Military Service Law of the People's Republic of China (2021)

Chapter I General Provisions
Article 1

This Law is enacted in accordance with the Constitution to regulate and strengthen national military service work, to ensure that citizens perform military service in accordance with the law, to guarantee the replenishment and reserve of troops, and to build up national defense and the military.

Article 2

It is the sacred duty of every citizen of the People's Republic of China to defend the motherland and resist aggression.

Article 3

The People's Republic of China implements a military service system that combines voluntary military service and compulsory military service, with voluntary military service as the mainstay.

Article 4

Military service work shall uphold the leadership of the Communist Party of China, implement Xi Jinping's thinking on strengthening the military and the military strategy for the new era, be in coordination with national economic and social development, be adapted to national defense and military development, and follow the principle of meeting the needs of national defense, focusing on preparation for war, highlighting the glory of military service, and maintaining a balance of rights and obligations.

Article 5

All citizens of the People's Republic of China, regardless of ethnic status, race, occupation, family background, religious belief, and education, are obliged to serve in the military in accordance with the provisions of this Law.

Citizens unfit for military service because of serious physical defects or disabilities shall be exempted from military service.

Citizens deprived of political rights in accordance with the law may not serve in the military.

Article 6

Military service is divided into active service and reserve service. Those in active service in the Chinese People's Liberation Army are servicepersons; those pre-assigned to active service or assigned to reserve service are reservists.

Article 7

Servicepersons and reservists shall abide by the Constitution and laws and fulfil their obligations, and enjoy their rights as citizens. The rights and obligations arising from their military service shall be prescribed by this Law and other relevant laws and regulations.

Article 8

Servicepersons shall abide by the military's rules and regulations, be faithful to their duties, and be ready to fight for their motherland.

Reservists shall participate in military training, carry out duties of combat readiness, perform tasks of military operations other than war in accordance with regulations, and be ready to be called upon to participate in the war to defend their motherland.

Servicepersons and reservists shall take the oath of enlistment in accordance with the law when they enter the service.

Article 9

The Ministry of National Defense shall assume the responsibility for national military service work under the leadership of the State Council and the Central Military Commission.

The provincial military commands (the capital garrison command and local garrison commands), sub-commands (local garrison commands) and the people's armed forces departments of counties, autonomous counties, cities not divided into districts, and municipal districts shall act as the military service authorities of the people's governments at corresponding levels and be responsible for military service work in their respective administrative areas under the leadership of military organs at higher levels and the people's governments at their same levels.

State organs, groups, enterprises, public institutions, and the people's governments of townships, ethnic townships, and towns shall complete the tasks of their military service work in accordance with the provisions of this Law. Military service work shall be handled by the people's armed forces departments in entities with such departments; where entities do not have people's armed forces departments, they shall designate a department to handle military service work. Regular colleges and universities shall have institutions responsible for military service work.

Article 10

Military service organs of the local people's governments at or above the county level shall, in conjunction with relevant departments, strengthen the organization, coordination, supervision, and inspection of the military service work within their respective administrative areas.

The local people's governments at or above the county level and military organs at their corresponding levels shall include the performance of military service work into the evaluations of the work for supporting the military and providing preferential treatment for families of servicepersons and martyrs, into the evaluations of the work of supporting the government and caring for the people, and into the performance assessment of relevant entities and their heads.

Article 11

The state shall improve the informatization of military service work, take effective measures to realize information sharing among relevant departments and modernize the technology for the collection, processing, transmission, and storage of military service information to help improve the quality and efficiency of military service work.

Relevant military service work departments and their staff shall keep the personal information they collect strictly confidential without divulging or illegally providing it to others.

Article 12

The state shall take measures to strengthen publicity and education about military service, promote public awareness of performing military service in accordance with the law, and create a good social atmosphere where it is considered an honor to be in the military.

Article 13

Servicepersons and reservists who have rendered meritorious service shall be commended and rewarded in accordance with the regulations of the state and the military on recognition of meritorious service.

Organizations and individuals that have made outstanding contributions to military service shall be commended and rewarded in accordance with the relevant regulations of the state and the military.

Chapter II Military Service Registration
Article 14

The state shall implement a military service registration system. Military service registration is registration for first-time military service and reserve service.

Article 15

Male citizens who have reached the age of 18 before December 31 every year shall register for first-time military service in that year in accordance with the arrangement of military service organs.

State organs, groups, enterprises, public institutions, and the people's governments of townships, ethnic townships, and towns shall be responsible for registering male citizens of eligible age in their entities or respective administrative areas for first-time military service in accordance with the arrangements of the military service organs of the people's governments of counties, autonomous counties, cities not divided into districts, and municipal districts.

Registration for first-time military service may be conducted online or on-site at a military service registration station or center. Those who register for first-time military service shall truthfully provide personal information.

Article 16

Where a citizen who has not served in active service after registration for first-time military service meets the conditions for reserve service, he may as needed be registered for reserve service at a military service organ of the people's government of a county, autonomous county, city not divided into districts, or a municipal district.

Article 17

A soldier discharged from active service shall, within 40 days from the date of his discharge, or an officer discharged from active service shall, within 30 days from the date his resettlement place is determined, change his information of military service registration with the military service organ of the people's government of a county, autonomous county, city not divided into districts or municipal district where the officer is to be relocated. Where the soldier or the officer meets the conditions for reserve service and is deemed necessary to register for reserve service by the military, he shall also register for reserve service.

Article 18

Military service organs of local people's governments at or above the county level shall be responsible for military service registration in their respective administrative areas.

Military service organs of the people's governments of counties, autonomous counties, cities not divided into districts, and municipal districts shall organize annual verification of information registered for military service and check citizens' military service registration in conjunction with other relevant authorities to ensure that military service registration is carried out on time and that accurate and complete information is registered.

Chapter III Peacetime Enlistment
Article 19

The number of soldiers to be enlisted for active service nationwide and the number of times, period, and requirements for the enlistment to be carried out each year shall be prescribed by orders of the State Council and the Central Military Commission.

Local people's governments at or above the county level shall organize military service organs and other relevant departments to set up agencies responsible for organizing and implementing enlistment work.

Article 20

Male citizens who have reached the age of 18 shall be enlisted for active service; those who have not been enlisted to active service at 18 may still be enlisted for active service until 22. The age limit for enlisting graduates from regular colleges and universities for active service may be increased to 24, and the age limit for enlisting postgraduates for active service may be increased to 26.

As needed by the military, female citizens may be enlisted for active service in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph.

Citizens who have reached the age of 17 but not 18 may be enlisted for active service in accordance with the needs of the military and out of their own volition.

Article 21

Citizens registered for first-time military service and meet the requirements for enlistment through preliminary review are called citizens eligible for enlistment.

During the enlistment period, citizens eligible for enlistment shall participate in activities such as physical examinations in accordance with the notice of the enlistment agencies of counties, autonomous counties, cities not divided into districts, and municipal districts.

Citizens eligible for enlistment who meet the conditions for active service shall be enlisted for such service with the approval of the enlistment agencies of counties, autonomous counties, cities not divided into districts, and municipal districts.

Article 22

During the enlistment period, where a citizen eligible for enlistment who is enlisted for active service is also recruited or employed by a state organ, a group, an enterprise or a public institution, the citizen shall give priority to fulfilling his obligation to perform military service; the relevant organ, public organization, enterprise or public institution shall submit to the needs of national defense and the military building and support the enlistment work.

Article 23

The enlistment of citizens eligible for enlistment who are the sole breadwinners in their families may be postponed.

Article 24

Citizens eligible for enlistment shall not be enlisted where they are under supervisory investigation, criminal investigation, prosecution, or trial because of suspected crimes in accordance with the law or have been sentenced to imprisonment, short-term imprisonment, or control and surveillance and are serving their sentences.

Chapter IV Soldiers' Active and Reserve Service
Article 25

Soldiers in active service include soldiers in compulsory military service and soldiers in voluntary military service. Soldiers in compulsory military service are called conscripts, and soldiers in voluntary military service are called non-commissioned officers.

Article 26

The term of active service for a conscript is two years.

Article 27

Conscripts who have completed their term of active service may, subject to approval, become non-commissioned officers in accordance with the needs of the military and out of their own volition. Conscripts who have performed exceptionally well during their active service may, subject to approval, become non-commissioned officers ahead of schedule. Non-commissioned officers may be recruited directly from among citizens with professional skills in the non-military sector in accordance with the needs of the military.

Non-commissioned officers are subject to a graded active service system. The term of active service of non-commissioned officers shall generally not exceed 30 years and the maximum age shall be 55.

Graded active service by non-commissioned officers and the direct recruitment of non-commissioned officers from the non-military sector shall follow relevant regulations issued by the State Council and the military.

Article 28

Soldiers shall retire from active service upon expiration of the term of active service.

A soldier who needs to be discharged from active service due to national development or adjustment of the size of the military, who has been diagnosed by a military hospital as unfit for continued active service, or who needs to be discharged from active service due to other special reasons, may be discharged from active service ahead of schedule upon approval.

Article 29

The period of active service for a soldier shall start from the date when the enlistment agency approves his enlistment.

The time when a soldier is discharged from active service shall be the date on which the military issues an order releasing him from active service.

Article 30

Soldiers discharged from active service who have been registered for reserve service in accordance with the provisions of Article 17 of this Law shall be selected to perform soldiers' reserve service by the military in conjunction with military service organs in accordance with the needs of the military. Those assessed to be fit for reserve officer positions shall perform officers' reserve service.

Article 31

Citizens who have been registered for reserve service in accordance with the provisions of Article 16 of this Law and who meet the conditions for soldiers' reserve service shall be selected to perform soldiers' reserve service by the military in conjunction with military service organs in accordance with the needs of the military.

Article 32

The maximum age for a reservist to perform reserve service shall be stipulated by other relevant laws.

Reservists who have reached the maximum age for reserve service shall be discharged from reserve service.

Chapter V Officers' Active and Reserve Service
Article 33

Officers in active service shall be selected and enlisted from among the following persons:

(1) graduates of military academies;

(2) fresh graduates of regular colleges and universities;

(3) soldiers with outstanding performance in active service; and

(4) professional and technical and other personnel needed by the military.

In wartime, officers may be appointed directly from among soldiers in active service, cadets from military academies, reserve officers recruited and other personnel.

Article 34

Officers in reserve service are the following persons:

(1) former active service officers who have been assigned to perform officers' reserve service;

(2) former active service soldiers assigned to perform officers' reserve service;

(3) professional and technical and other personnel assigned to perform officers' reserve service.

Article 35

The maximum age for an officer to perform active service or reserve service shall be stipulated by other relevant laws.

Article 36

Active service officers who have attained the maximum age for active service or the maximum years of holding a rank for active service prescribed by the regulations shall retire from active service; where it is necessary to extend active service or suspend retirement from active service, the provisions of the relevant laws shall apply.

Where active service officers who have not attained the maximum age for active service or the maximum years for holding a rank for active service prescribed by the regulations need to retire from active service under special circumstances, they may be discharged from active service upon approval.

Article 37

Officers discharged from active service who have been registered for reserve service in accordance with the provisions of Article 17 of this Law and citizens who have been registered for reserve service in accordance with the provisions of Article 16 of this Law and who meet the requirements for reserve service shall be selected to perform officers' reserve service by the military in conjunction with military service organs in accordance with the needs of the military.

Reserve officers who have attained the maximum age prescribed for reserve service shall be discharged from reserve service.

Chapter VI Cadets Military Academies Recruit from Among Young Students
Article 38

Military academies may enroll cadets among young students to meet the needs of military development. The age at which cadets are enrolled shall not be restricted by the age limit for active service enlistment.

Article 39

Cadets who have completed their studies and achieved the objectives of military training shall be given a graduation certificate by their military academies and appointed officers or non-commissioned officers in active service in accordance with the regulations.

Article 40

Cadets who fail to achieve the objectives of military training or do not meet the requirements for military training shall be issued corresponding certificates by their academies in accordance with the relevant regulations of the state and the military and shall be reassigned by various means. Cadets who shall return to where their household registration places were before enrollment and whose parents had changed their household registration places during their studies may return to where their parents' current household registration places are and shall be accepted and resettled by the people's governments of counties, autonomous counties, cities not divided into districts or municipal districts in accordance with the relevant regulations of the state.

Article 41

Cadets who are expelled from their military academies shall return to where their household registration places were before enrollment. Where their parents had changed their household registration places during their studies, these cadets may return to where their parents' current household registration places are and shall be dealt with by the people's governments of counties, autonomous counties, cities not divided into districts or municipal districts in accordance with the relevant regulations of the state.

Article 42

The provisions of Articles 39, 40, and 41 of this Law shall apply to cadets enrolled by military academies from among soldiers in active service.

Chapter VII Wartime Troop Mobilization
Article 43

The people's governments and military organs at all levels shall prepare for wartime troop mobilization in peacetime in order to cope with threats to China's sovereignty, unity, territorial integrity, security, and development interests and resist aggression.

Article 44

After the state issues a mobilization order or the State Council or the Central Military Commission takes the necessary national defense mobilization measures in accordance with the Law of the People's Republic of China on National Defense Mobilization, the people's governments and military organs at all levels shall promptly implement mobilization in accordance with the law. Servicepersons shall stop retiring from active service, and those on leave or visiting their families shall immediately return to service. Reservists shall be ready to be called to active service, and citizens registered for reserve service shall be ready to be enlisted for reserve service.

Article 45

The State Council and the Central Military Commission may decide to appropriately relax the upper age limit for the conscription of male citizens into active service and decide to extend the period of active service of citizens to meet wartime needs.

Article 46

After the end of a war, servicepersons who need to be demobilized shall be discharged from active service in stages and batches in accordance with demobilization orders of the State Council and the Central Military Commission, and be resettled by the people's governments at various levels.

Chapter VIII Military Service Benefits and Consolation Compensation and Preferential Treatment
Article 47

The state guarantees that servicepersons enjoy pay, allowances, housing, medical care, insurance, leave, and convalescence that are consistent with the characteristics of military occupations and appropriate to the performance of their duties. The benefits of servicepersons shall be coordinated with economic development and social progress.

The lawful rights and interests of servicewomen are protected by law. The military shall reasonably arrange work assignments, rest, and leave for servicewomen in accordance with the characteristics of servicewomen and provide special protection for them in maternity and health.

Article 48

Reservists who take part in war and military training, perform combat readiness duties and carry out non-combat military operations shall enjoy food and transportation subsidies prescribed by the state. Where reservists are employees of state organs, groups, enterprises, or public institutions, their employers shall maintain their current wages, bonuses and welfare benefits when they participate in the war and military training, perform combat readiness duties and carry out non-combat military operations. Other benefits for reservists shall be guaranteed according to other relevant laws, regulations, and state provisions.

Article 49

Servicepersons shall have preferential access to medical, financial, transportation, sightseeing and travel, legal, cultural and sports facilities services, and postal services in accordance with relevant state regulations. Citizens shall retain their household registration when they are in the military.

Where a serviceperson is disabled in war, in the line of duty, or due to illness, the disability of the serviceperson shall be rated in accordance with state regulations, and the serviceperson shall be issued with a disabled serviceperson's certificate, and enjoy the benefits, preferential treatment and disability compensation provided by the state. Disabled servicepersons who continue to serve on active duty because of the need of work shall be given disability compensation by their units in accordance with regulations.

Where a serviceperson dies in the line of duty or of illness, the state shall give the compensation to the serviceperson's survivor in accordance with regulations.

Article 50

The state shall establish a preferential benefit system for the families of conscripts. The local people's governments shall set the preferential benefits for the families of conscripts with fixed central government subsidies. The veteran affairs and finance departments under the State Council shall formulate specific subsidy measures in conjunction with the relevant departments of the Central Military Commission.

Conscripts or non-commissioned officers who were employees of state organs, groups, public institutions, or state-owned enterprises before being enlisted, may opt for reinstatement of work after they leave active service.

The rights to contractual management of rural land obtained by conscripts or non-commissioned officers in accordance with the law before they are enlisted shall be retained during their active service.

Article 51

The education of the children of officers and non-commissioned officers in active service and their family members' resettlement, employment, start-up and job transfers shall enjoy preferential treatment from the state and society.

Eligible family members of servicepersons shall enjoy preferential treatment in housing, medical care and elderly care in accordance with relevant regulations.

Military spouses shall enjoy corresponding benefits in accordance with the relevant regulations of the state when they are not employed.

Article 52

Reservists who are disabled or die due to participating in war, military training, or non-combat military operations or performing combat readiness duties, shall be provided with consolation compensation and preferential treatment in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Chapter IX Resettling Servicepersons to Be Discharged from Active Service
Article 53

The state shall resettle conscripts to be discharged from active service by helping them become self-employed, placing them into jobs, or providing them with government support.

Conscripts to be discharged from active service who choose to become self-employed shall be paid a one-time retirement pension in accordance with state regulations and accepted by the local people's governments at or above the county level in the places of their resettlement and may be given economic subsidies in light of the actual local conditions. The state shall adjust retirement pensions in light of economic and social development in a timely manner.

Conscripts to be discharged from active service who received second-class or higher peacetime honors or third-class or higher wartime honors during the active service period or are the children of martyrs shall be placed into jobs by the local people's governments at or above the county level in the places of their resettlement. They shall receive living allowances from the local people's governments in accordance with relevant state regulations before they become employed. They may also choose to become self-employed out of their own volition.

Conscripts to be discharged from active service who were disabled in war, in the line of duty or due to illness shall be resettled by job placement or government support in accordance with the disability rating prescribed by the state. Those who are eligible for job placement may also choose to become self-employed out of their own volition.

Article 54

The state shall resettle non-commissioned officers to be discharged from active service by paying them monthly retirement pensions, helping them become self-employed, placing them into jobs, letting them retire, or providing them government support.

Non-commissioned officers to be discharged from active service who have completed their prescribed years of active service shall be resettled by receiving a monthly retirement pension.

Non-commissioned officers to be discharged from active service who have completed 12 years of active service or meet other conditions prescribed by the state shall be placed into jobs by the local people's governments at or above the county level in their places of resettlement. They shall receive living allowances from the local people's governments in accordance with relevant state regulations before they become employed. They may also choose to become self-employed out of their own volition.

Non-commissioned officers to be discharged from active service who were disabled in war, in the line of duty or due to illness shall be resettled by job placement, retirement, or government support in accordance with the disability rating prescribed by the state. Those who are eligible for job placement may also choose to become self-employed out of their own volition.

Non-commissioned officers to be discharged from active service who do not meet the conditions prescribed from the second paragraph to the fifth paragraph of this Article shall be resettled through self-employment prescribed in Article 53 of this Law.

Article 55

The state shall resettle commissioned officers to be discharged from active service by retirement, transferring them to civilian services, paying them monthly retirement pensions, or demobilizing them. The applicable conditions for resettlement shall be governed by the provisions of relevant laws and regulations.

Article 56

Upon discharge from active service, disabled or chronically ill servicepersons shall be accepted and resettled by the local people's governments at or above the county level in accordance with the relevant regulations of the State Council and the Central Military Commission. Local medical institutions shall be responsible for the treatment of those who with chronic diseases suffer a relapse and need to be treated again. Those with financial difficulty paying medical and living expenses shall receive subsidies in accordance with state regulations.

Chapter X Legal Liability
Article 57

Where citizens subject to military service commits any of the following acts, the people's governments at the county level shall order them to make corrections within a time limit; those who fail to make corrections within the time limit shall perform their military service obligations under the supervision of the people's governments at the county level and pay a fine:

(1) refusing or evading registration for military service;

(2) refusing or evading enlistment for active service as citizens eligible for enlistment; or

(3) refusing or evading participation in military training, performing combat readiness duty, and non-combat military operation tasks and conscription as reservists.

Those who commit any act prescribed in Subparagraph (2) and refuse to correct it shall not be hired as civil servants or employees managed with reference to the Law of the People's Republic of China on Civil Servants. They shall not be recruited and employed as employees of state-owned enterprises or public institutions. They shall not be allowed to leave China, enter a higher school, or resume their education. They shall be included in the list of severely dishonest persons who have failed to fulfill their national defense obligations and are subjected to joint disciplinary actions.

Article 58

Servicepersons who refuse to perform their duties or desert their units to evade military service shall be disciplined in accordance with the regulations of the Central Military Commission.

Servicepersons who commit any of the acts mentioned in the preceding paragraph and are removed and discharged from the military or are held criminally liable in accordance with the law shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of the second paragraph of Article 57 of this Law. Those who are removed from the military shall be concurrently fined.

Whoever knowingly recruits or employs ex-servicepersons who have fled the military shall be ordered by the people's governments at the county level to make corrections and pay a fine.

Article 59

Where state organs, groups, enterprises or public institutions refuse to complete the military enlistment tasks under this Law, obstruct citizens from performing their military service obligations, or commit other acts impeding military service work, the local people's governments at or above the county level shall order them to make corrections and may impose a fine, and shall impose punishments on their responsible leaders, the directly liable leaders and other directly liable persons in accordance with the law.

Article 60

Whoever disrupts the order of military service work or obstructs military service personnel from performing their duties in accordance with the law shall be given a punishment in accordance with the provisions of the Law of the People's Republic of China on Penalties for Administration of Public Security.

Article 61

State functionaries and servicepersons who commit any of the following acts in military service work shall be disciplined in accordance with the law:

(1) engaging in embezzlement or bribery;

(2) engaging in abuse of power or committing negligence of duty;

(3) practicing favoritism by receiving and delivering unqualified enlisted persons; or

(4) divulging or illegally providing others with personal information on military service.

Article 62

Where any violation of this Law constitutes a criminal offense, the offender shall be held criminally liable in accordance with the law.

Article 63

The penalties provided for in Articles 57, 58 and 59 of this Law shall, after facts are ascertained by the military service organs of the local people's governments at or above the county level in conjunction with other relevant departments and, after the local people's governments at the same level have decided on the penalties, be carried out by organs of military service, departments responsible for development and reform, public security, veterans affairs, public health, education, human resources and social security of the local people's governments at or above the county level based on their respective functions and duties.

Chapter XI Supplementary Provisions
Article 64

This Law shall apply to the Chinese People's Armed Police Force.

Article 65

This Law shall come into force on October 1, 2021.