Text of the provision
Art. 23. It shall be the duty of the person solemnizing the marriage to furnish either of the contracting parties the original of the marriage certificate referred to in Article 6 and to send the duplicate and triplicate copies of the certificate not later than fifteen days after the marriage, to the local civil registrar of the place where the marriage was solemnized. Proper receipts shall be issued by the local civil registrar to the solemnizing officer transmitting copies of the marriage certificate.
The solemnizing officer shall retain in his file the quadruplicate copy of the marriage certificate, the copy of the marriage certificate, the original of the marriage license and, in proper cases, the affidavit of the contracting party regarding the solemnization of the marriage in place other than those mentioned in Article 8.
(68a)
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
After the ceremony described in Article 6, the solemnizing officer must give the original marriage certificate to either party, and send the duplicate and triplicate copies to the local civil registrar within fifteen days. The registrar issues receipts for what is transmitted, and the officer keeps a quadruplicate copy, the license, and (where the marriage was solemnized somewhere other than the places named in Article 8) the supporting affidavit.
This is the paper trail that later proves the marriage happened — and that makes it registrable. A late or missing transmittal does not by itself void the marriage, but it can complicate proving it later.
Related provisions
- Article 6 — the certificate this article requires the officer to transmit.
- Article 25 — the registrar's own registry-book duties.
Cases interpreting this article
- Authorities on the Article 23 transmittal duty will be added here as each is verified against primary sources.