Short answer. Generally yes. Article 35 of the Family Code declares marriages solemnized without a license void from the beginning. The exception is marriages that fall under the exemptions in the preceding chapter of the Family Code — certain specific circumstances where the license requirement does not apply.
What the law says
Those solemnized without license, except those covered the preceding Chapter
Family Code, Article 35 — Void Marriages. Read the full provision →
Marriage without a license is void from the beginning
Article 35 of the Family Code lists six categories of marriages that are void from the very start — not merely voidable, but void. The third category covers marriages solemnized without license, except those covered the preceding Chapter. The marriage license is a formal requisite under Philippine law. When it is absent — not just missing from the records but actually not obtained — the marriage has no legal existence from the moment it was celebrated. No amount of time, cohabitation, or acknowledgment by the parties changes this.
The exemptions: when a license is not required
The key qualifying phrase is that the void-without-license rule applies except those covered the preceding Chapter. The Family Code's preceding chapter sets out specific situations where a marriage may be celebrated without a license. These are narrow and strictly defined — the Family Code does not grant a general waiver of the license requirement. If the parties' situation falls within one of those specific exemptions, the absence of a license does not void the marriage. But if it does not, the marriage is void.
A license number in the certificate is not enough
One point that creates confusion: a marriage certificate may show a license number, but that number by itself does not prove a license was validly issued and actually covers the parties to this marriage. What the law requires is that a license actually existed — issued to these parties, for this marriage. A license number that belongs to a license issued for other parties, or that does not appear in the civil registry where it was supposedly obtained, is no license at all. The form of the certificate does not substitute for the substance of a valid, issued license.
Practical implications if you suspect a license issue
If you believe your marriage or a relative's marriage may have been celebrated without a valid license — because the certificate records are inconsistent, the local civil registrar has no record of the license, or the parties know no license was actually obtained — the marriage may be void. A formal declaration of nullity from the court is typically required to resolve the civil registry records and the parties' legal status. This proceeding is separate from and simpler in some ways than annulment, but it still requires a court action. A lawyer can help you trace the license records and advise on the appropriate proceeding.
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.
- Abbas v. Abbas, G.R. No. 183896, January 30, 2013 (Velasco, Jr., J.) — the leading modern authority on paragraph (3). The marriage licence is a formal requisite; where the licence number on the certificate belongs to no licence actually issued to the parties, the licence is absent and the marriage is void ab initio. Decided under the Family Code (marriage celebrated 1992).
- Republic v. Dayot, G.R. Nos. 175581 and 179474, March 28, 2008 — a false affidavit of five years' cohabitation cannot exempt a marriage from the licence requirement; the marriage is void for want of a licence. Decided under Civil Code Article 76 (marriage celebrated 1986, before the Family Code took effect), but it is the leading authority on the cohabitation exception now carried into Article 34, and so on when a marriage is void under Article 35(3).