A valid marriage license is a requisite of marriage, the absence of which renders the marriage void ab initio. (Niñal, et al. vs. Bayadog, G.R. No. 133778, March 14, 2000 [328 SCRA 122])

However, there are instances when a license can be dispensed with. These are:

1. Marriages in articulo mortis or at the point of death (Art. 27, FC);

2. Marriages in remote places (Art. 28, FC);

3. Marriages between Muslims or among members of the ethnic cultural  communities (Art. 33, FC);

4.  Legal ratification of marital cohabitation (Art. 34, FC);

5. Marriages solemnized outside the Philippines where no marriage license is required by the country where it was solemnized.


What is the duty of the officer who solemnize marriage in articulo mortis or in remote places where no marriage license was obtained by the contracting parties?

In the cases of marriages in articulo mortis or in remote places, the solemnizing officer shall:

1. State in an affidavit executed before the local civil registrar or any other person legally authorized to administer oaths that the marriage was performed in articulo mortis or that the residence of either party, specifying the barrio or barangay, is so located that there is no means of transportation to enable such party to appear personally before the local civil registrar and that  he took the necessary steps to ascertain the ages and relationship of the contracting parties and the absence of legal impediment to the marriage. 

2. Submit the original of the affidavit, together with the legible copy of the marriage contract, to the local civil registrar of the municipality where it was performed within the period of 30 days after the performance of the marriage. (Arts. 29 and 30, FC);