Marriage is one of the most significant events in most peoples’ lives, a joyous celebration, however for various reasons in due course they also end in divorce.

According to NationMaster.com statistics, divorce rates across the world are at all time highs. Because of these divorce risks, it is prudent to be well prepared before becoming married.

Philippines Private Investigators have seen sharp increases in requests for marital status checks from foreign customers and overseas Pinoys with the investigations often focusing on girlfriends and fiancees. With the high degree of fraud in the Philippines, verifying someone’s current marital status and history is an important security decision. Proceeding with a marriage to a Filipina without one can be very costly.

In the Philippines as in most countries, the civil registrars manage records of births, marriages, and deaths. When a couple marries, the marriage is recorded in four documents:

* Marriage contract

* Marriage license

* Application for a marriage license

* Marriage certificate

Only the marriage contract is forwarded to the National Census and Statistics Office, also known as the NSO. The other three remain in the office of the local civil registrar, although the couple may be given a copy of their marriage certificate. The marriage contract gives the following information for both parties:

* Names

* Ages

* Nationalities

* Residences

* Premarital status (single, widowed, annulled, and so forth)

* Parents’ names and nationalities

* Place of marriage

* Date of marriage

* Witness names

* Name of the official who married the couple

To get a copy of a marriage certificate or certificate of no marriage (CENOMAR), you can to go to the National Statistics Office, NSO. They support processing requests for locals and foreigners and can take anywhere from 3 days to 8 weeks depending on the type of request and whether you are getting it yourself or having it delivered. Note, only the document owner, the requesting party or their representative is allowed to receive marriage certificate. A valid ID must be presented when receiving the certificate.