Church wedding requirements in the Philippines: the 2026 checklist

Church wedding requirements in the Philippines have two parts. The parish needs baptismal and confirmation certificates issued for marriage purposes, a Pre-Cana certificate, a canonical interview and banns announced on three consecutive Sundays. The law needs a marriage license, valid for 120 days. Many parishes take bookings 3 to 12 months ahead.

Each parish adds its own rules to the national ones, so this guide quotes both. The national rules come from the CBCP's complementary norms to canon law and the Family Code. The parish examples come from Manila Cathedral and St. Michael the Archangel Parish in BGC, both checked on September 29, 2026.

Want to see how a church ceremony and a reception sit together on one invitation? The Regal sample is a demo wedding at San Agustin Church with dinner at The Peninsula Manila.

What documents does the parish need?

Request the church certificates from the parish where you were baptized and confirmed, not your wedding parish. Bride & Breakfast puts them at ₱50 to ₱300 each (January 2026). If your baptismal record truly can't be found, the CBCP norms accept a sworn statement under Canon 876 instead. Our baptismal certificate guide walks through requesting one and what to do when the record is missing.

On the civil side, a PSA birth certificate costs ₱155 at a PSA outlet or ₱365 delivered through PSAHelpline, and a CENOMAR costs ₱210 or ₱420 (PSAHelpline walk-in fees and online fee schedule, checked September 2026). Our marriage license guide covers the rest of the civil paperwork, including the pre-marriage counseling seminar the registrar requires. That seminar is separate from Pre-Cana.

When should you start? A timeline that keeps every document valid

Start with the church date and work backward. Certificates expire after six months and the license after 120 days, so collecting everything a year out leaves you with stale papers.

The CBCP floor is one month. Couples must inform their parish priest "at least one month before the date of their wedding", and anything shorter needs the bishop's permission.

The registrar posts your license application for 10 consecutive days (Family Code Article 17), and the license is then valid anywhere in the country for 120 days (Article 20). Apply five months out and it lapses before the wedding.

What happens at the canonical interview?

The parish priest where you'll marry talks with each of you. The CBCP norms give the interview three purposes: to find any impediment that would make the marriage invalid, to make sure each of you is marrying freely, and to check that you understand what the Church teaches about marriage.

Expect questions that follow from those purposes: whether either of you was married before, whether anyone is pressuring you, and whether you understand that the marriage is permanent. The norms tell the priest to ask "cautiously and separately". If either of you is shaky on the basics of the faith, he is to instruct you during the month before the wedding.

The norms also say the interview "shall always precede the publication of the banns" and should happen early enough that the banns can run without a dispensation. Book it as soon as your Pre-Cana certificate is in hand. For how Pre-Cana itself runs, what it costs and the online options, see our Pre-Cana seminar guide.

How are marriage banns published?

The banns are read aloud or printed for the faithful on three consecutive Sundays or holy days of obligation. The bishop may instead allow posting at the church door or in the bulletin for a period covering three Sundays. At least two days must pass between the last announcement and the wedding.

They run in each partner's own parish, even when you marry elsewhere. At St. Michael BGC the wedding parish issues the banns request, you take it to your home parishes with 2x2 photos, and you bring back the results "at most a week before" the wedding. If you lived somewhere else for six months or more, St. Michael asks for banns from that parish too. Our marriage banns guide has a step-by-step timeline.

What if you live abroad?

Manila Cathedral asks couples who live abroad to come in for the interview at least one month before the wedding (FAQ). St. Michael BGC accepts banns from your parish abroad, or a certificate of freedom to marry from the parish where you have lived for six months or more. The six-month validity of your certificates still applies, so request them from home before you fly in.

Can you marry in a church that isn't your parish?

Yes, with permission. Under the CBCP norms, a priest may not marry couples from outside his parish without written permission from the bishop or their own parish priest (Canon 1115), and he waits for the interview and banns results before the wedding.

Bringing your own priest? St. Michael BGC asks for a photocopy of his celebret and his license to solemnize marriages. That license is the civil side: the Family Code (Article 7) lets a priest solemnize marriages only if he is registered with the civil registrar general.

What if one partner isn't Catholic, or was married before?

A Catholic marrying a baptized non-Catholic needs the "express permission" of the bishop (Canon 1124). A Catholic marrying someone who isn't baptized needs a dispensation from the impediment of disparity of cult (Canon 1086). Both go through the parish priest to the chancery, so raise it at your first parish visit.

In both cases the Catholic partner promises to keep the faith and to "do all in his or her power" to have the children baptized and raised Catholic (Canon 1125). The non-Catholic partner must be told about that promise. In the Philippines the Catholic partner signs it, and the CBCP norms ask the other partner to sign too, "preferably". The interviewing priest instructs you both on the Church's view of marriage.

Previous marriages need papers before anything else moves:

• Declared null: a certified true copy of the final declaration of nullity from a matrimonial tribunal, plus the chancery's approval (St. Michael BGC).
• Divorced: clearance from the chancery plus a certified copy of the divorce decree (both parishes). The CBCP norms call for "extreme prudence" and require both civil and canonical freedom to marry.
• Widowed: the death certificate of the late spouse.

For the marriage license, the Family Code asks for the court decree of annulment, nullity or divorce, or the death certificate of a late spouse (Article 13). Ask the chancery early whether your papers are enough for the Church as well.

Church wedding after a civil wedding

Couples who already married civilly submit their PSA marriage certificate in place of a marriage license (St. Michael BGC; the CBCP norms say the same). Everything on the church side still applies, Pre-Cana and banns included. Mention the civil marriage at your first parish visit.

How much does a church wedding cost?

• St. Michael the Archangel Parish, BGC: ₱60,000 without air conditioning, ₱80,000 with it (parish page, checked September 2026). The parish notes the fee "does not reflect on the sacrament" and covers maintenance and utilities. It also holds a Kasalang-Parokya, a group wedding on the first Tuesday of the month at 8 AM, booked 3 to 6 months ahead.
• In 2018, CBCP secretary general Fr. Joselito de Asia said "many parish churches offer free weddings" and that the Church asks only for a donation for a simple wedding (Gulf News).

Parishes set these fees through the arancel, the local schedule of offerings that the CBCP norms keep in place. Flowers, choir, carpet and coordination often cost extra or come as a parish package. Ask for the full list when you reserve.

Cost does stop couples. In the 2023 Veritas Truth Survey, 32 percent named cost as the main reason they skipped a church wedding, and 24 percent named the requirements (PNA). If the fee is out of reach, ask the parish about group weddings or a simple ceremony.

For the whole budget, see our wedding cost guide. For the civil route, the civil wedding requirements guide compares the two.

After the paperwork: sponsors, guests and the program

Our principal sponsors guide covers who to ask and how. Once the Mass is set, the wedding program sample walks through the ceremony order and readings. After the wedding, the priest must send the marriage certificate to the Local Civil Registrar within 15 days (Family Code Article 23), and our marriage certificate guide explains how to get your PSA copy.

Then comes the guest list. A group chat and a spreadsheet are enough for a small wedding where you'll message every household yourself. For a bigger one, Ceremo gives each household its own RSVP link with the invited names already on it, so guests answer from Messenger or Viber without making an account, and you get a notification when a household replies. The entourage section, which lists your principal sponsors on the invitation, is free on every plan. So is Save the Date mode, for announcing the date while the parish papers are still in progress. Automated RSVP reminder emails are part of Premium (₱2,499). Ceremo is free for up to 50 guests.