China News Service, May 25th, on the 25th, the Ministry of Civil Affairs held a press conference. From June 1, 2023, Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Inner Mongolia, Liaoning, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Fujian, Jiangxi, Shandong 21 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities), including , Henan, Hubei, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Chongqing, Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Ningxia, implemented the pilot program of “inter-provincial handling” of marriage registration and divorce registration for mainland residents. Marriage registration authorities in the pilot areas will uniformly accept the “trans-provincial handling” of marriage registration. After the expansion of the pilot program, the 21 provinces will cover 78.5% of the total population of my country, which can basically meet the needs of the masses for marriage registration in different places.
According to Wang Jinhua, director of the Department of Social Affairs of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the country currently handles an average of 18 million pairs of knots (divorces) and replacement marriage registration certificates each year. With the rapid development of the economy and society, the separation of households is more common. People who go out for work, life, and study for a long time go back to the place of household registration to go through marriage registration, which not only consumes time, energy and financial resources, but also brings a lot of inconvenience. The need for handling is very strong. In order to further deepen the reform of “decentralization, management and service” and meet the needs of the masses for marriage registration in different places, according to the authorization of the State Council, starting from June 1, 2021, the Ministry of Civil Affairs will deploy in five provinces (cities) Liaoning, Shandong, Guangdong, Chongqing, and Sichuan The pilot project of “trans-provincial general handling” of marriage and divorce registration for mainland residents was carried out, and the pilot project of “cross-provincial general handling” of marriage registration for mainland residents was carried out in 2 provinces and 2 cities in Jiangsu, Henan, Wuhan, Hubei, and Xi’an, Shaanxi. As of May 24, 2023, a total of 125,247 marriage registrations have been processed across provinces in the pilot areas.
According to Wang Jinhua, according to the authorization of the State Council, the expansion of the pilot scope mainly includes the following contents: First, 11 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) including Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Inner Mongolia, Shanghai, Anhui, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Hainan, and Ningxia Included in expanding the scope of the pilot program, the pilot program of “cross-provincial handling” of marriage registration and divorce registration for mainland residents will be implemented. The second is that the first batch of Liaoning, Shandong, Guangdong, Chongqing, and Sichuan provinces that have been piloted continue to implement the pilot program of “inter-provincial handling” of marriage registration and divorce registration for mainland residents. The third is that the first batch of pilot areas in Jiangsu, Henan, Hubei, Wuhan, and Shaanxi’s Xi’an have expanded from the implementation of the “cross-provincial handling” of marriage registration for inland residents to the four provinces of Jiangsu, Henan, Hubei, and Shaanxi. Registration and divorce registration “cross-provincial handling” pilot. Fourth, before the start of the first batch of pilot projects, Zhejiang has approved marriage registration and divorce registration by the State Council. This time, Zhejiang will be expanded from a “province-wide application” to a pilot program of “inter-provincial application” of marriage registration and divorce registration for inland residents.
Talking about when the nationwide registration can be realized, Yang Zongtao, the second-level inspector of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, said that two basic conditions must be met in order to realize the nationwide registration: First, the relevant provisions of the “Regulations on Marriage Registration” must be revised. It is the legal basis for general handling in different places; the second is to have a solid foundation support, including information systems, marriage registration data, work systems and procedures, and personnel allocation. These two conditions are not yet fully mature.
Yang Zongtao said that it is our goal to achieve nationwide marriage registration, and the Ministry of Civil Affairs will promptly promote this work when the conditions are ripe.