How to Fill Out and File the Report of Marriage (ROM) Form

To register a marriage that took place outside the Philippines, the Filipino spouse fills out a Report of Marriage form from the Philippine Embassy or Consulate with jurisdiction over the place of the wedding, has both spouses sign it before a notary public, and submits it with the foreign marriage certificate, both spouses’ birth certificates, proof of Filipino citizenship, valid photo IDs, and a $25 fee. The consulate reviews and signs the report, then forwards it to the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila for permanent entry in the Philippine Statistics Authority’s civil registry.¹ Without this step, the marriage will not appear in Philippine records, which creates problems later for passport applications, property transactions, inheritance claims, and visa petitions.²

File Within Twelve Months

You have twelve months from the wedding date to file under standard processing. Anything past that is treated as a Delayed Registration of Marriage and requires an additional notarized affidavit from both spouses explaining the reason for the late filing.³ The delay doesn’t invalidate the marriage, but it adds paperwork and can extend the wait. The New York and San Francisco consulates require the affidavit to be notarized and submitted in quadruplicate, and a separate supplemental fee applies at most posts.⁴

Documents to Gather Before You Start

Assemble everything before you sit down with the form. Each consulate publishes its own checklist with slight variations, but the core list is consistent, and most items must be provided in multiple copies:

The Report of Marriage form itself, downloaded from the consulate with jurisdiction over your area. One notarized original plus three photocopies is the standard requirement.⁴
The foreign marriage certificate: one original or certified true copy plus four photocopies. Use the long-form version showing the civil status of both parties. The original is returned after verification.⁵
Four photocopies of the Filipino spouse’s PSA-issued birth certificate and four photocopies of the foreign spouse’s birth certificate.⁴
Proof of Filipino citizenship: four photocopies of the Filipino spouse’s passport, dual citizenship identification certificate, U.S. permanent resident card, valid visa, or work permit.⁶
Four photocopies of each spouse’s valid government photo ID (passport data page, driver’s license, or similar).⁴
A brief cover letter requesting the Report of Marriage, with full contact information, phone number, email, and mailing address.
A self-addressed prepaid legal-size return envelope with a tracking number, preferably USPS Priority Mail. FedEx is not accepted at some consulates.⁴

The San Francisco consulate additionally requires an apostilled copy of the marriage certificate for online, proxy, and self-solemnized marriages.⁴ Whether an apostille is needed for a standard civil or religious ceremony varies by post, so check your specific consulate’s checklist.

If Either Spouse Was Previously Married

You’ll need extra documents proving the earlier marriage ended. If the prior spouse died, submit four photocopies of a PSA-issued or foreign death certificate. If the prior marriage was annulled, submit a PSA-issued marriage certificate or advisory annotated with the annulment.⁴

Divorce is more complicated for the Filipino spouse, because the Philippines has no domestic divorce law.⁷ A Filipino citizen who divorced abroad must first obtain a Judicial Recognition of Foreign Divorce from a Philippine Regional Trial Court; without that court order, the Philippine government still treats them as married to the first spouse, and the second marriage can’t be registered.⁸ For the Report of Marriage, consulates accept either a PSA marriage certificate annotated with the divorce, or the Judicial Recognition of Divorce along with a Certificate of Finality. If it was the foreign (non-Filipino) spouse who was previously married, a copy of the foreign divorce decree alone is enough.⁴

Filling Out the Form

The form is straightforward, but accuracy is what determines whether it comes back approved or rejected. Any mismatch between the form and your supporting documents can trigger a return. Use the exact names, dates, and spellings that appear on your official records.

You’ll enter the full legal names of both spouses, dates and places of birth, citizenships at the time of the marriage, the exact wedding date, the venue, and the name and title of the officiant. Wives enter their maiden name as their last name, not their married surname.⁹ You’ll also list the full names of both sets of parents, which should mirror what’s on your birth certificates. If one spouse is deceased at the time of filing, the surviving spouse alone may appear before the notary.

Handwritten entries are not accepted at most consulates. Type or print the form in black or blue ink, then have both spouses personally appear before a notary public. The notary must sign the form and acknowledge that both parties appeared in person; a simple signature notarization may not satisfy the requirement.⁹

How to Submit and Pay

Most Philippine consulates in the United States accept Report of Marriage applications by mail. Some also allow in-person submission, usually by appointment.¹⁰ The Philippine Embassy in Washington, D.C. processes applications primarily by mail; the Los Angeles consulate takes both mail-in and walk-in submissions.

The processing fee is $25 at all U.S.-based Philippine consulates and embassies.⁵ The D.C. Embassy charges an additional $10 for expedited release.⁶ Pay by postal money order or cashier’s check made out to the Philippine Consulate General (or “Embassy of the Philippines” for D.C.). Personal checks, cash, and credit cards are generally not accepted; the Los Angeles consulate is an exception that takes cash and credit cards.⁹ Fees at posts outside the United States are different; Melbourne charges A$45, with a separate A$45 for the delayed-registration affidavit.¹

What Happens After You File

Once the consular officer reviews and signs the report, the documents go to the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila, which transmits them to the Philippine Statistics Authority for permanent entry in the national civil registry.¹ The D.C. Embassy processes and dispatches applications within three to five business days on its end.⁶

The wait for the PSA-authenticated Philippine marriage certificate to become available for ordering is much longer: at least six months, and often up to a year.⁹ Once the record shows up in the PSA database, you can order an authenticated copy through the PSA Serbilis online portal or an authorized outlet. That PSA-issued marriage certificate is the document you’ll use for legal transactions in the Philippines, including property transfers, passport name changes, and inheritance proceedings.

Fixing Errors After Registration

Clerical or typographical errors in the registered Report of Marriage — misspelled names, wrong dates — can be corrected without going to court under Republic Act 9048. The petition can be filed through a Philippine consul general.¹¹ Substantive changes, such as correcting the wrong person listed as a spouse, need a court order and a much longer process. Checking every entry against your source documents before submitting is far easier than correcting the record afterward.

Same-Sex Marriages Are Not Accepted

The Family Code of the Philippines defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman.¹² Philippine consulates will not accept a Report of Marriage for a same-sex union, even one legally performed in a country that recognizes it. The union carries no legal effect under Philippine law, which affects property rights, inheritance, and civil status records in the Philippines.

1
Philippine Consulate General in Melbourne. Report of Marriage
2
Philippine Consulate General. Report of Marriage of a Filipino Abroad
3
The Philippine Embassy in Berlin. Report of Marriage
4
Philippine Consulate General San Francisco. Checklist for Report of Marriage
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Philippine Consulate General – Chicago. Report of Marriage
6
Embassy of the Republic of the Philippines. Report of Marriage – Application by Mail
7
Supreme Court of the Philippines. SC Reiterates Rule in Judicial Recognition of Foreign Divorce
8
Supreme Court of the Philippines. Recognition of Divorce Not Limited to Those Decreed by Foreign Courts
9
Philippine Consulate General Los Angeles California. Report of Marriage of A Filipino Abroad
10
Philippine Consulate General in Vancouver. Report of Marriage
11
Philippine Embassy in Tokyo. Petition for Correction of Clerical Error in Civil Registry Documents
12
Chan Robles Virtual Law Library. Executive Order No. 209 – The Family Code of the Philippines