• Document Number：No. 69 [2017] of the Ministry of Justice
• Area of Law： Notarization
• Level of Authority： Departmental Regulatory Documents
• Date issued：07-04-2017
• Effective Date：07-04-2017
• Status： Effective
• Issuing Authority： Ministry of Justice

Decision of the Ministry of Justice on Establishing the Oath-Taking System for Notaries
(No. 69 [2017] of the Ministry of Justice)
The justice departments (bureaus) of all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government; the Justice Bureau of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps; and notary associations:
To effectively improve the ideological and political quality, professional ethics and professional quality of the notary team, and continuously enhance notaries' the professional sense of mission, sense of honor and sense of social responsibility, in accordance with the Notary Law of the People's Republic of China, we have decided to establish an oath-taking system for notaries nationwide. You are hereby notified of the relevant matters as follows:
I. With the permit of an administrative organ of justice of a province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government, a person who obtains a notary's practice certificate for the first time or upon re-application shall take a notary's oath.
II.A notary shall, within six months after the date of obtainment of a notary's practice certificate, take a notary's oath collectively in a group.
III. A notary's oath-taking ceremony shall be organized by an administrative organ of justice at the level of a districted city or a municipality directly under the Central Government jointly with the notary association.
IV. Requirements for an oath-taking ceremony
(1) The national flag of the People's Republic of China shall be hung in the meeting hall where the oath is taken.
(2)The oath-taking ceremony shall be presided over by the person in charge of the administrative organ of justice, and the oath shall be led by the person in charge of the notary association.
(3)The oath-taking ceremony shall have oath supervisors, with one staff member each from the administrative organ of justice and the notary association assuming such roles.
(4)When taking the oath, the oath taker shall wear notaries' business dress and be bareheaded, wear the emblem of China Notary Association, stand at attention, face the national flag, make a fist with his or her right hand and lift it above his or her shoulder, and take the oath by following the person leading the oath; andthe oath leader shall stand in the same posture in front of the oath takers.
(5)Oath takers shall read the oath clearly and accurately, with a loud and forceful voice.
V. Oath-taking procedures
(1) Oath takers shall stand in a line facing the national flag, and the national anthem shall be played or sung.
(2)The person leading the oath shall read the oath sentence by sentence with the oath takers reading in unison, and, after completing the reading of the oath led by the oath leader and announcing “oath taker,” the oath takers shall state their names.
(3)The oath takers shall sign their names and the date of the oath-taking on the oath page.
The oath page, with the signature of an oath-taking notary, shall be in duplicate, with one copy to be retained by the notary himself or herself and the other copy to be kept in the notary's practice archives.
VI. A notary's oath is as follows:
I am a notary of the People's Republic of China. I swear that I will be loyal to my country and people, be allegiant to the Constitution and laws, uphold the leadership of the Communist Party of China and socialist rule of law, perform duties in accordance with the law, practice in an objective and impartial manner, abide by professional ethics,be diligent and devoted to my work,be upright and self-disciplined, and make diligent efforts for the comprehensive rule of law and the building of a socialist country under the rule of law.
VII. A notary shall consciously put the oath into practice and treat the oath as the norm of notary practice; practice in accordance with the law, in good faith, and with due diligence; abide by professional ethics and practice discipline; and accept supervision from the administrative organ of justice, the notary association, parties, and the general public.
VIII. The specific implementation measures for taking oaths shall be developed by the administrative organs of justice of all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government in accordance with this Decision.
IX. This Decision shall come into force on the date of issuance.
Ministry of Justice
July 4, 2017