(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 IVMarriage Registration Archives and Marriage
Relationship
Chapter VSupervision and Administration
Chapter VISupplementary 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.