A Certificate of Legal Capacity to Contract Marriage / Certification is issued ONLY to Filipinos presently residing in Japan wishing to get married to a foreign national. As a basic requirement, both the Filipino applicant and the Japanese (or other foreign national) fiancé/fiancée have to appear personally at the Embassy.
Filipino applicant is female and widowed, under Philippine Law, she is required to wait 10 months and 1 day after the death of her husband before she can apply for remarriage.
Requirements for Widowed Filipino
- NSO Birth Certificate authenticated by DFA-Manila-Red Ribbon (Original & 1 Photocopy)
- Valid Passport
- For female applicants: Original passport and one (1) photocopy of first page, page with amendment to “single name,” and last page
- For male applicants: Original passport and one (1) photocopy of first page & last page
NOTE: If Expired Passport/Lost Passport/Mutilated Passport/Passport under an Assumed Name (AKA/Alias)/Passport with Discrepancy (First Name/Middle Name/Last Name/Date of Birth/Place of Birth), applicant has to apply for a new passport prior to acceptance of application for CNO.
- Alien Certificate of Registration (ACR) & (1) photocopy
- Death Certificate of Previous Spouse
- If deceased spouse is a Filipino: Original and one (1) photocopy of Death Certificate of Spouse issued by the NSO and authenticated by DFA Manila – Red Ribbon
- If deceased spouse is a Japanese: Original & one (1) Photocopy of Family Registry (Koseki Tohon) reflecting the Death of the husband
- If spouse is a Foreign National other than Japanese: Original & one (1) Photocopy of Death Certificate from the Embassy of his Nationality. The Death Certificate must be in English.
- Original and one (1) photocopy of Marriage Certificate with previous spouse
- Marriage Contract issued by NSO if married in the Philippines
- Report of Marriage issued by Philippine Embassy / Consulate General if married in Japan or other country
- Two (2) Passport Size Pictures
Requirements for Japanese National
- Family Registry (Koseki Tohon) (Original & 1 Photocopy) Validity is 3 months from date of issue.
- If the applicant is a divorcee, the record of marriage and divorce with previous spouse should be indicated in the koseki tohon.
- If the applicant is a widow/widower, the record of death of the previous spouse should be indicated in the koseki tohon.
- A Koseki Shohon is not acceptable.
- Original and one (1) Photocopy of Passport or Driver’s License or National Health Insurance
- Two (2) Passport-Size Pictures
Requirements for Foreign National other than Japanese
- A Certificate of No Objection (CNO) or its equivalent from the concerned Embassy or Consulate (Original & 1 Photocopy). The foreign national has to obtain the CNO or its equivalent from his/her respective Embassy/Consulate. The CNO or its equivalent must be in English.
For US military personnel based in Japan, Authorization to Marry from the commanding officer is required. - Passport or Driver’s License or Military ID (Original & 1 Photocopy)
- Two (2) Passport-Size Pictures
NOTE: Requirements are subject to changes without prior notice.



