General Tips on How to Update Your Civil Status

Instructions on How to File

1. Go to your nearest government office, or you can go to the nearest Government Satellite Office in SM or Robinsons.
   
   
   
   • Government Satellite Offices are open from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM (cut off time), Monday to Saturday


2. Ask for the corresponding form for information update.
   
   
   
   • While you can download the forms online, you will still need to fill up a new one in the actual office. (Reason: I honestly don't know. Government red tape?)


3. Submit requirements.

Effectivity

• For SSS and PhilHealth, information update is effective immediately.
• For PAG-IBIG, information update is effective after 20 working days.

Other Tips

• Local Civil Registrar (LCR) Marriage Certificate is available after 15 working days from date of marriage.
  
  • If you got married in a church, you can get your certificate from the parish office.


• National Statistics Office (NSO) Marriage Certificate is available 6 to 12 months from date of marriage.
  
  • Since BIR requires an NSO copy of your certificate, your tax exemption update will take some time to file.
  • You may opt to have your NSO Marriage Certificate electronically endorsed to expedite the process. You can get your certificate within 3 to 4 weeks. For more information, go to your nearest Philippine Statistics Office and bring a copy of your LCR Marriage Certificate.


• Tax Update is facilitated by your employer if you're employed.

Tips on how to get your NSO marriage certificate in one month

• Some government offices require an NSO copy of your Marriage Certificate when processing requests. This is why getting an NSO copy is important. Examples of government requests that require an NSO Marriage Certificate:
  
  
  
  • BIR - Updating of tax status
  
  
  • DFA - Application/renewal of passport for married females. Processing of migration papers.


• There are Government Satellite Offices in selected malls (e.g., SM and Robinson's). You cannot request an electronic endorsement here. You can only request for the SECPA copy of the certificate once it's available.


• PSA won't ask for a reason why you need to have your NSO Marriage Certificate expedited.


• PSA and NSO are one and the same. PSA is just the new name; NSO is the old name.

Tips and Tricks

Baptismal Certificate

• Your Parish church. By Parish church, this means the church where you were baptized, regardless of whether you moved to another place after your baptism.

• Depends on the church. Prepare roughly 100php per copy.

• You can just wait for this. But if the priest isn't available to sign, you may want to go back the next day.

• Note that you only need 1 copy of the baptismal certificate. The church will collect the original copy upon submission. No photocopies required.

Confirmation Certificate

• The church where you were confirmed.
• If you haven't been confirmed yet, you only need to present a photocopy of your baptismal certificate (with "for marriage purposes" annotation) to apply for confirmation.

• Depends on the church. Prepare roughly 100php per copy.
• If you haven't been confirmed yet, roughly 250php all in all (150php for the registration and 100php for the certificate). The registration fee is inclusive of 1 sponsor/witness. For additional sponsors, you pay roughly 150php each. Note that you only need 1 sponsor.
• For confirmations with special schedule (i.e., schedule of your choice, not the usual schedule of the church, which is once a month for everyone)

• If you've already been confirmed, you can just wait for the certificate. But if the priest isn't available to sign, you may want to go back the next day.
• If you haven't been confirmed, it takes about 3-5 working days for your certificate to be released.

• Note that you only need 1 copy of the confirmation certificate. The church will collect the original copy upon submission. No photocopies required.
• The confirmation does not need to be in the same church you've been baptized. You can have your confirmation, if you haven't done so yet, in the same church you plan to have your wedding.