CENOMAR

There’s one document banks obsess over, but the real estate industry almost never bothers with: the Certificate of No Marriage, or CENOMAR.

What is it?

A CENOMAR is issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) and certifies that no marriage record exists for a person. Put simply, it confirms that someone is legally single.

Why banks care

In banking, marital status dictates ownership. A seemingly simple loan or deposit can instantly become conjugal property if a client is married under the Absolute Community of Property (ACP) regime. For banks, requiring a CENOMAR is a safeguard against disputes over who really owns the funds.

Why real estate doesn’t (but maybe should)

In property transactions, however, this document is almost never asked for. But let’s play this out:

Juan buys a condo while single.

Years later, Juan marries. Under ACP, his wife automatically becomes a co-owner—even though she never signed the Deed of Absolute Sale.

If the marriage later collapses, can Juan sell the property without his wife’s signature? And more importantly, how would a buyer know, when the title still lists Juan as “single”?

If Juan went ahead and sold the condo without her consent, the Deed of Absolute Sale would be voidable under the Family Code. His wife could contest the transaction in court and have it annulled.

A simple CENOMAR at the start could have clarified Juan’s status at the time of purchase and avoided a legal mess years down the road.

How is it checked today?

Most players rely on the Bureau of Internal Revenue. When someone marries, they’re supposed to update their marital status with the BIR using their TIN. That record then becomes the de facto checkpoint. But in reality, not everyone updates promptly—and not all records are accurate.

Takeaway

This might ruffle a few feathers, but maybe it’s time the real estate industry borrowed a page from banking. Requiring a CENOMAR at the outset won’t solve every problem, but it could prevent one of the most costly surprises: discovering too late that the “single” seller wasn’t single after all.