Administrative Regulations on Sanitation of Public Places (Revised in 2016)

Order of the State Council of the People's Republic of China No.666

February 6, 2016

(Promulgated on April 1, 1987; and revised in accordance with the Decision of the State Council on Revising Certain Administrative Regulations on February 6, 2016)

Chapter I General Provisions

Article 1 For the purpose of creating good sanitary conditions for public places, preventing diseases, safeguarding the health of the public, these regulations are hereby enacted.

Article 2 These Regulations shall be applicable to following public places:
1. Hotel, restaurant, inn, rest house, coffee bar, pub, tea house;
2. Public bath room, barbershop, beauty salon;
3. Theater, video room, entertainment hall, ballroom, music hall;
4. Stadium, swimming pool, park;
5. Exhibition hall, museum, gallery, library;
6. Shopping mall (store), book store;
7. Waiting room (hospital, bus station, port), mass transit.

Article 3 The public places shall satisfy relevant national health standards and requirements concerning following items:
1. Air, microclimate (humidity, temperature, wind speed);
2. Water quality;
3. Lighting, illumination;
4. Noise;
5. Utensil and sanitary fixture.
The sanitary standards and requirements for public places are to be enacted by the Ministry of Health.

Article 4 The site selection and design of the public places and the newly-constructed, expanded and reconstructed public places are subject to a "Sanitary License" system applied by the governments.
The "Sanitary License" shall be issued by the sanitary administrative authorities above county level.

Chapter II Sanitary management

Article 5 The competent public place administrative authorities shall establish sanitary management system, be equipped with full-time or part-time sanitary managerial personnel, conduct regular examination on the sanitary conditions of their affiliating organizations (including individual operators, the same hereinafter) and provide necessary conditions.

Article 6 Operators shall be responsible for the sanitary management of the public places operated by them, establish sanitary accountability system and conduct training and examination for the practitioners concerning the sanitary knowledge.

Article 7 Personnel providing service for customers directly in the public places shall hold "Health Certificate" and those who suffer dysentery, hyphoid fever, virus hepatitis, active-stage phthisis, purulent or exudative skin disease and other disease that may hinder the public sanitation shall not be involved in providing service for customers directly before curing.

Article 8 As for all public places except parks, stadiums and public transportation, business operators shall apply to the sanitary administrative authorities for a sanitary license in a timely manner. The sanitary license shall be reviewed biyearly.

Article 9 In the event that any accident endangering the health of the public is caused for any public place fails to satisfy the sanitary standards and requirements, the operator shall take proper measures and report such accident to the competent hygiene and disease control authority in a timely manner.

Chapter III Sanitary control

Article 10 The local hygiene and disease control authorities shall be responsible for the supervision of the health in the public places within their respective jurisdiction.
The hygiene and disease control authority of civil aviation, railway, factories and mines shall conduct hygiene and disease control in the public places within their respective jurisdiction and accept the professional guidance rendered by local hygiene and disease control authorities.

Article 11 The hygiene and disease control authorities may, as the case may require, establish public place sanitation supervisors who shall be responsible for the implementation of the tasks assigned by the local hygiene and health control authority. The public place sanitation supervisors shall be granted with the certificates issued by the local people's government.
The public place sanitation supervisors of civil aviation, railway, factories and mines shall be granted with the certificates issued by their senior competent authorities.

Article 12 The responsibility of the hygiene and health control authorities concerning sanitary supervision of the public places:
1. Rendering sanitary supervision and sanitary technical guidance on the public places;
2. Supervising the healthy examination on the practitioners, and guiding relevant organizations to render sanitary knowledge education and training for practitioners;
3. Conducting sanitary review on the site selection and design of the newly constructed, expanded or reconstructed public places, and participating in the completion acceptance.

Article 13 Sanitation supervisors shall have the right to conduct site examination on the public places, and claim for relevant materials and the operators shall not reject or conceal such materials. The sanitation supervisors shall keep confidential of all technical materials thus provided.
Public place sanitation supervisors shall, upon discharging their duties, wear badges and present certificates.

Chapter IV Penalty

Article 14 Competent hygiene and health control authorities shall give administrative penalties such as warning, fine, close-down for correction or cancellation of "Sanitary License" based on the seriousness of different case if any organization or individual is under any of following circumstances:
1. Such organization or individual does not satisfy the national sanitary standards and requirements on sanitary quality but continue to operate;
2. Such organization or individual does not obtain the "Health Certificate" but involves in direct service for customers;
3. Such organization or individual rejects the sanitation supervision;
4. Such organization or individual does not hold the "Sanitary License" and operate discretionally.
All fines shall be turned over to the national treasury.

Article 15 Any organization or individual who violates these Regulations and causes accident endangering the health of the people or intoxication accident shall compensate the victim of such accident for any loss thus caused.
If any organization or individual violates these Regulations and causes any person to become disable or dead and constitutes a crime, the judicial authorities shall conduct investigation against such organization or individual for any criminal liability.

Article 16 Any organization or individual who has objection to the administrative penalty of fine, close-down for correction and cancellation of "Sanitary License" may, within 15 days of receiving the penalty notice, institute an action to the local people's court. However, any organization or individual shall execute the decisions on the control of the sanitary quality of the public place immediately, and if such organization or individual neither execute the decision of administrative penalty nor institute an action, the local hygiene and health control authority shall file an application with the local people's court to enforce such decision.

Article 17 The public place sanitary supervision authorities and sanitary supervisors must discharge their duties in good faith and in accordance with the law. In the event of misuse of authority and taking bribes, the senior authority in-charge shall give administrative sanction to the directly responsible person. If any crime is constituted, the judicial authority shall conduct investigation against the directly responsible persons for any criminal liability.

Chapter V Supplementary provisions

Article 18 The implementing rules of these Regulations are to be enacted by the Ministry of Health.

Article 19 These Regulations shall come into force on the day of promulgation.