Regulations on Household Registration of the PRC — Full English Translation (1958)

Adopted at the 91st Meeting of the Standing Committee of the First National People’s Congress on January 9, 1958

Promulgated by Order of the President of the People’s Republic of China on January 9, 1958

Effective: January 9, 1958

Article 1 — These Regulations are formulated in order to maintain public order, protect the rights and interests of citizens, and serve socialist construction.

Article 2 — All citizens of the People’s Republic of China shall fulfill household registration in accordance with the provisions of these Regulations.

Household registration of active-duty military personnel shall be handled by military organs in accordance with the relevant provisions governing active-duty military personnel.

Unless otherwise provided by laws and decrees, these Regulations shall apply to the household registration of foreigners and stateless persons residing within the territory of the People’s Republic of China.

Article 3 — Household registration work shall be under the charge of public security organs at all levels.

In cities and in towns with a public security police station, the area under the jurisdiction of the public security police station shall be the household registration area; in townships and towns without a public security police station, the area under the jurisdiction of the township or town shall be the household registration area. The township or town people’s committee and the public security police station shall be the household registration organs.

For households residing within organs, organizations, schools, enterprises, public institutions and other units, and in public dormitories, each unit shall designate a specific person to assist the household registration organ in handling household registration; for households residing dispersedly, the household registration organ shall directly handle household registration.

For households of non-active-duty military personnel residing within military organs and military dormitories, each unit shall designate a specific person to assist the household registration organ in handling household registration.

For households of production cooperatives engaged in agriculture, fishery, salt, forestry, animal husbandry, handicrafts and the like, the cooperative shall designate a specific person to assist the household registration organ in handling household registration; for households other than those of cooperatives, the household registration organ shall directly handle household registration.

Article 4 — Household registration organs shall establish household registration books.

In cities, on water, and in towns with a public security police station, one household register shall be issued to each household.

In rural areas, household registers shall be issued on the basis of cooperatives; households other than those of cooperatives shall not be issued household registers.

The matters recorded in the household registration books and household registers shall have the effect of proving the identity of citizens.

Article 5 — Household registration shall be based on the household as the unit. Persons who reside together with the person in charge in one place shall be registered as one household, with the person in charge as the head of the household. A person residing alone shall be registered as a separate household, with himself or herself as the head of the household. Households residing within organs, organizations, schools, enterprises, public institutions and other units, and in public dormitories, shall be registered jointly as one household or separately as households. The head of the household shall be responsible for reporting household registration in accordance with the provisions of these Regulations.

Article 6 — Citizens shall be registered as permanent residents at the place where they habitually reside; a citizen may be registered as a permanent resident in only one place.

Article 7 — Within one month after the birth of an infant, the head of the household, a relative, the fosterer, or a neighbor shall report the birth registration to the household registration organ at the infant’s place of permanent residence.

For abandoned infants, the adopter or the infant welfare organ shall report the birth registration to the household registration organ.

Article 8 — Upon the death of a citizen, the head of the household, a relative, the fosterer, or a neighbor shall report the death registration and have the household registration cancelled by the household registration organ before burial in cities and within one month in rural areas. If a citizen dies at a place of temporary residence, the household registration organ at the place of temporary residence shall notify the household registration organ at the place of permanent residence to cancel the household registration.

If a citizen dies as a result of an accident or the cause of death is unknown, the head of the household or the person who discovers the death shall immediately report to the local public security police station or the township or town people’s committee.

Article 9 — If an infant dies after birth and before the birth registration is reported, both the birth and death registrations shall be reported at the same time.

Article 10 — When a citizen moves out of the household registration area, he or she, or the head of the household, shall, before moving out, report the move-out registration to the household registration organ, obtain a migration certificate, and have the household registration cancelled.

A citizen moving from a rural area to a city must apply to the household registration organ at the place of permanent residence for the move-out formalities with a certificate of employment from an urban labor department, a certificate of admission from a school, or a certificate from an urban household registration organ approving the move-in.

A citizen moving to a border area must obtain the approval of the public security organ of the county or city at the place of permanent residence, or of the public security organ of the municipal district.

Article 11 — For a citizen recruited for active military service, he or she, or the head of the household, shall, before enlistment, report the move-out registration to the household registration organ at the place of permanent residence with the enlistment notice of the citizen recruited for service, have the household registration cancelled, and no migration certificate shall be issued.

Article 12 — For an arrested criminal suspect, the arresting organ shall, at the same time as notifying the family of the criminal suspect, notify the household registration organ at the place of permanent residence of the criminal suspect to cancel the household registration.

Article 13 — When a citizen migrates, from the time of arrival at the place of move-in, he or she, or the head of the household, shall report the move-in registration to the household registration organ with the migration certificate and surrender the migration certificate for cancellation, within three days in cities and within ten days in rural areas.

Citizens without a migration certificate shall report the move-in registration to the household registration organ at the place of move-in with the following certificates:

1. Demobilized, transferred, and retired military personnel, with the certificate issued by the county or municipal military service organ or by a military organ at or above the regiment level;

2. Overseas Chinese and students returning from abroad, with the passport of the People’s Republic of China or an entry certificate;

3. Persons released by a people’s court, a people’s procuratorate, or a public security organ, with the certificate issued by the releasing organ.

Article 14 — When prisoners on parole or probation, persons under public surveillance, and other persons deprived of political rights in accordance with the law migrate, they may handle the move-out registration only after the household registration organ has reported to and obtained the approval of the people’s court or public security organ of the county, city, or municipal district; after arriving at the place of move-in, they shall immediately report the move-in registration to the household registration organ.

Article 15 — For a citizen who temporarily resides in a city outside the city or county of his or her place of permanent residence for more than three days, the head of the household or the person himself or herself at the place of temporary residence shall report the temporary residence registration to the household registration organ within three days, and report the cancellation before leaving; for those temporarily residing in hotels, the hotels shall keep a guest register and register them at all times.

For a citizen who temporarily resides within the city or county of his or her place of permanent residence, or in a rural area outside the city or county of his or her place of permanent residence, no temporary residence registration shall be handled, except that for those temporarily residing in hotels, the hotels shall keep a guest register and register them at all times.

Article 16 — If a citizen leaves his or her place of permanent residence for private affairs and stays away temporarily for more than three months, he or she shall apply to the household registration organ for an extension of time or handle migration formalities; if there are no grounds for extending the time and no conditions for migration, he or she shall return to the place of permanent residence.

Article 17 — When the contents of household registration need to be changed or corrected, the head of the household or the person himself or herself shall report to the household registration organ; after the household registration organ has verified the facts, it shall make the change or correction.

When the household registration organ deems it necessary, it may request from the applicant relevant proof of the change or correction.

Article 18 — Changes of a citizen’s name shall be handled in accordance with the following provisions:

1. When a person under the age of 18 needs to change his or her name, he or she, or his or her parents or adopter, shall apply to the household registration organ for the change registration;

2. When a person aged 18 or above needs to change his or her name, he or she shall apply to the household registration organ for the change registration.

Article 19 — When a citizen’s household registration changes by reason of marriage, divorce, adoption, acknowledgment, household division, household merger, disappearance, recovery, or other causes, the head of the household or the person himself or herself shall report the change registration to the household registration organ.

Article 20 — Under any of the following circumstances, public security administrative punishment shall be imposed or criminal liability shall be pursued in accordance with the law, depending on the seriousness of the circumstances:

1. Failing to report household registration in accordance with the provisions of these Regulations;

2. Falsely reporting household registration;

3. Forging, altering, transferring, lending, or selling household registration documents;

4. Assuming the household registration of another person under a false name;

5. A hotel manager failing to handle guest registration in accordance with the provisions.

Article 21 — If, in the course of household registration work, a household registration organ discovers counterrevolutionaries or other criminals, it shall refer the matter to the judicial organ to pursue criminal liability in accordance with the law.

Article 22 — The styles of household registers, books, forms, and documents shall be uniformly prescribed by the Ministry of Public Security of the People’s Republic of China, and shall be printed under the overall arrangement of the public security organs of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government.

Citizens shall pay a production cost when receiving household registers and migration certificates.

Article 23 — The self-government organs of national autonomous areas may, in accordance with the spirit of these Regulations and in light of the specific local circumstances, formulate separate measures.

Article 24 — These Regulations shall come into force on the date of promulgation.

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