Wedding Docs 101: Obtaining the CENOMAR and Birth Certificates

We know that obtaining the needed documents and papers for the wedding can be one of the most stressful parts of the preparations, so as early as now, we decided to get a move on our paperworks.

We decided to request for our CENOMARs (Certificate of No Marriage Record) and birth certificates first, since these documents have a six-month validity period. These documents can be secured from the National Statistics Office (NSO).

There are three ways to get your CENOMARs and birth certificates:

1. Obtain the documents personally at the NSO office in Manila
2. Apply online through www.e-census.com.ph
3. Request for them at SM Business Centers in SM Malls

Obtaining your documents at the NSO office is actually the cheapest way, since you only have to pay Php140 for a copy of the birth certificate and Php195 for a copy of the CENOMAR. Plus, you can get your documents on the same day! However, you would need a lot of patience for this because you would have to wait in line for your turn. Do try to come early for this unless you want to spend your whole day waiting for your documents.

Now for those who don't have time to go to the NSO office, you may request for them online. Just accomplish the online application form at www.e-census.com.ph, and deposit your payment through BDO. The documents will then be delivered to your doorstep after three days or eight weeks at the latest. It's simple and hassle-free! But this can be more expensive, as a copy of the CENOMAR will cost Php415 and a copy of the birth certificate will cost Php315 if requested online.

I didn't have the patience to line up at the NSO office, but I didn't want to spend too much for the online application, so I did the next best thing: I requested my documents at a SM Business Center, more specifically, in Savemore near the Marikina Health Office. But you can request for your documents at any SM Business Center. It was relatively hassle-free; all I did was fill up the forms then pay the cashier Php 215 per copy of the CENOMAR and Php160 per copy of the birth certificate. SM added only Php20 for their processing fee, which is a lot cheaper than the Php200 additional for the online processing. Diba, tipid moves for the win!

 I would be able to get my documents after two to three weeks, so last week, I went back to Savemore and viola! Our CENOMARs and birth certificates are now here!

So that's one item off our checklist! More to go!