Affidavit of Cohabitation (Article 34) — Sample and Free Generator

In short

What it is: A joint sworn statement by a couple that they have lived together as husband and wife for at least five years and were free of any legal impediment to marry each other throughout that period.
What it is for: It exempts the couple from the marriage licence requirement under article 34 of the Family Code.
Notarised?: Yes — and the solemnising officer must also execute a sworn statement that they examined the parties.
Warning: A false article 34 affidavit can render the marriage void and expose both parties, and the solemnising officer, to liability.

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Full joint affidavit of cohabitation sample

Both parties execute this together. Paragraph 2 has two versions — keep the one that matches your actual facts and delete the other. Replace everything in [brackets].

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES )
CITY OF [ILOILO CITY] ) S.S.
x----------------------------------------x

JOINT AFFIDAVIT OF COHABITATION

We, [CARLO M. VILLANUEVA], of legal age, Filipino, and [ELENA P. GARCIA], of legal age, Filipino, both single and residents of [24 Bonifacio Drive, Barangay Villa Anita, Iloilo City], after having been duly sworn in accordance with law, hereby depose and state that:

1. We are both of legal age and possess all the qualifications and none of the disqualifications to contract marriage under the laws of the Republic of the Philippines;

2. [IF NEITHER OF US HAS EVER BEEN MARRIED:] Neither of us has ever been married to any other person, and no legal impediment to our marriage to each other existed at any time during the five-year period immediately preceding the date hereof;

   [IF ONE OF US WAS PREVIOUSLY MARRIED:] The affiant [CARLO M. VILLANUEVA] was previously married to [NAME OF FORMER SPOUSE] on [date], which marriage was terminated on [date] by reason of [the death of the said former spouse, per the Certificate of Death issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority / the Decision in Civil Case No. ______ of Branch ____, Regional Trial Court of ______, declaring the said marriage null and void, which became final and executory on ______ and has been annotated on the marriage record]; the said marriage was terminated more than five (5) years before the date hereof, and no legal impediment to our marriage to each other existed at any time during the five-year period immediately preceding the date hereof;

3. We have lived together as husband and wife continuously and exclusively, without the benefit of marriage, from [June 2019] up to the present, a period of more than five (5) years immediately preceding the date hereof;

4. During the said period we have publicly held ourselves out as husband and wife, maintained a common residence at the address stated above, and [have begotten two (2) children, namely: ____________ and ____________];

5. We are executing this joint affidavit to attest to the truth of the foregoing facts and for the purpose of availing ourselves of the exemption from the marriage licence requirement under Article 34 of the Family Code of the Philippines.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, we have hereunto set our hands this ____ day of __________, 20____, at [Iloilo City], Philippines.

     ______________________________          ______________________________
     [CARLO M. VILLANUEVA]                    [ELENA P. GARCIA]
     Affiant                                  Affiant

SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to before me this ____ day of __________, 20____, at [Iloilo City], affiants exhibiting to me their [PhilSys IDs Nos. ____________ and ____________] as competent evidence of identity.

                                        ______________________________
                                        Notary Public

Doc. No. ______;
Page No. ______;
Book No. ______;
Series of 20____.

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What article 34 actually requires

Article 34 of the Family Code lets a couple marry without a marriage licence if they have lived together as husband and wife for at least five years and have no legal impediment to marry each other. It is a narrow exemption, and every element has to be true: five years, continuous, exclusive, and free of impediment for that whole period.

The man and the woman must have lived together as husband and wife for at least five years immediately before the marriage.
The cohabitation must have been continuous — not on-and-off — and exclusive of any other relationship.
There must have been no legal impediment to marry each other at any time during that five-year period. A prior marriage that had already ended before the five years began is not an impediment during the relevant period. A prior marriage that ended part-way through it is — and the five years then starts to run only from the date it ended.
Both parties execute a joint affidavit stating these facts.
The solemnising officer must execute a sworn statement that they ascertained the parties' qualifications and found no legal impediment.

Who signs what

Document	Who executes it	Where it goes
Joint affidavit of cohabitation	Both parties, together, before a notary	Given to the solemnising officer and attached to the marriage certificate
Sworn statement of the solemnising officer	The judge, priest, imam, or minister	Attached to the marriage certificate
Marriage certificate	Both parties, witnesses, solemnising officer	Registered with the local civil registrar within 15 days

Legal basis: Family Code of the Philippines, art. 34 (marriage of a man and a woman who have lived together as husband and wife for at least five years without legal impediment, exempt from the licence requirement) and arts. 3–4 (formal requisites, and the effect of their absence); Revised Penal Code art. 183 (perjury).

How to fill it in

1
Both names and both residences
This is a joint affidavit — both parties are affiants and both sign. The residence should be the common residence, because a common residence is part of what you are attesting to.
2
The no-impediment clause — write the version that is true
There is no single correct wording. If neither of you has ever married, say so. If one of you was married before, say who, when, how and when it ended — death of the former spouse, or a decree of nullity or annulment with its date of finality — and state that no legal impediment existed at any time during the five-year period immediately preceding the marriage. Never sign the never-married version when a prior marriage exists: it is a false statement under oath, and the PSA advisory on marriages the registrar pulls will show it.
3
The five-year period
Give the month and year the cohabitation began. Do not round it up to reach five years — the registrar will do the arithmetic. Where a prior marriage ended, the qualifying period runs from the later of the start of the cohabitation and the date the impediment ceased.
4
Public reputation and children
Holding yourselves out as husband and wife, a common address, and children in common are the facts that make the five years credible. Include them if they are true.
5
The purpose clause
State that it is for the purpose of article 34 of the Family Code. That is the sentence the local civil registrar looks for.

Previously married? Which route is open to you

Your situation	Article 34 available?	What the affidavit must say
Neither party has ever been married, five or more years of cohabitation	Yes	That neither has ever been married and that no legal impediment existed at any time during the five-year period
A prior marriage ended by death or by a final decree of nullity or annulment more than five years ago	Yes, if the cohabitation also runs five years and no other impediment existed	Identify the prior marriage, how and exactly when it ended, and the document that proves it; then state that no impediment existed during the five-year period
A prior marriage ended inside the last five years	Not yet	Nothing you can truthfully write makes article 34 available. The qualifying period restarts from the date the impediment ceased — wait until five clear years have run, or get an ordinary marriage licence now
A prior marriage that has never been judicially declared void or annulled	No	The impediment subsists. A void marriage still needs a judicial declaration of nullity before either party may remarry, and marrying without it exposes both of you to bigamy
The parties are not a man and a woman, or one is below marrying age	No	Article 34 does not reach the case

Legal basis: Family Code arts. 34, 35, 40 and 41. Article 34 removes only the licence requirement. Everything else about capacity to marry still has to be true.

What the local civil registrar will actually check

Article 34 is the most abused exemption in Philippine family law, and registrars know it. Since the affidavit removes both the licence fee and the ten-day publication period during which anyone can object to the marriage, the registrar's scrutiny is the only remaining check. Expect to be asked for more than the affidavit itself.

PSA birth certificates of both parties, to confirm age and identity.
A CENOMAR (Certificate of No Marriage Record) for each party from the PSA — this is what tests the 'no legal impediment' claim.
For a previously married party: the PSA death certificate of the former spouse, or the court decree of nullity or annulment with its certificate of finality, annotated on the marriage record.
Barangay certification of the common residence, and sometimes of the period of cohabitation.
The PSA birth certificates of any children in common, which are strong corroboration of the five years.
Valid government IDs of both parties.
For a foreign national: a certificate of legal capacity to contract marriage from their embassy or consulate.

After the ceremony: registration

The exemption only removes the licence. Everything else about the marriage still has to be done properly, and the joint affidavit becomes part of the marriage's permanent record.

1
The solemnising officer executes their own sworn statement
Article 34 requires the officer to state under oath that they ascertained the parties' qualifications and found no legal impediment. Without it, the exemption is incomplete.
2
Two witnesses of legal age attend
The marriage is solemnised in the presence of at least two witnesses, who sign the marriage certificate.
3
The certificate is registered within 15 days
The solemnising officer transmits the marriage certificate, the joint affidavit and their own sworn statement to the local civil registrar within fifteen days for marriages exempt from the licence requirement.
4
Get your PSA copy a few months later
Request the PSA copy of the marriage certificate once the record has been transmitted. Check it against the affidavit — mismatched dates between the two documents cause problems in later transactions.

What if…

1
…one of you was married before
Article 34 requires no legal impediment during the whole five years. A previous marriage that ended by death or by a decree of nullity or annulment before the five-year period began is fine — bring the PSA death certificate or the court decree and its certificate of finality. If the prior marriage ended part-way through the period, the five years starts from then.
2
…one of you is a foreign national
You will also need a certificate of legal capacity to contract marriage from your embassy or consulate, which most embassies still require even under article 34.
3
…the registrar questions the affidavit
Local civil registrars are increasingly strict about article 34 and may ask for barangay certification of your common residence, proof of a shared address over the years, or the children's birth certificates. That is a reasonable request — the exemption is meant to be hard to abuse.

Frequently asked questions

+Can we use article 34 if one of us was married before?

Yes, provided that prior marriage had already ended — by the death of the former spouse, or by a decree of nullity or annulment that had become final — before the five-year period began, and no other impediment existed during it. Bring the PSA death certificate, or the decree with its certificate of finality and the annotated marriage record. If the prior marriage ended part-way through the five years, article 34 is not available until five clear years have run from that date.

+Does an affidavit of cohabitation make us married?

No. It only exempts you from having to obtain a marriage licence. You still have to be married by an authorised solemnising officer, before at least two witnesses, and the marriage still has to be registered with the local civil registrar.

+What happens if the five-year cohabitation was not true?

The marriage was then celebrated without a licence and without a valid exemption, which makes it void from the beginning. That affects property relations, legitimacy questions, and any later marriage, and it would take a court proceeding to establish. Both parties also swore falsely under oath.

+Do we need witnesses to the affidavit itself?

No — the affidavit needs the two affiants and the notary's jurat. Witnesses are needed at the marriage ceremony itself, where at least two of legal age are required.

+Can a same-sex couple use article 34?

No. Article 34 as written applies to a man and a woman, and Philippine law does not presently allow same-sex marriage.

The law behind this

What an affidavit is, and what makes one valid

Read →How to use it

How to get a document notarised in the Philippines

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