Your case is filed with the Family Court of Parañaque
Petitions for declaration of nullity and for annulment are filed with the Family Court of Parañaque, provided you or your spouse has resided in Parañaque for at least six months before filing. Venue turns on residence, not on where you were married.
What matters locally
Parañaque, near the airport, has a large population of OFW families and spouses working abroad. Where the respondent is overseas, summons often requires service by publication, the single largest source of delay and added cost — and where the marriage was to a foreign national already divorced abroad, the remedy is recognition of the foreign divorce instead.
What actually happens, in order
- Case build-up — facts, documents, and, for an Article 36 case, the psychological evaluation;
- Filing with the court and payment of docket fees;
- Service of summons on the respondent, by publication where they are abroad;
- Prosecutor's investigation for collusion, required in every case;
- Trial, then decision, finality, and annotation with the civil registrar and the PSA.
Timeline and cost, honestly
An uncontested petition commonly runs one to three years to a registered annotation. Cost is driven by the psychological evaluation, publication, and docket fees. See the full picture on our annulment hub, and estimate the total with the annulment cost calculator.
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Frequently asked
My spouse works abroad. Can I still file in Parañaque?
Yes. The case proceeds even if your spouse is overseas, but summons must be served in the manner the rules allow, which usually means service by publication. That step lengthens the timeline and adds to the cost, so it is planned for from the start.
How long does an annulment take?
For an uncontested petition, commonly one to three years from filing to a registered PSA annotation. The largest variables are service of summons on the respondent, the court's docket, the prosecutor's investigation for collusion, and whether the decision is appealed by the State.
Is the case over once the court grants the petition?
Not for your records. The decision must become final and then be registered and annotated with the local civil registrar and the PSA before your civil status changes. Until that annotation appears, you are still considered married.