(Adopted by the State Council on January 12, 1994 and promulgated by Decree No.1 of the Ministry of Civil Affairs on February 1, 1994)

Contents

Chapter I General Provisions

Chapter II Marriage Registration Authorities

Chapter III Registration of Marriage

Chapter IVMarriage Registration Archives and Marriage Relationship

Chapter VSupervision and Administration

Chapter VISupplementary Provisions

Chapter I

General Provisions

Article 1 These Regulations are formulated in accordance with the Marriage Law and other relevant laws, with a view to guaranteeing the implementation of the marriage system based on the freedom of marriage, on monogamy and on equality between men and women, strengthening the administration of marriage registration, protecting the legitimate rights and interests of both parties in marriage and dealing with illegal marriages according to law.

Article 2 Marriage, divorce and resumption of marriage between Chinese citizens within the territory of China must be entered into registration according to the provisions of these Regulations.

The registration of marriage between Chinese citizens and foreigners, between overseas Chinese and domestic citizens, between residents who come from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan and inland citizens shall respectively be handled according to the relevant provisions.

Article 3 The legitimate rights and interests of parties having gone through marriage registration according to law shall be protected by law.

Article 4 The civil affairs department under the State Council shall be responsible for the control of marriage registration throughout the country.

Civil affairs departments under local people's governments at or above the county level shall be responsible for the control of marriage registration within their respective administrative divisions.

Chapter II

Marriage Registration Authorities

Article 5 Marriage registration authorities refer to urban subdistrict offices or civil affairs departments under people's governments in municipal districts or in cities not divided into districts, and refer to people's governments of townships, nationality townships and towns in rural areas.

Article 6 The functions of marriage registration authorities are as follows:

(1) handling marriage registration;

(2) making out marriage relationship certificates;

(3) dealing with illegal marriages according to law; and

(4) propagating marriage laws and advocating civilized marriage customs.

Article 7 Marriage registrars of the marriage registration authorities shall receive vocational training organized by civil affairs departments under people's governments at or above the county level. If they pass the qualification examination, a marriage registrar certificate shall be issued to them.

Chapter III

Registration of Marriage

Article 8 Parties applying for marriage registration shall truthfully provide to marriage registration authorities relevant certificates and documents stipulated in these Regulations and shall not conceal the truth.

In handling marriage registration, marriage registration authorities shall not require applicants to provide any certificate and document not stipulated in these Regulations.

Article 9 Both parties intending to get married must appear in person at the marriage registration authority in the place where either of the parties has his/her residence registration and apply for marriage registration. On application, they shall hold the following certificates and documents:

(1) certificate of each applicant's residence registration;

(2) resident identity cards of each applicant;

(3) marital status certification issued by each applicant's unit, villagers committee or residents committee.

A divorced person shall be required to hold his/her divorce certificate.

In places practising pre-marital health check-ups, parties applying for marriage registration must go to the designated medical care institution for pre-marital health check-ups and present the pre-marital health check-up report to the marriage registration authority.

Article 10 A system of pre-marital health check-ups shall be set up in places where the conditions have been fulfilled. Areas to be decided to practise pre-marital health check-ups shall be proposed by civil affairs departments and public health departments of people's governments in provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government and be reported to the people's governments at the same level for approval.

Article 11 Marriage registration authorities shall examine applications for marriage registration and shall promptly grant registration and issue marriage certificates to those applicants who conform to the marriage conditions. For a divorced person, his/her divorce certificate shall be revoked. The husband-and-wife relationship shall be established as soon as they acquire the marriage certificates.

Article 12 If either of the parties applying for marriage registration falls under any of the following categories, the marriage registration authority shall not register their marriage.

(1) not reaching the legally marriageable age;

(2) not based upon willingness;

(3) already having a spouse;

(4) if the parties are lineal relatives by blood, or collateral relatives by blood up to the third degree of kinship; or

(5) suffering from a disease with which a person is prohibited from marriage or postponed to be married as stipulated by law.

Article 13 Where parties applying for marriage registration are interfered with by their units or a third party and this enables them not to obtain the required documents, the marriage registration authority shall grant registration after confirming that they really conform to the marriage conditions.

Article 14 Both parties intending a divorce must appear in person at the marriage registration authority in the place where either of the parties has his/her residence registration and apply for divorce registration. On application, they shall hold the following certificates and documents:

(1) certificates of each applicant's resident registration;

(2) resident identity cards of each applicant;

(3) introduction letters issued by each applicant's unit, villagers committee or residents committee;

(4) the divorce agreement; and

(5) the marriage certificate.

Article 15 A divorce agreement shall clearly contain matters agreed upon between both parties regarding their intentions of divorce, fostering of children, economic aid for difficulties in living of the husband or the wife and disposal of property and debts. The contents of such an agreement shall be conducive to the protection of legitimate rights and interests of women and children.

Article 16 The marriage registration authority shall examine the divorce application submitted by the parties and shall, within one month from the date of accepting the application, register the divorce, issue them a divorce certificate and revoke their marriage certificates where the parties conform to the divorce conditions. The husband-and-wife relationship shall be rescinded as soon as they acquire the divorce certificate.

Article 17 If one divorced party fails to perform his/her duty according to the divorce agreement, the other party may bring a civil lawsuit before a people's court.

Article 18 If either of the parties applying for divorce registration falls under any of the following categories, the marriage registration authority shall not accept the application.

(1) if only one party requires a divorce;

(2) if both parties require a divorce, but fail to reach an agreement regarding matters such as fostering of children, economic aid for difficulties in living of the husband or the wife and disposal of property and debts;

(3) if one party or both parties is or are a person(s) with limited capacity for civil conduct or with no capacity for civil conduct; or

(4) if they didn't go through marriage registration.

Article 19 Both divorced parties intending to resume their husband-and-wife relationship must appear in person at the marriage registration authority in the place where either of parties has his/her residence registration and apply for the registration of resumption of marriage. The marriage registration authority shall handle the application for resumption of marriage submitted by the parties according to the procedure for registration of marriage and the parties may omit pre-marital health check-ups.

Article 20 Marriage registration authorities shall explain reasons in writing for rejecting applications for marriage registration submitted by parties.

Chapter IV

Marriage Registration Archives and Marriage Relationship Certificates

Article 21 Marriage registration authorities shall file marriage registration archives. The measures for control of marriage registration archives shall be formulated in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Archives law by the civil affairs department under the State Council.

Article 22 Parties who lose, damage or destroy marriage certificates or divorce certificates may, on the strength of the marital status certificates issued by their units, villagers committees or residence committees, apply to the marriage registration authority with which they went through their marriage registration for making out a marriage relationship certificate.

Article 23 The marriage registration authority shall examine parties’ application for making out a marriage relationship certificate and shall, based upon the parties' marriage registration archives, make out a certificate of husband-and-wife relationship for the parties who lose, damage or destroy marriage certificates and a certificate of rescinding husband-and-wife relationship for the parties who lose, damage or destroy divorce certificates.

The certificates of husband-and-wife relationship and the certificates of rescinding husband-and-wife relationship shall have equal legal effect with the marriage certificates and the divorce certificates.

Chapter V

Supervision and Administration 

Article 24 If citizens not reaching the legally marriageable age cohabit in the name of the husband and wife, or citizens conforming to the marriage conditions cohabit in the name of the husband and wife without marriage registration, their marriage relationship shall be null and void and outside the protection of law.

Article 25 If parties applying for marriage registration resort to deception and obtain marriage registration, the marriage registration authority shall withdraw the marriage registration and shall declare to the parties intending to get married or to resume their marriage that their marriage relationship is null and void, and recall the marriage certificates, and declare to the parties intending for divorce that the rescission of marriage relationship is null and void, and recall the divorce certificates.

Article 26 If a party has a spouse and commits bigamy, but his/her spouse doesn’t accuse him/her, the marriage registration authority shall expose the case to the procuratorial organ.

Article 27 If a unit or an organization issues a false certificate or document for the parties applying for marriage registration, the marriage registration authority shall confiscate the certificate or document and propose to the unit or organization for admonishing and criticizing or giving disciplinary sanctions to persons directly responsible.

Article 28 If any marriage registrar grants registration in violation of the provisions of Articles 12 and 18 in these Regulations, the marriage registration authority shall give him disciplinary sanctions or disqualify him as a marriage registrar. The registration of marriage between parties not yet conforming to the conditions for marriage registration shall be withdrawn and the marriage registration certificate revoked.

Article 29 If any party thinks that he conforms to the marriage registration conditions but the marriage registration authority refuses to grant registration to him, or if any party refuses to accept punishment, he may apply for reconsideration according to the provisions of the Regulations on Administrative Reconsideration. If he refuses to accept the reconsideration decision, he may bring a lawsuit according to the provisions of the Administrative Procedure Law.

Chapter VI

Supplementary Provisions

Article 30 For marriage registration certificates and marriage relationship certificates mentioned in these Regulations, the civil affairs department under the State Council shall decide their unified forms and civil affairs departments of people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall print them.

Article 31 Any party shall pay the costs for taking out the marriage registration certificate and marriage relationship certificate. The cost standard shall be set by the civil affairs department under the State Council in consultation with relevant departments.

Article 32 People's governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government may formulate proper restrictions upon marriages between persons below the legally marriageable age.

Article 33 People's governments of national autonomous areas may, in accordance with the principles of these Regulations and the actual practices of the local nationalities with regard to the control of marriage registration, formulate adaptive or supplementary provisions.

Article 34 These Regulations shall come into effect on the date of its promulgation. The Procedures for Marriage Registration, approved by the State Council on December 31, 1985 and promulgated by the Ministry of Civil Affairs on March 15, 1986, shall be invalidated on the same day.

Notice: In case of discrepancy, the original version in Chinese shall prevail.