The Civil Code of the Philippines is Republic Act No. 386, approved on 18 June 1949. It runs from Article 1 to Article 2270 and is organised into a Preliminary Title and four Books: Persons, Property, the Different Modes of Acquiring Ownership, and Obligations and Contracts. Almost every private dispute in the Philippines that is not employment, family status or technology law is decided somewhere inside those four Books. Finding the right one is usually the first step: the Book tells you which rules apply, and the rules tell you what has to be proved. Two cautions before you read any article. Parts of Book I were repealed by the Family Code in 1988, and several subjects in Books II and IV are now governed first by a special law — land registration, condominiums, instalment sales — with the Civil Code applying only where the special law is silent.
Quick Answer
The Civil Code (RA 386) has a Preliminary Title (Arts. 1–36) and four Books: Book I on Persons (Arts. 37–413), Book II on Property, Ownership and its Modifications (Arts. 414–711), Book III on the Different Modes of Acquiring Ownership (Arts. 712–1155), and Book IV on Obligations and Contracts (Arts. 1156–2270). Book I’s provisions on marriage and the family were repealed by the Family Code (Executive Order No. 209). Before relying on any article, check whether a special statute governs the transaction instead.
The Preliminary Title and the four Books
| Part of the Code | Articles | What it governs |
|---|---|---|
| Preliminary Title | 1–36 | How laws take effect and apply, and the Human Relations articles that create liability for abusive or unjust conduct |
| Book I — Persons | 37–413 | Civil personality and capacity, citizenship and domicile, use of surnames, absence, emancipation and the civil register. The family-law Titles were repealed in 1988 |
| Book II — Property, Ownership and its Modifications | 414–711 | What counts as property, what an owner may do, co-ownership, possession, usufruct, easements, nuisance and the Registry of Property |
| Book III — Different Modes of Acquiring Ownership | 712–1155 | Occupation, intellectual creation, donation, succession and inheritance, and prescription — including the periods within which an action must be filed |
| Book IV — Obligations and Contracts | 1156–2270 | Obligations, contracts, the named contracts such as sale, lease, loan, agency, partnership and mortgage, quasi-contracts, quasi-delicts and damages |
Which Book answers which question
Readers rarely arrive knowing the Book number. They arrive with a problem. The mapping is usually this:
- A dispute about land, a boundary, a shared inheritance still undivided, or a neighbour — Book II, and our Property and Ownership hub.
- Who inherits and how much — Book III, Title IV, and our Succession and Inheritance hub.
- An agreement that was broken, a debt, a sale, a lease or a loan — Book IV, and our Obligations and Contracts hub.
- An accident, negligence, or a claim for moral damages — Book IV’s later Titles plus Articles 19 to 36, and our Damages and Civil Liability hub.
- A wrong entry in a birth certificate, a change of name, a missing person — Book I, and our Persons and Civil Status hub.
- Whether it is too late to sue, and where to file — Book III’s Title on prescription, and our Barangay, Courts and Civil Remedies hub.
How to read an article of the Civil Code
Most articles end with a number or a letter in parentheses. That notation is part of how the Code was drafted, and it tells you something useful about the provision you are reading.
- A number, such as (333) — the article corresponds to that article of the Civil Code of 1889, the Spanish Code that RA 386 replaced. Older decisions and commentaries may discuss the provision under the old number.
- A number followed by “a”, such as (365a) — the old provision was carried over with an amendment.
- (n) — the provision was new in 1949. There is no older counterpart, so pre-1950 jurisprudence will not address it.
Article 2270, the repealing clause, is what makes this notation matter: it repealed the parts of the Civil Code of 1889 still in force, and it also repealed the Code of Commerce provisions on sales, partnership, agency, loan, deposit and guaranty, which is why those contracts are now found in Book IV.
What the Civil Code no longer governs
An article can be printed in every edition of the Code and still be inoperative. Three limits matter most:
- The Family Code repealed much of Book I. Marriage, legal separation, property relations between spouses, paternity and filiation, and support are governed by Executive Order No. 209 as amended. Those subjects are covered on our sister site FamilyCode.ph.
- Special laws govern before the Code does. Registered land is governed first by Presidential Decree No. 1529, condominium units by Republic Act No. 4726, and residential instalment sales by Republic Act No. 6552. The Civil Code applies where the special law does not provide.
- Procedure is not in the Code. Which court hears a case, what must be filed, and the small claims threshold come from the Rules of Court and Supreme Court issuances, which are amended far more often than the Code.
Where to read the official text
The full text of Republic Act No. 386 is published by the Arellano Law Foundation at LawPhil. Supreme Court decisions interpreting it are in the Supreme Court E-Library. Read the article itself before relying on any summary, including ours — and check whether a later statute has amended it.
Frequently asked questions
How many articles does the Civil Code of the Philippines have?
It runs from Article 1 to Article 2270. Article 2270 is the repealing clause; the articles immediately before it are transitional provisions dealing with situations that straddled the old Code and the new one.
Is the Civil Code the same as the Family Code?
No. The Family Code (Executive Order No. 209) is a separate law that took over the family-law Titles of Book I. Marriage, annulment, spousal property regimes, adoption, custody and support are decided under the Family Code, not under the repealed Civil Code articles that still appear in printed editions.
Which Book covers inheritance?
Book III, because succession is one of the modes of acquiring ownership. Article 712 lists them: occupation, intellectual creation, law, donation, testate and intestate succession, certain contracts followed by delivery, and prescription.
Does the Civil Code say how long I have to file a case?
Yes — the Title on prescription at the end of Book III sets the periods, and they differ by the kind of action. An action on a written contract, on an obligation created by law, or on a judgment must be brought within ten years from the time the right of action accrues (Art. 1144). Real actions over immovables prescribe after thirty years (Art. 1141). A few rights are not extinguished by prescription at all, including the right to demand a right of way and the right to abate a nuisance (Art. 1143).
Sources and Legal Citations
- Civil Code of the Philippines, Republic Act No. 386 (approved 18 June 1949), Arts. 1–2270, full text at lawphil.net. Supports: the Book and Title structure, the article ranges, the drafting notation, Arts. 712, 1141, 1143, 1144 and the repealing clause in Art. 2270. Status: verified against the published text.
- Family Code of the Philippines, Executive Order No. 209 (1987), as amended, Art. 254. Supports: the repeal of Titles III to XI of Book I of the Civil Code.
- Property Registration Decree, Presidential Decree No. 1529. Supports: that registered land is governed first by the registration statute.
- Condominium Act, Republic Act No. 4726. Supports: that condominium ownership is governed by a special law.
- Realty Installment Buyer Protection Act, Republic Act No. 6552. Supports: that residential instalment sales are governed by a special law.
Sources rechecked as of 11 September 2026.
Disclaimer
This page is general legal information, not legal advice. Civil disputes turn on specific facts, documents, valuation and the law in force at the relevant time. CivilLaw.PH is independent and is not a government website, a court, a registry or a law firm. For a decision that affects your property, money or family, consult a Philippine lawyer or the Public Attorney’s Office if you qualify for its assistance.