REGULATIONS ON MARRIAGE
REGISTRATION OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA
(Approved by the State Council on December 31, 1985 and promulgated
by the Civil Affairs Ministry on March 15, 1986)
Table of Contents
Chapter I. General Principles
Chapter II. Marriage
Registration Administrative Office
Chapter III. Marriage
Registration
Chapter IV. Marriage
Registration Archives and Certificates of Marriage Relationship
Chapter V. Supervision
and Administration
Chapter
VI. Supplementary Provisions
Chapter I. General Principles
Article 1. These regulations are formulated, in accordance
with the Marriage Law and other relevant laws, to ensure marriage based on
free choice of partners, on monogamy, and on equal rights for the sexes; improve
the administration of marriage registration; protect the lawful rights and
interests of the parties to a marriage; and deal with violations of law in
regard to marriage.
Article 2. Chinese citizens who marry, divorce or remarry
within the national boundaries of China shall register in accordance with the
provisions of these regulations.
Registration for marriage between a Chinese citizen and a
foreign national; between an overseas Chinese and a domestic citizen; and between
a resident of the Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan regions and an inland resident
shall be handled in accordance with relevant regulations.
Article 3. The lawful rights and interests of the parties
registering their marriage in accordance with law are protected by law.
Article 4. The State Council Civil Affairs Department is in
charge of marriage registrations nationwide.
Civil affairs departments under people's governments at the
county level or higher are responsible for marriage registration in their respective
administrative regions.
Chapter II. Marriage Registration Administrative Office
Article 5. In urban areas, the marriage registration administrative
office is the neighborhood office or, in districts directly under the city
government or cities not divided into districts, it is the city people's government
civil affairs department; in rural areas, it is the village, nationality village
or town people's government.
Article 6. The functions of the marriage registration administrative
office are as follows:
(1) to handle marriage registration;
(2) to issue marriage certificates;
(3) to handle, in accordance with law, violations in respect
of marriage; and
(4) to publicize laws governing marriage and promote civilized
marriage customs.
Article 7. Marriage registration personnel at a marriage registration administrative
office shall undergo vocational training by the civil affairs department of the
people's government at the county level or higher and be issued marriage registration
credentials after passing examinations.
Chapter III. Marriage Registration
Article 8. The parties applying for marriage registration
shall truthfully produce relevant documents and proof noted in these regulations
to the marriage registration administrative office; they shall not hide the
facts.
In processing marriage registrations, a marriage registration
administrative office shall not ask the parties to produce documents and proof
other than those noted in these regulations.
Article 9. The parties to a marriage must file in person marriage
registration with the marriage registration administrative office in the locality
where one party of the marriage has residency registration. They shall produce
the following documents and proof when filing the application:
(1) residency papers;
(2) resident identity cards;
(3) certificates of marital status issued by their units,
village committees or neighborhood committees.
If one or both parties are divorced, divorce certificate(s)
shall be produced.
In localities requiring physical checkups prior to marriage,
the parties to a marriage shall undergo remarriage physical checkups at designated
medical or health care facilities and produce the remarriage physical checkup
papers at the marriage registration administrative office.
Article 10. Where possible, a system of remarriage physical
checkups shall be instituted. The civil affairs and public health administrative
departments of the people's governments of the provinces, autonomous regions
and municipalities directly under the central government shall submit proposals
regarding the specific areas for implementing such a system to the people's
government at the corresponding level for approval.
Article 11. The marriage registration administrative office
shall examine the marriage registration filed by the parties; it shall promptly
register their marriage and issue them the marriage certificate if the conditions
of marriage are met. Where the party or parties divorced before, the divorce
certificate(s) shall be revoked. The relationship of husband and wife is established
when the parties acquire a marriage certificate.
Article 12. The marriage registration administrative office
shall reject the application for marriage registration if any of the following
situations apply:
(1) where one or both parties have not reached the legal age
for marriage;
(2) the marriage is not based on the willingness of the parties;
(3) one or both parties are already married;
(4) where the man and woman are lineal or collateral relatives
by blood (up to the third degree of relationship);
(5) where one party is suffering from disease(s) that by law
would not allow them to marry or require a delay to marriage.
Article 13. Where the parties to a marriage are unable to
obtain the needed documents because of interference from their units or other
individuals, the marriage registration administrative office, after clearly
establishing that the parties meet the requirements for marriage with an investigation,
shall accept the registration.
Article 14. The parties filing for divorce shall apply for
divorce registration in person with the marriage registration administrative
office in the locality where one party of the marriage has residency registration.
They shall produce the following documents and proofs when filing the application:
(1) residency papers;
(2) resident identity cards;
(3) reference letters from their unit, village committee or
neighborhood committee;
(4) a divorce agreement; and
(5) the marriage certificate.
Article 15. The divorce agreement shall clearly state the
desire of both parties for a divorce, the care of children, financial assistance
if one party has maintenance difficulties, the disposal of property and debts,
and other relevant matters. The contents of the agreement shall be favorable
to the protection of the rights and interests of women and children.
Article 16. The
marriage registration administrative office shall examine the parties’ application
for divorce and, where the conditions for divorce are met, register the divorce,
issue the divorce certificate and
nullify the marriage within a month of receipt of the application. The relationship
of husband and wife is terminated when the parties acquire a divorce certificate.
Article 17. Where a party of a divorce fails to fulfil the
obligations listed in the divorce agreement, the other party may file a suit
with the people's court.
Article 18. The marriage registration administrative office
shall not accept the application for divorce if any of the following situations
apply:
(1) one party insists on divorce;
(2) both parties insist on divorce but have not reached an
agreement on the care of children, financial assistance to the party that has
maintenance difficulties, the disposal of property and debts, or other matters;
(3) one or both parties have only limited or lost civil capacity;
or
(4) the parties did not register their marriage.
Article 19. The parties of a divorce who have resumed husband-and-wife
relations shall apply, in person, to the marriage registration administrative
office in the locality where one party of the marriage has residency registration
for a registration of remarriage. The marriage registration administrative
office shall handle the application for remarriage registration in accordance
with the procedures for marriage registration, except that the remarriage physical
checkup is not required.
Article 20. If the marriage registration administrative office
rejects an application for marriage registration, it shall explain in writing
the reasons for the rejection.
Chapter IV. Marriage Registration Archives and Certificates
of Marriage Relationship
Article 21. The marriage registration administrative office
shall set up an archive of marriage registrations. Procedures for the administration
of the marriage registration archives shall be formulated by the State Council
Civil Affairs Department in accordance with the relevant provisions of the
Archives Law.
Article 22. Where the parties lost or damaged the marriage
or divorce certificate, they may use the certificate of marriage status issued
by their work unit, village committee, or neighborhood committee and apply
for a re-issuance of the marriage certificate from the marriage registration
administrative office at which they registered their marriage registration.
Article 23. The marriage registration administrative office
shall examine the certificate of marriage status submitted by the parties and
issue, in accordance with the marriage registration archives, a certificate
of husband-and-wife relations to the party whose marriage certificate is lost
or damaged or a certificate of the annulment of husband-and-wife relations
to the party whose certificate of divorce is lost or damaged.
The certificate of husband-and-wife relations and the certificate
of the annulment of husband-and-wife relations have the same legal effect as
the marriage and divorce certificates.
Chapter V. Supervision and Administration
Article 24. The marriage relations of citizens who have not
reached the legal marriage age but live together as husband and wife and those
parties who meet the requirements for marriage and live as husband and wife
but have not applied for marriage registration are invalid and not protected
by law.
Article 25. Where the parties obtained marriage registration
by fraud, the marriage registration administrative office shall revoke their
marriage registration, shall declare to the parties of the marriage or remarriage
that their marriage relations are invalid and take back their marriage certificate.
To the parties of divorce, it shall declare to them the annulment of marriage
relations is invalid and take back their certificate of divorce. The parties
in question shall be fined 200 yuan or less.
Article 26. The marriage registration administrative office
shall report the offence of remarriage by a married party concerned to a procuratorial
organ even though his or her spouse has filed no suit.
Article 27. The marriage registration administrative office
shall confiscate false documents issued by a unit or organization to a party
applying for marriage registration and shall suggest that the unit or organization
criticize, educate, or mete out administrative punishment to the personnel
directly responsible for the matter.
Article 28. Where registration has been granted in violation
of the provisions of Articles 12 and 18 of these regulations, the marriage
registration administrative office shall mete out administrative punishment
to the personnel in charge of marriage registration or remove them from their
posts; it shall cancel the marriage registration by recalling the marriage
certificate from the relevant party who failed to meet the requirements for
marriage registration.
Article 29. The relevant party may file an appeal in accordance
with a regulation on administrative appeal if he or she deems that his or her
application has been rejected by the marriage registration administrative office
even though he or she meets the marriage registration requirements or if the
party concerned does not agree with the punishment. The party concerned may
file a law suit in accordance with the law governing administrative procedure
if it disagrees with the appeal decision.
Chapter VI. Supplementary Provisions
Article 30. The State Council Civil Affairs Department shall
draw up a unified form of marriage registration certificate and certificates
of marriage relationship in accordance with the provisions of these regulations,
and the civil affairs departments of the people's governments of the provincial
and autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government
shall be responsible for printing them.
Article 31. To receive their marriage registration certificates
and certificates of marriage relationship, the parties concerned shall pay
a production fee, the amount of which shall be set by the State Council Civil
Affairs Department in coordination with other relevant departments.
Article 32. The people's governments of the provinces, autonomous
regions and municipalities directly under the central government may enact
appropriate restrictive measures to check the marriage of people whose age
is below the marriage age stipulated by the law.
Article 33. The people's governments of national autonomous
areas may enact flexible or supplementary provisions in accordance with the
principles of these regulations and in line with the specific conditions of
marriage registration administration in their respective areas.
Article 34. These
regulations shall come into effect on the day of promulgation. Simultaneously
abolished shall be the "Procedures for
Marriage Registration" approved by the State Council on December 31, 1985 and
promulgated by the Civil Affairs Ministry on March 15, 1986. |
