Short answer. No. Article 34 of the Family Code requires that the couple lived together for five years without any legal impediment to marry each other during the entire period. If either of you was legally married to someone else for any part of those five years, the exemption does not apply and a marriage license is required.
What the law says
No license shall be necessary for the marriage of a man and a woman who have lived together as husband and wife for at least five years and without any legal impediment to marry each other.
Family Code, Article 34 — Marriage Without a License After Five Years' Cohabitation. Read the full provision →
What Article 34 actually requires
The five-year cohabitation exemption from the marriage license requirement has two equally important prongs. First, the couple must have lived together as husband and wife for at least five years. Second, they must have done so without any legal impediment to marry each other throughout that entire period. Both conditions must be satisfied simultaneously — meaning the full five years must be impediment-free, not just the period immediately before the marriage.
Why a prior marriage is a fatal impediment
A subsisting marriage is one of the clearest legal impediments under Philippine law. If one of you was still married to someone else during any part of the five-year cohabitation period — even for one month out of sixty — the cohabitation cannot be said to have run for five years 'without any legal impediment.' The years spent while one party was married to another person simply do not count toward the five-year period for purposes of this exemption. The clock only starts running from the moment both of you were legally free to marry each other.
The affidavit requirement and what it means
Article 34 requires the parties to execute an affidavit stating that they have lived together for five years and that there was no legal impediment during that time. Executing this affidavit falsely — claiming the exemption when one party was in fact still married for part of the five years — carries serious legal consequences. The resulting marriage would not only be invalid for lack of a license; making a false sworn statement to obtain a marriage without a license can expose the parties to criminal liability. The solemnizing officer is also required to swear that no impediment exists.
What to do instead
If your five-year cohabitation period included time when one of you was still married, you need a marriage license to proceed. The license application process involves submitting the required documents to the local civil registrar, waiting out the publication period, and satisfying any other requirements under applicable rules. If your prior marriage has since been annulled or declared null, or if you were widowed, you will need to present the relevant documentation as part of the license application. There is no shortcut around this requirement when the Article 34 conditions are not fully met.
Cases citing this provision
These Supreme Court decisions cite the provision above. We list them so you can read them yourself; the summaries of what each decided are not ours to give.
- Leonila G. Santiago vs. People of the Philippines, G.R. No. 200233, July 15, 2015 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Flora L. Tubera-balintec vs. Heirs of Cesar L. Tubera, G.R. No. 235701, February 15, 2023 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Rommel Genio y Santos vs. People of the Philippines, G.R. No. 261666, January 24, 2024 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Sue Ann Bounsit-Torralba vs. Joseph B. Torralba Republic Of The Philippines, Oppositor-, G.R. No. 214392, December 7,2022 — read the decision on LawPhil →