Decree of the Ministry of Civil Affairs
(No. 14)
Measures for Registration of Adoption of Children by Chinese Citizens were approved by the State Council on May 12, 1999, are hereby promulgated and implemented.
Minister, Duoji Cairang
May 25, 1999
Measures for Registration of Adoption of Children by Chinese Citizens
Article 1 These Measures are formulated in accordance with the Adoption Law of the People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the Adoption Law) for the purpose of standardizing adoption registration practice.
Article 2 Where a Chinese citizen adopts a child or rescinds an adoptive relationship by agreement within the Chinese territory, registration shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of these Measures.
The organs that handles adoption registration is the civil affairs department of the people's government at the county level.
Article 3 Where an abandoned infant, child or orphan who is reared by a social welfare institution and whose biological parents cannot be identified or found is adopted, registration shall be carried out with the adoption registration organ in the locality where the social welfare institution is located.
Where an abandoned infant or child who is not reared by a social welfare institution and whose biological parents cannot be identified or found is adopted, registration shall be carried out with the adoption registration organ in the locality where the abandoned infant or child is found.
Where a child whose biological parents are unable to rear it due to unusual difficulties or an orphan guarded by a guardian is adopted, registration shall be carried out with the adoption registration organs in the locality where the permanent residence of the adoptee's biological parents or guardians is registered (where an organization acts as guardian, then in the locality of such organization).
Where a child belonging to collateral relatives by blood of the same generation and up to the third degree of kinship is adopted, or where a stepchild is adopted by his or her stepfather or stepmother, registration shall be carried out with the adoption registration organ in the locality where the permanent residence of the adoptee's biological father or biological mother is registered.
Article 4 Parties involved in adoptive relationship shall appear in person before adoption registration organs to go through registration formalities to establish the adoptive relationship.
Where a husband and his wife adopt a child in concert, registration formalities shall be gone through with the adoption registration organ by them in concert; where one of them cannot appear there in person for some reasons, he or she shall entrust the other one in writing with the handling of registration formalities, and the power of attorney shall be certified by the villagers' committee or neighborhood committee or be notarized.
Article 5 An adopter shall submit to the adoption registration organ an adoption application and the following credentials and certifying papers:
(1) the adopter's residence booklet and resident identity card;
(2) an evidencing paper issued by the unit to which the adopter belongs to or the villagers' committee or neighborhood committee certifying his or her marital status, whether he or she has any children and his or her capability to raise and educate the adoptee;
(3) a health examination certificate issued by a medical unit at or above the county level of not suffering such a disease as is medically regarded as unfit for adopting a child.
Where an abandoned infant or child whose biological parents cannot be ascertained or found is adopted, a certificate of child-bearing situation of the adopter issued by the family planning department in the locality where the habitual residence of the adopter is registered shall also be submitted; where an abandoned infant or child who is not reared by a social welfare institution and whose biological parents cannot be ascertained or found is adopted, the adopter shall additionally submit the following certifying papers:
(1) a certificate of the adopter's childlessness issued by the family planning department in the locality where the habitual residence of the adopter is registered;
(2) a certificate issued by the public security organ Certifying the report of the pickup of the abandoned infant or child.
Where a stepchild is adopted, only the residence booklet, resident identity card and the certificate of marriage of the adopter with the adoptee's biological father or mother shall be submitted.
Article 6 The person placing out a child for adoption shall submit to the adoption registration organ the following credentials and certifying papers:
(1) residence booklet and resident identity card of the person placing out a child for adoption (if the guardian is an organization, then the identity credential of the person in charge of such an organization) ;
(2) where the Adoption Law stipulates that consent from other persons bearing rearing obligations shall be obtained when placing out a child for adoption, a written consent of other persons bearing rearing obligations on the placing out for adoption shall also be submitted.
Where a social welfare institution acts as the person who places out a child for adoption, the original records regarding the placement of the abandoned infant or child into the social welfare institution, a certificate issued by the public security organ certifying the report of the pickup of the abandoned infant or child, or a certificate certifying the death or the declaration of death of the orphan's biological parents shall also be submitted.
Where a guardian is the person who places out a child for adoption, a certificate certifying his or her actual bearing of obligations of guardianship, a certificate certifying the death or the declaration of death of the orphan's biological parents, or a certificate certifying that the adoptee's biological parents have no full civil capacity and may do serious harm to the adoptee shall be submitted.
Where the biological parents are the persons who place out their child for adoption, the agreement not to violate the family planning provisions concluded with the local family planning department shall also be submitted; where they cannot rear the child due to unusual difficulties, an evidencing paper issued by the unit to which they belong or by the villagers' committee or neighborhood committee certifying their unusual difficulties shall be additionally submitted. Among those, where a single parent places out his or her child for adoption because the other spouse of the parent has died or has been missing, a certificate certifying that the other spouse of the parent has died or is missing shall be additionally submitted; where the child is adopted by a collateral relative by blood of the same generation and up to the third degree of kinship, a certificate either issued by the public security organ or notarized certifying the existence of kinship with the adopter shall be additionally submitted.
Where the adoptee is a disabled child, a certificate of disability of the child issued by a medical unit at or above the county level shall also be submitted.
Article 7 The adoption registration organ shall conduct an examination within 30 days from the day after the receipt of the application for adoption registration and the relevant materials. Where the requirements stipulated in the Adoption Law are met, adoption registration shall be handled for the parties involved, an adoption registration certificate issued; and the adoptive relationship is established as of the date of registration; where the requirements stipulated in the Adoption Law are not met, no registration shall be granted, and the reasons therefor shall be given to the parties involved.
Where an abandoned infant or a child whose biological parents cannot be ascertained or found is adopted, the adoption registration organ shall ascertain or look for his or her biological parents by issuing a public notice prior to registration; where the biological parents or other guardians of the abandoned infant or child do not come to claim him or her within 60 days of the date of the issuance of the public notice, such an abandoned infant or child shall be regarded as one whose biological parents cannot be identified or found. The duration of the public notice shall not be counted as within the time period for carrying out registration.
Article 8 Where it becomes necessary to go through residence registration or relocation formalities for the adoptee after the adoptive relationship is established, the adopter shall, on the basis of the adoption registration certificate, go through the formalities with the residence registration organ in accordance with the relevant provisions of the State.
Article 9 Where the adoptive relationship is rescinded through agreement, the parties involved in shall, in the basis of the residence booklets, the resident identity cards, the adoption registration certificate and the written agreement to rescind the adoptive relationship, register together the termination of the adoptive relationship with the adoption registration organ in the locality where the permanent residence of the adoptee is registered.
Article 10 The adoption registration organ shall conduct examination within 30 days from the next date of the receipt of the application for termination of the adoptive relationship and the relevant materials. Where the requirements stipulated in the Adoption Law are met, registration of the termination of the adoptive relationship shall be handled for the parties involved, the adoption registration certificate shall be recalled, and a certificate certifying the termination of the adoptive relationship be issued.
Article 11 The organization that provides certifying papers to the parties involved in the adoptive relationship shall truthfully provide the relevant certifying papers. Where any false certifying paper is provided, the adoption registration organ shall confiscate such false certifying papers, and make proposals to the organization concerned to criticize and educate the persons bearing direct responsibility or give them administrative or disciplinary sanctions according to law.
Article 12 Where the parties involved in the adoptive relationship register the adoption in a fraudulent and deceptive way, the adoptive relationship shall be invalid, the registration shall be canceled and the adoption registration certificate be withdrawn by the adoption registration organ.
Article 13 Forms for adoption registration certificates and certificates certifying the termination of adoptive relationship stipulated in these Measures shall be formulated by the civil affairs department of the State Council.
Article 14 Where an overseas Chinese or a Chinese citizen domiciled in the region of Hong Kong, Macao or Taiwan adopts a child on the mainland, the jurisdiction over the application for adoption registration and the credentials as well as certifying papers necessary to be provided shall comply with the provisions of the civil affairs department of the State Council.
Article 15 These Measures shall take effect as of the date of promulgation.