Short answer. Yes. Where a party was previously married, the Family Code accepts the judicial decree of annulment or declaration of nullity of the previous marriage in place of the birth or baptismal certificate. The death certificate is for applicants whose former spouse has died.
What the law says
In case either of the contracting parties has been previously married, the applicant shall be required to furnish, instead of the birth or baptismal certificate required in the last preceding article, the death certificate of the deceased spouse or the judicial decree of the absolute divorce, or the judicial decree of annulment or declaration of nullity of his or her previous marriage.
Family Code, Article 13 — Proof Required When a Party Was Previously Married. Read the full provision →
The alternatives are not interchangeable
The article lists several documents, but each answers a different history. A death certificate is for the applicant whose former spouse has died; a judicial decree of annulment or of declaration of nullity is for the applicant whose marriage was ended by a court. You furnish the one that matches your situation, not whichever is easier to obtain. What all of them do is the same job — they replace the birth or baptismal certificate an applicant without a previous marriage would submit, and they account for the earlier marriage.
It has to be the judicial decree
The wording is the judicial decree of annulment or declaration of nullity, which means a court's decision and nothing less. An agreement with a former spouse, a church annulment, a long separation or a certification that you have lived apart for years will not do, however settled the situation feels. This is the point at which people who believed themselves free discover they are not, and it is far better to find out while applying for a licence than after a second wedding has taken place.
The decree may not be the last step
Holding a decision is not always the same as being free to remarry. The Family Code requires, before either former spouse marries again, that the judgment together with the partition of property and the delivery of the children's presumptive legitimes be recorded in the civil registry and the registries of property. A second marriage contracted before that is void. So the practical question is not only whether you have the decree but whether the recording it calls for has actually been completed.
What to bring
Get a certified copy of the decision from the court that issued it, together with proof that it became final, and the civil registry record of your previous marriage carrying the annotation. Ordinary photocopies are not what is being asked for. If your former spouse died instead, the article provides for the case where the death certificate cannot be secured, by an affidavit setting out that circumstance, your actual civil status, and the name and date of death of the deceased spouse.
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.
- Edelina T. Ando vs. Department of Foreign Affairs, G.R. No. 195432, August 27, 2014 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Grace J. Garcia, a.k.a. Grace J. Garcia-Recio, vs. Rederick A. Recio, G.R. No. 138322, October 2, 2001 — read the decision on LawPhil →
Related provisions
- Family Code, Article 13 — Proof Required When a Party Was Previously Married
- Family Code, Article 52 — Recording the Judgment and Partition