriage.
The cohabitation must be as husband and wife—meaning they held themselves out as such, not just casual or intermittent cohabitation.

2. Both must be capacitated to marry each other the entire time

This is crucial and often misunderstood:

Both parties must have been free to marry each other during the entire five-year period.
- No existing valid marriage with another person.
- No relationship that is incestuous or within the prohibited degrees of consanguinity.
If, for example, one party was still legally married to someone else during part of the five-year period, that time usually cannot be counted toward the five-year cohabitation “as husband and wife” for purposes of Article 34.

The Supreme Court has emphasized in several decisions that Article 34 is meant only for couples who have been living together in good faith, without legal impediment, and as if already married, long before they formalize their union.

3. Affidavit requirement

The parties must execute an affidavit stating:
- That they have lived together as husband and wife for at least five years; and
- That they are not disqualified to marry each other.
This affidavit must be sworn before someone legally authorized to administer oaths.

4. Role of the solemnizing officer

The officer—priest, pastor, judge, mayor, or other authorized person—must:

Personally ascertain that the parties are qualified to marry.
Verify the truthfulness of their alleged five-year cohabitation.
State under oath in the marriage certificate that he/she has done so.

Failure to do this exposes the officer to possible administrative and even criminal liability.

V. Step-by-Step: How a License-Exempt Marriage via Cohabitation Affidavit Works

The actual administrative details can vary slightly by locality, but typically:

Eligibility check
- Ensure both parties:
  - Are of legal marrying age (or with proper parental consent/advice if required).
  - Are not already married to someone else.
  - Are not within prohibited relationships (e.g., parent-child, siblings, etc.).
  - Have in fact cohabited for at least five years as a couple.
Gather basic civil status documents Commonly required documents (even if no license is needed) may include:
- PSA (Philippine Statistics Authority) birth certificates.
- CENOMAR (Certificate of No Marriage) or relevant civil registry documents.
- Valid IDs, etc.
These help the officer and the LCR verify identity and capacity.
Prepare and execute the Affidavit of Cohabitation
- A form or draft is prepared stating the facts of cohabitation and absence of impediment.
- The couple appears before a notary public or authorized official to:
  - Confirm the content of the affidavit; and
  - Sign it under oath.
Coordinate with the solemnizing officer
- Present:
  - The Affidavit of Cohabitation.
  - Supporting documents (IDs, birth certificates, CENOMAR, etc.).
- The solemnizing officer verifies:
  - Identity and capacity to marry.
  - Truthfulness and sufficiency of the claimed five-year cohabitation.
Wedding ceremony
- The couple must personally appear and exchange consent before the solemnizing officer, with the required witnesses.
- The officer officiates the marriage, thereby solemnizing it.
Filling out and registering the Certificate of Marriage
- The Certificate of Marriage is completed and signed by:
  - The couple
  - The witnesses
  - The solemnizing officer
- The officer indicates in the certificate (under oath) that:
  - The couple is license-exempt under Article 34.
  - He/She has verified their qualifications and their five-year cohabitation.
- The certificate is then registered with the appropriate Local Civil Registrar within the prescribed period.
- Once recorded, the marriage becomes part of the civil registry, and a PSA-issued marriage certificate can later be obtained.

VI. Legal Effects of a Valid Article 34 Marriage

A valid marriage under Article 34 is no less a marriage than one with a license. Its consequences include:

Property relations
- For marriages under the Family Code (from 1988 onwards), the default property regime—absent a marriage settlement—is the absolute community of property, subject to exceptions.
- All property acquired during the marriage (with specific exceptions like exclusive property, inheritances with conditions, etc.) becomes part of the community.
Succession rights
- Spouses become legal heirs of each other.
- They enjoy rights to legitime and other inheritance rights under the Civil Code and Family Code provisions on succession.
Use of surname
- The wife may use the surname of the husband according to the usual rules on the use of married surname.
Children
- Children born during the marriage are generally presumed legitimate.
- Those born before the marriage may be legitimated by subsequent valid marriage if, at the time of conception and birth, the parents were not disqualified by any legal impediment to marry each other.

VII. What If There Is Only Cohabitation and an Affidavit—but No Ceremony?

This is a common misunderstanding.

Cohabitation alone, even with a notarial affidavit saying you are “living as husband and wife,” does not create a valid marriage.
You still need:
- A solemnizing officer,
- A marriage ceremony where consent is exchanged, and
- Proper registration in the civil registry.

Without those, the relationship remains a union in fact, not a marriage.

Legal treatment of non-marital cohabitation

If there is no valid marriage, the relationship falls under Articles 147 or 148 of the Family Code:

Article 147 applies when:
- The parties are not disqualified by any impediment to marry each other (e.g., both single), but they live together as husband and wife without a valid marriage (e.g., due to some defect in the ceremony or license).
- The property they acquire during their union is generally presumed owned in common, in proportion to their contributions.
Article 148 applies when:
- The parties are in a void or adulterous/bigamous relationship, or there is some serious impediment.
- Property relations are more restrictive; only properties acquired through actual joint contribution are co-owned, and the rules are stricter and less favorable.

In short, the law protects certain property rights in non-marital cohabitation, but it does not treat the couple as legally married.

VIII. Jurisprudence and Common Pitfalls

The Supreme Court has repeatedly stressed that Article 34 is an exception that must be strictly construed and proven. Some patterns in case law:

Misuse as a shortcut
- Many couples who have not truly cohabited for five years sign a standard affidavit just to skip the license process.
- Later, when the validity of the marriage is challenged (e.g., in annulment, nullity, or bigamy cases), the court scrutinizes:
  - The truth of the five-year cohabitation claim.
  - Whether both parties were free to marry each other for the entire five years.
Counting cohabitation during an existing marriage to another
- Where one party was still legally married to someone else during the alleged cohabitation, the courts have often refused to count that period toward the “five years,” because they could not have been “capacitated to marry each other” at that time.
- Result: If there is no valid license and the Article 34 conditions are not met, the marriage can be declared void for lack of a license.
Consequences in bigamy cases
- In criminal cases for bigamy, the prosecution must show a valid first marriage and a second valid marriage.
- If the supposed second marriage is void for lack of license and failure to validly use Article 34, the accused may be acquitted because there was technically no second valid marriage.

The key lesson: Article 34 is not a casual workaround. Courts insist on strict compliance and truthful affidavits.

IX. Possible Criminal and Administrative Liability

Using a cohabitation affidavit improperly can have serious legal consequences:

For the spouses
- If they knowingly make false statements in the affidavit (e.g., lying about the five-year cohabitation or about being free to marry), they may be liable for:
  - Perjury, for willfully making an untruthful statement under oath.
  - Possibly falsification of public documents, if the false statement is incorporated into official records (e.g., marriage certificate).
For the solemnizing officer
- A judge, mayor, priest, or minister who officiates a marriage without observing legal requirements may incur liability for:
  - Illegal marriage ceremonies under the Revised Penal Code.
  - Administrative discipline, suspension, or removal (for public officials and judges).
- If the officer signs an oath in the marriage certificate without actually verifying the truth of the cohabitation and capacity, this can also constitute falsification or related offenses.

X. Other License-Exempt Marriages vs. Art. 34

To avoid confusion, Article 34 should be distinguished from other situations where a license is not required, such as:

Marriages in articulo mortis (when one party is at the point of death) in remote places where a license cannot be obtained in time.
Certain marriages among Muslim Filipinos or indigenous cultural communities governed by their own personal laws or customs, under special statutes.

Article 34 is specifically aimed at long-term cohabiting couples, not those in emergency or culturally distinct situations.

XI. Practical Questions

1. Can a Filipino and a foreigner marry under Article 34?

The Family Code does not explicitly limit Article 34 to Filipino citizens, but:
- The foreigner must be legally capacitated to marry under his/her national law.
- In practice, local civil registrars often still require a certificate of legal capacity to contract marriage (or equivalent) from the foreigner’s embassy or consulate.
Whether a specific LCR or solemnizing officer will accept Article 34 for a mixed-nationality couple varies, and it can be more complex than for two Filipinos.

2. Is a marriage under Article 34 “weaker” than one with a license?

No. If all legal requirements are met, an Article 34 marriage is as valid and binding as any licensed marriage. The only difference lies in how the formal requisite of a license is satisfied (through the exception).

3. Can we just rely on a notarial affidavit and skip everything else?

No. The affidavit is only one of the formal requirements for the Article 34 exemption. You still need:

A competent solemnizing officer
A proper ceremony with exchange of consent
Proper completion and registration of the marriage certificate

XII. Summary

General rule: A marriage license is required for valid marriage in the Philippines.
Exception: Under Article 34, couples who have lived together as husband and wife for at least five (5) years, and who have no legal impediment to marry each other, may validly marry without a license, provided:
- They execute an Affidavit of Cohabitation, and
- The solemnizing officer verifies their qualifications and cohabitation, and so states under oath in the marriage certificate.
Cohabitation and an affidavit alone—without a valid ceremony and registration—do not create a marriage.
Courts interpret Article 34 strictly, and misuse (e.g., lying about the five-year period) can lead to the marriage being declared void and can involve criminal and administrative liability.

Important: This is a general legal discussion, not a substitute for advice tailored to your specific situation. If you are planning to marry under Article 34 or need to confirm the validity of an existing union, it’s best to consult a Philippine lawyer or your Local Civil Registrar who can review your documents and precise circumstances.