A PSA CENOMAR, short for Certificate of No Marriage Record, is a document from the Philippine Statistics Authority stating that its national database shows no marriage registered under a person’s name. Many offices ask for it before a wedding, for fiancé and spouse visas, and for some employment and benefit claims. If the PSA does find a marriage, it does not issue a CENOMAR at all. Instead, it issues an Advisory on Marriages, which lists the marriages on record.
What a PSA CENOMAR proves, and what it does not
The certificate says only that the PSA has no marriage on file for that name and birth details as of the date of issue. It does not prove that you never married anywhere. For example, a recent marriage that the local civil registrar has not yet transmitted, or a marriage abroad never reported to a Philippine embassy, would not appear.
That is why offices care about how recent the certificate is. Many treat it as valid for about six months, and some want one issued within three months. Check with the receiving office before ordering, so the date lines up with your appointment.
When you will be asked for one
- Marriage license applications at the local civil registrar. Many LGUs ask both parties for a CENOMAR along with birth certificates.
- Church weddings, where parishes commonly ask for it as part of the canonical requirements.
- Fiancé or spouse visas and foreign marriage registrations, where embassies want proof of single status.
- Some benefit claims, such as survivorship claims where a beneficiary must show they did not remarry.
- Foreign nationals marrying Filipinos, who need the Filipino partner’s CENOMAR alongside their own legal capacity documents.
Certificate versus Advisory on Marriages
If you were ever married and the record reached the PSA, you will receive an Advisory on Marriages instead of a CENOMAR. The advisory lists the marriage records found, with dates and places. Widowed or annulled people, for instance, use it to show their marital history. Spouses whose marriage certificate is not yet printable use it too.
An annulment or declaration of nullity does not erase the marriage record. The record should instead carry an annotation of the court decision once the civil registrar registers and transmits it. A person with an annulled marriage will therefore typically receive an advisory showing the annotated marriage, not a CENOMAR.
PSA CENOMAR fees
PSAHelpline, an authorized PSA online partner, lists a total of ₱420 for a delivered PSA CENOMAR. That total covers a ₱210 document fee for the PSA and a ₱160 combined facilitation, convenience, and service fee. A ₱50 courier fee makes up the rest. The document fee alone, ₱210, is what you would expect to pay at a PSA outlet for a walk-in request.
PSA Serbilis, the PSA’s own online request service, shows its own price at checkout. Because fees can change, rely on the amount displayed when you order.
Ordering a PSA CENOMAR online
- Open psahelpline.ph or psaserbilis.com.ph by typing the address yourself.
- Choose the CENOMAR option, sometimes labeled “Certificate of No Marriage”.
- Enter the person’s full name, birth date, birthplace, and parents’ names exactly as on the birth certificate.
- State the purpose, for example marriage license or visa.
- Pay through one of the listed channels and save the reference number.
- Track the delivery and be ready to show ID to the courier.
Accurate birth details matter even more here than for a birth certificate, because PSA matches the search against those details. A wrong birthplace can return a result for someone else or no result at all.
Requesting a PSA CENOMAR at an outlet
At a Civil Registry System outlet, fill out the request form, pay the document fee, and wait for release. Release times vary, and some outlets release these certificates later the same day or on a set date, since the search covers the entire national database.
Bring a valid ID. If you are requesting for someone else, bring an authorization letter signed by that person, a copy of their ID, and your own ID. Because people commonly use the certificate for marriage, staff check authorization carefully.
Who may request it
PSA limits access to marriage-related documents for privacy reasons. In general, the owner of the record or an authorized representative can request a PSA CENOMAR. Staff usually refuse requests for someone else without authorization, even from a fiancé or relative.
For couples applying together, each person should request their own, or each should sign an authorization for the other. That avoids a rejected order a few weeks before a wedding.
Timing the request for a wedding
Couples often order too early. If your marriage license application or your parish interview is three months away, ordering today may leave you with a document that is “too old” by the time you submit it. A safer approach is to ask the civil registrar and the parish how recent the CENOMAR must be, then order the PSA CENOMAR with some margin for delivery delays.
Keep the marriage license process itself in mind as well. Under the Family Code, the civil registrar posts the application for ten consecutive days before issuing the license. So have the CENOMAR ready before you file the application, not after.
Errors or a surprise marriage record
Occasionally, people discover a marriage they did not know about on an Advisory on Marriages. This can be a record belonging to someone with the same name, a clerical error in the database, or, in rare cases, identity fraud. Do not ignore it.
First, request a copy of the listed marriage certificate to see the details. Then go to the local civil registrar of the place listed, and ask how to correct or investigate the entry. The civil registrar can fix clerical errors administratively, but a fraudulent marriage record usually needs legal action. A lawyer or the Public Attorney’s Office can advise you.
For OFWs and Filipinos abroad
Overseas Filipinos can order online with international delivery or ask a relative in the Philippines to request it with an authorization letter. Some embassies also accept a PSA CENOMAR with a DFA apostille for use abroad. Check whether the receiving country needs that, because the apostille is a separate step and takes extra time.
If you married abroad and reported the marriage to a Philippine embassy, that Report of Marriage eventually reaches the PSA. Once the PSA records it, it will issue an advisory rather than a CENOMAR.
Using the certificate in benefit claims
Agencies sometimes ask for proof of civil status when processing benefits. A surviving parent claiming benefits for a member who died single, for example, may need the member’s CENOMAR. It shows there was no spouse with a prior claim. Ask the agency exactly which document it needs, since some want the CENOMAR while others accept an advisory.
Reading the certificate correctly
When the document arrives, check the name, birth date, birthplace, and parents’ names printed in the search details. These are the details the PSA searched, and the certificate is only meaningful for that exact combination. If any of them is wrong, the certificate may not satisfy the receiving office, because it effectively certifies a different person. Order a new one with corrected details rather than writing a note on the old one.
Look at the issue date as well, and keep it in mind as you schedule the marriage license application, the parish interview, or the visa appointment. Several offices may each want to keep an original. So consider ordering two copies at once, and you will not need to reorder when one office keeps yours.
Foreign partners and legal capacity to marry
When a Filipino marries a foreign national in the Philippines, the Filipino partner typically submits a PSA CENOMAR, while the foreign partner submits a certificate of legal capacity to contract marriage from their embassy. The local civil registrar sets the list, so ask early. Some embassies take weeks to issue their document, which makes the foreign partner’s paperwork the slower half of the file.
Related documents you may need
A wedding file usually includes PSA birth certificates for both parties, CENOMARs, and later the PSA marriage certificate once the civil registrar registers the marriage. See our guides on the PSA birth certificate and the PSA marriage certificate for those steps.
For a general list of what to photocopy and bring to civil registry offices, use our government document prep checklist.
Quick PSA CENOMAR answers
Does a CENOMAR expire? The PSA does not print an expiry, but receiving offices often set a limit of three to six months.
Can I get one if I am separated but not annulled? No. Separation does not remove a marriage record, so you will get an advisory.
Is a CENOMAR the same as a certificate of singleness? Not exactly. Some embassies issue their own documents on legal capacity to marry, which are separate from the PSA certificate.
Last checked against the PSAHelpline payment FAQ and the PSA Serbilis site on October 2026. For wedding requirements, your local civil registrar and parish set the final checklist.
