Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Obtaining Birth Cert. & CENOMAR in Philippines

The National Statistics Office (NSO) is the government agency who issues certified copies of civil registry services such as Birth, Marriage and/or Death Certificates. It is the same agency who issues Certificate of No Marriage (CENOMAR) which is a requirement paper for marriage in the Philippines. It is our version of Singleness or bachelor paper. All these documents are printed in Security Papers (SECPA).

Getting it online
For busy people or people who lives outside the Philippines, you can still get your copies thru online. The rates includes documentary stamp tax and delivery charges: by courier (for anywhere within the Philippines) and by Philpost (registered mail by the post office for outside the country). The rates are as follow:

LOCAL (within the Philippines):
Birth / Marriage / Death :  315php/piece
CENOMAR (singleness): 415php/piece

FOREIGN (outside the Philippines):
Birth / Marriage /Death:  20USD
CENOMAR (singleness): 25USD

For those who are interested and wanted to know more, please visit  e-census.

Getting it at NSO
And for the rest who wanted to do it yourself, here is my experience:

1. Go to NSO and ask the guard for the forms that you needed to fill up. The guard in turn will ask you what kind of documents you need and what is the purpose.
      * Please bring your own ballpen to save yourself the hassle.
      * No worry, they have instruction plaster around the compound.

2. You need to fall in line to the same guard to get your "priority number" before entering the NSO premises. It is a first come first serve basis.

3. Inside, take a seat and wait for your "priority number" to be called by the counter personnel. You will be asked to wait again.

4. The counter personnel will call you by your name and will ask you to proceed to the cashier.
      * Please bring some small bills with you to save you the hassle.

5. After your payment, the cashier will redirect you to the "releasing" section. Wait for them to call your name again.
      * Please keep the receipt on hand and they will staple it to your SECPA certificate.

6. Upon release, check the spelling of the names (esp. the CENOMAR). Inform them at once incase there are mistype on the name.
    If none: Congratulation and you're done!
*** Please note that I was born in Manila but now living in the province. The NSO I visited is my province's branch. ***

For the time table:
I was there 7am, their office opens at 8am, and I had my certificates on hand 8:40am.

For the rates, here is what I paid:
Birth Certificate : 140php/piece
CENOMAR (singleness):  195php/piece

Getting your partner's CENOMAR

Our Philippine law requires that we also present our partner's CENOMAR (on top of the 'Legal Capacity to Contract Marriage' document). We do not need to have authorization letter in claiming CENOMAR, however, NSO be asking some informations about your spouse:

1. Complete name of the person
2. Complete name of the father
3. Complete maiden name of the mother
4. Date of birth
5. Place of birth
6. Complete name and complete address of the  person requesting
7. Number of copies needed
8. Purpose of the certification

Important:
* Please be reminded that CENOMAR is only valid for 6 months.
* I was advised before to keep the receipts attached to their respective documents. I am not sure what could possibly happen if you don't, but I did not want to be the one to find out. Hope it helps!

22 comments:

  1. Hello po, can you help me please about how to send my birth certificate and Cenomar to the DFA for authentication's.. But the problem is I don't know how to send it to them.. I am living here in Mindanao its far from Manila so I choose to send it through DHL or LBC I think.. but I don't have some info's about sending it and how much will be payed for it...
    Your info can really help me a lot..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Anonymous,

      Thank you for dropping by. DHL is the official courier of DFA. You can inquire for the papers needed to have them authenticate it for you (they will not accept if your papers are incomplete). They also have a list of fees (fees are dependent on what kind of document it is). Processing time is around 14 working days. In 2011, I had my 'Affidavit of Civil Status' authenticated and it cost me 325php inclusive of delivering it to my doorstep. I am not sure if there is any changes of prices by now.

      Are your documents for marriage visa or family reunion visa to Germany (or maybe to get your partner's Legal Capacity paper)? If yes, they (German Embassy or Standesamt of your partner's place) normally accepts NSO copies of CENOMAR & Birth Certificate without any red ribbon on it. The important part that it should be not be older than 6 months. You can double check it from the list of requirements being ask from you.

      Good luck with your paperworks :)

      Delete
  2. Thank you so much for your quick response :), it really help's me a lot, now I can continue to process all my document's..

    God bless you :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Tattybear! It's me again! I have completed all the requirements needed to send to my fiance for him to obtain his certificate of legal capacity to marry except for my baptismal cert. I went to Manila to get it but my dad's name is misspelled? Would that cause problems? That was how the person who took wrote it down 34 years ago. :(

    Thanks in advance for your help.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi again too ms cleo!
      Sorry and I have no experience regarding this. Is the said Baptismal Certificate to be used for getting the Legal Capacity of your boyfriend? When we applied for ours, this is not among the ones being asked from us this is why I ask. Or is it for a Catholic wedding this is why you went to get it?

      Did you get to asked the person in-charge on how to correct this? I am sure this is not the first time that something like this happen.

      Feel free to e-mail me at chinayjourneytogermany@yahoo.com so that we can discuss further without the need for you to give much details in public. Take care!

      Delete
  4. Hi Tattybear!

    It's among the many documents on the list for the background check before they can give my fiance his Legal Capacity to Marry. Anyhoo...I thought I'd ask in case you have an idea. :)

    Thanks for being so accommodating. :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. i got my cenomar mispelled twice. it takes10 working days to get the cenomar from NSO and 1 week delivery through DHL here abroad.. Is it possible to correct here abroad?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Anonymous,
      Sorry for the super delayed reply.
      I hope by now everything is already okey with your cenomar.
      But to answer: I believe it is not possible to correct it in abroad. >.<
      Otherwise, kindly let me know. :)
      Good luck!!!

      Delete
  6. hi good evening, i already married but i want to take again my singleness of cenomar. is it possible?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi. If your marriage already inside the system of the NSO, they will issue you a CEMAR instead of the cenomar. Hope this helps!

      Delete
    2. if they issued me the CEMAR is it possible to marry again coz im already 10 years separated, and my husband already have 3 kids from other lady. coz I want to get married in gulf country, he is muslim..please advice me...thanks..

      Delete
    3. Hi again Anonymous,
      Theoretically speaking, you need to have your previous marriage annul first before you qualify to marry again. In person, you may be seperated, but in documents, the both of you are still married to each other. With the CEMAR, the annulment papers will serve as your supporting document that you are free again to marry. Do note that I am not an expert re: this. My advice to you is to get the list of requirements needed to marry your fiancee in his country. You will know what to do next from there.
      Best of Luck!!!

      Delete
  7. good morning
    im new here.. we are planning to gt nerried .. im pinay just want to knoq
    about requirements i need to get merry also my man..
    hope to hear you soon....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Anonymous,
      Are you planning to marry in PH or in Germany? The requirements are different.
      The more complicated your situation, the more supporting papers they will ask from you (eg. late registration of birth certificate, different names from school records and NSO birth certificate, etc.).
      The good news is that everything have a solution, so do not worry too much.
      If planning to marry in PH, go to your cityhall and ask for the requirements for marrying. They have a ready list for you. If in DE, have your man go to standesamt and get the requirements there.
      Good luck and happy planning!!!

      Delete
  8. Hi Good Evening! I just want to ask if I still have to bring my boyfriend's valid ID, aside from the authorization letter in requesting his NSO Birth Cert? Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Anonymous,
      Yes, you need to bring a valid ID of your boyfriend aside the authorization to get a copy of his NSO Birth Certificate. The only time this is not needed when you are going to marry a foreign national and needed to get a CENOMAR to complete the required documents being asked from you. Hope this help!

      Delete
  9. hello po good am. ok po ba na ang purpose ko sa cenomar is employment abroad at gagamitin ito for marriage?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Maraklar,
      Sorry for the super late reply. Cenomar is meant to be used for marriage lang talaga. At least I could not think of any type of job that would require a cenomar document.
      Thank you for dropping by.

      Delete
  10. hello po, nandito po ako sa denmark on a tourist visa. I need the CeNoMar as soon as possible kasi gusto nang boyfriend ko na magpakasal na kami dito para hindi nalng ako umuwi sa pinas. Kaso nabasa ko na ang delivery perion ay 6-8 weeks tapos 7 weeks nalng expire na visa ko. Meron po bang mas madali na paraan? salamat po

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Anonymous,

      Do not know how strict dyan sa Denmark, but at least here in Germany ay even nag asawa na (sa Denmark), nag report of marriage and may A1 certificate ay pinapauwi pa rin sa Pinas yung girl para mag apply for the proper visa (which is family reunion visa).

      Anyway, to answer your question ay thru NSO online lang talaga magiging option mo. May isa pa akong suggestion pero hinde ko sure if mag wo-work or not, I will leave it to you guys to decide if you wanted to risk it or not:

      Have someone from PH get it for you in NSO (1 day if all things work well) then padala via courier (2-5 days depende sa pinili nyo na option). Yun hard part dito ay you need to send an authorization letter (with original signature mo, hinde pwede fax or email) plus photocopies of your valid IDs mo (dont forget to ask the person who will pick up to bring his own valid ID too). Yung ma spe-spend nyo here ay masmarami (because 2x courier: one sa padala mo sa authorization letter and the other padala ng actual document sayo dyan) & another disclaimer: never pa ako nag try nagpakuha ng NSO document before. Nabasa ko lang rin elsewhere na ''pwede daw''. Kindly research more about this before proceeding. Also, yun nga, nde ko sure how strict dyan sa Denmark and kung pauuwiin ka lang rin at the end ay sayang lang ang mga efforts nyo.

      Good luck and sana maging maayos lahat!

      Delete
  11. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  12. Good Day, I would like my birth certificate to be translated in German. Where can i drop off my documents for translation? How many working days for it to be translated. Thank You. Best Regards.

    ReplyDelete