Text of the provision
Art. 18. In case of any impediment known to the local civil registrar or brought to his attention, he shall note down the particulars thereof and his findings thereon in the application for marriage license, but shall nonetheless issue said license after the completion of the period of publication, unless ordered otherwise by a competent court at his own instance or that of any interest party.
No filing fee shall be charged for the petition nor a corresponding bond required for the issuances of the order.
(64a)
Family Code of the Philippines, Executive Order No. 209, approved July 6, 1987. The Code took effect on August 3, 1988 (Republic v. Orbecido III, G.R. No. 154380, October 5, 2005). Reproduced in full.
What this article means
When the local civil registrar knows of, or is told of, an impediment to a marriage application, the registrar must note it on the application — but must still issue the license once publication is complete, unless a competent court orders otherwise, whether on its own motion or on the petition of an interested party. No filing fee or bond is charged for that petition.
The registrar is a record-keeper here, not a gatekeeper: an unresolved impediment does not by itself stop the license from issuing. Only a court can do that. That is also why a license issuing despite a noted impediment does not cure the impediment — the marriage can still be void under Article 35 if the impediment was real.
Related provisions
- Article 19 — the fees for the license itself.
- Article 35 — the grounds that make a marriage void despite the license issuing.
Cases interpreting this article
- Authorities on the Article 18 registrar-notation procedure will be added here as each is verified against primary sources.