Text of the provision
Art. 407. Acts, events and judicial decrees concerning the civil status of persons shall be recorded in the civil register.
(325a)
Civil Code of the Philippines, Republic Act No. 386, approved June 18, 1949, effective August 30, 1950. Reproduced in full; verified verbatim against the LawPhil and ChanRobles official-text renderings.
What this article means
Acts, events and judicial decrees concerning the civil status of persons are to be recorded in the civil register — the official record of matters such as birth, marriage and death.
The three categories in this article are broad by design: acts cover voluntary events with legal significance, such as marriage, events cover occurrences like birth and death regardless of anyone’s intent, and judicial decrees cover court orders that alter a person’s civil status. Registration under this article does not itself create the underlying status; a birth or marriage is legally effective independently of the record. What the entry provides is an official, centralized account of the status, so that acts, events, and decrees can later be verified without relying on personal testimony alone.
Questions about this provision
Related provisions
- Article 395 — Petition for Inheritance Preserved.
- Article 410 — Register Entries as Evidence.
Cases citing this article
- Hubert Tan Co, et al. vs. The Civil Register of Manila, G.R. No. 138496, February 23, 2004 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Silvero vs. Republic of the Philippines, G.R. No. 174689, October 22, 2007 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Republic of the Philippines, represented by the Special Committee on Naturalization (SCN) vs. Winston, G.R. No. 205218 / G.R. No. 207075, February 10, 2020 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Republic of the Philippines vs. Jennifer B. Cagandahan, G.R. No. 166676, September 12, 2008 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- In Re: Petition for recognition of foreign Judgment of divorce with prayer to change, G.R. No. 254484, November 24, 2021 — read the decision on LawPhil →
Compiled automatically from Supreme Court decisions published on LawPhil that expressly cite this article, most frequently cited first. A listing means the decision cites the provision — it is not a statement that the case is the leading authority, and it does not show whether a ruling has since been modified or abandoned. Always read the decision itself.