· Area of Law： Military

· Level of Authority： Military Regulations

· Date issued：09-05-2001

· Effective Date：09-05-2001

· Status： Effective

· Issuing Authority： State Council Central Military Commission

Regulations on the Recruitment of Soldiers
(Promulgated by the State Council, the Central Military Commission on Oct. 24, 1985, and amended according to the Decision of the State Council, the Central Military Commission on Amending the Regulations on the Recruitment of Soldiers on Set.5, 2001)
Chapter 1 General Provisions
Article 1 These Regulations are formulated according to relevant provisions of the Law of the People's Republic of China on Military Service.
Article 2 The recruitment of new soldiers is an important work of strengthening the military construction and protecting the socialist country, so the people's governments at all levels and the military departments at all levels shall carry it out earnestly.
Article 3 The male citizens that have reached 18-year-old before Dec.31 of each year shall be recruited for active service. Those that haven't been recruited that year may still be recruited for active service before they are 22-year-old.
Female citizens may be recruited for active service according to the army's need in accordance with the preceding paragraph.
Based on the principle of the army's need and one's free will, the male and female citizens that have reached 17-year-old yet not 18-year-old before Dec.31 of that year may be recruited for active service.
The citizens that have serious physical defects or serious disabilities to perform military service shall be exempted from recruitment. If a citizen that shall be recruited is the only labor to support the family or is a student studying in a full-time school, this citizen may be suspended from recruitment.
Those that have been deprived of political rights according to law shall not be recruited. Those that are held in custody for investigation, prosecution, trial, or that have been sentenced to imprisonment, detention, public surveillance and that are serving sentences shall not be recruited.
Article 4 The number, requirements and time of the recruitment of soldiers of the whole country of each year shall be provided by the recruitment order of the State Council and the Central Military Commission.
Article 5 All provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall arrange the recruitment work of their respective areas according to the recruitment order of the State Council and the Central Military Commission.
When assigning recruitment tasks, all provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall, according to the number, quality of the citizens to be recruited and according to the production and living conditions of the masses of the localities, make overall plans by taking all factors into consideration, assign tasks reasonably and ensure the recruitment of special soldiers in priority. The recruitment may be based on regions or counties in turns; for the regions or counties that are seriously affected by disasters, the recruitment tasks may be reduced or exempted according to the circumstances.
Article 6 The state shall, according to the mobilization need, divide the recruitment areas of artificers in the whole country in a planned way. All provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities under the Central Government and armies shall recruit and renew artificers according to the areas divided.
Article 7 The implementation of the recruitment work of the whole country shall be organized by the Ministry of National Defense under the leadership of the State Council and the Central Military Commission, and the specific work shall be undertaken by the recruitment office of the Ministry of National Defense.
All military commands shall be responsible for the recruitment work of their respective areas, and the specific work shall be undertaken by the recruitment offices of the military commands.
The provincial military commands, (garrison commands, guard commands), military subareas (garrison commands) and the people's armed forces departments of counties, autonomous counties, cities, and municipal districts (hereinafter referred to as counties, cities) shall be the departments of military service of the people's governments at the corresponding levels concurrently. The local people's governments at the level of county and above shall organize the departments of military service and the departments of public security, public health and other relevant departments to form the recruitment offices, which shall be responsible for the recruitment work of their respective areas.
State organs, organizations, enterprises and institutions, and the people's governments of townships, autonomous townships, towns, and subdistrict offices shall, according to the arrangements and requirements of the counties and cities, handle the recruitment work of their respective units and areas.
Article 8 The recruitment office at all levels shall be responsible for the direct recruitment of volunteers from non-military departments.
Article 9 All units shall carry out in depth the work of educating the youth of patriotism, revolutionary heroism and performing military services according to law, earnestly enlighten the citizens to be recruited from the perspectives of ideology and politics, and encourage them to respond actively to the recruitment for the purpose of protecting our socialist country.
Article 10 Those that have made notable achievements in the recruitment work shall be honored and awarded.
Chapter 2 Military Service Registration
Article 11 The departments of military service of counties and cities shall, before Set.30 of each year, organize the grass-root units to make military service registration of the male citizens that have reached 18 year-old before Dec.31 of that year.
The male citizens that have reached the age of military service shall make military service registration according to the notification of the departments of military service of the counties and cities. If the citizen can't go to make the registration in person for special reasons after receiving the notification, he can entrust his relatives or the unit he belongs to in written form to make the registration for him.
Article 12 The state organs, organizations, enterprises and institutions, and the people's governments of townships, autonomous townships, towns and the subdistrict offices shall, according to the arrangements of the departments of military service of the counties and cities, be responsible for organizing the male citizens of the right age of their respective units and areas to make the military service registration and to fill in the Military Service Registration Form, determine the persons that shall perform military service, be exempted from military service and may not perform military service according to law, and shall report to the departments of military service of the counties and cities for approval. Those that have gone through military service registration and pass initial examination are called as citizens to be recruited.
Article 13 The state organs, organizations, enterprises and institutions, and the people's governments of townships, autonomous townships, towns and the subdistrict offices shall, according to the arrangements and requirements of the departments of military service of the counties and cities, make visual examination of physique, investigation of medical history and initial examination of political and cultural backgrounds of the citizens to be recruited of their respective units and areas, and select the citizens to be recruited that are in good political status, good physique and well educated to be the objects of predetermined recruitment of that year, and shall notify those citizens.
Article 14 The recruitment offices and grass-root units of the counties and cities shall strengthen the management, education and investigation of the citizens to be recruited that have been predetermined for recruitment, thus to get to know their basic information well.
If the citizens to be recruited of predetermined recruitment have left the counties and cities where their permanent residence are located, they shall report to the grass-root people's armed forces departments of the places where they are located their whereabouts and contact methods, and shall return for recruitment according to the notification of the departments of military service in time.
The state organs, organizations, enterprises and institutions that the citizens to be recruited of predetermined recruitment belong to shall supervise and urge them to respond to the recruitment on time, and shall offer convenience for them.
Chapter 3 Physical Examination
Article 15 When the recruitment starts, the recruitment offices of the counties and cities shall, according to the recruitment tasks, arrange the physical examination of the citizens to be recruited in a planned way.
Article 16 The physical examination of the citizens to be recruited shall be uniformly organized by the recruitment offices of the counties and cities, and the administrative departments of public health at the same level shall be responsible for the specific work, they may designate the hospitals to make the physical examination, either may they uniformly transfer medical personnel to form the physical examination groups and establish physical examination stations.
Article 17 The state organs, organizations, enterprises and institutions, and the people's governments of townships, autonomous townships, towns and the subdistrict offices shall organize the citizens to be recruited to go through physical examinations at the designated hospitals or the physical examination stations on time. The number of people to be examined shall be determined by the recruitment offices of the counties and cities according to the recruitment tasks assigned by their higher authorities and according to the physique status of the local citizens to be recruited.
Article 18 The medical personnel responsible for the physical examination shall strictly follow the standards for physical examination of the citizens to be recruited and relevant provisions issued by the Ministry of National Defense, and firmly guarantee the physical quality of the new soldiers.
Article 19 The recruitment offices of the counties and cities shall organize the selective physical examinations for the citizens to be recruited that are to be approved to go into active service, the number of people selected to be examined shall be no less than one third of the number of people recruited; if the number of people found disqualified are relatively high after the selective examination, reexamination shall be carried out to all of the citizens to be recruited that are to be approved to go into active service. For the submarine soldiers, soldiers of naval ships and boats, tank soldiers, air-borne soldiers and others that have special requirements for physical conditions, the recruitment offices of the counties and cities shall uniformly organize the physique reexamination to all the personnel.
Chapter 4 Political Examination
Article 20 The political examination of the citizens to be recruited shall be organized by the recruitment offices of the counties and cities uniformly, and the departments of public security shall be responsible for the specific work and the relevant units shall offer assistance.
Article 21 The state organs, organizations, enterprises and institutions, villagers' (urban residents') committees and the people's governments of townships, autonomous townships, towns, and the subdistrict offices and police substations shall, according to relevant provisions on recruitment political examination and the arrangements and requirements of the recruitment offices of the counties and cities, earnestly make political examinations to the citizens to be recruited that have passed the physical examination, with the emphasis put on their actual behaviors.
Article 22 The recruitment offices of counties and cities shall make political examination to the citizens to be recruited that are to be approved to go into active service one by one, strictly check on and firmly guarantee the political reliability of the new soldiers, prevent recruiting the persons that don't meet the political requirements.
Chapter 5 Examination and Approval of New Soldiers
Article 23 The recruitment offices of the counties and cities shall, when examining and approving new soldiers, make all-around evaluation of the citizens to be recruited that have passed the physical examination and political examination, and only approve those that are excellent politically, physically and well educated to go into active service.
Article 24 If the children, brothers, sisters of, or the revolutionary martyrs and revolutionary disabled soldiers themselves wish to be recruited voluntarily and meet the requirements, they may be approved to go into active service at priority.
Article 25 If a student who is studying in a full-time schools of higher learning and who may be suspended for recruitment according to law wishes to be recruited voluntarily and if he meets the requirements, he may be approved to go into active service, and the school that he used to study in shall keep his status as a student according to relevant provisions, and allow him to resume his interrupted studies after he retires from army.
Article 26 The recruitment offices of the counties and cities shall make the enlistment registration for the citizens to be recruited that have been approved to go into active service and issue the Enlistment Notification for Citizens to be Recruited to them, and notify the household registration departments of the places where their permanent residences are. The family members of the citizens to be recruited shall, based on the notification, write off the registered residence of them at the household registration departments of the places where their permanent residences are, and the family members enjoy the treatments of soldiers' dependants.
Article 27 If the citizens to be recruited that have been approved to go into active service are employees of the state organs, organizations, enterprises and institutions (including the units under collective ownership), their former units shall pay all the wages, bonus and various kinds of subsidies of the month when they leave their posts.
Chapter 6 Handover of New Soldiers
Article 28 In term of handing over new soldiers, they may be sent by people appointed by the counties and cities; they may also go in person to the army unit to report or the army units may send people to receive them.
Article 29 If the counties and cities arrange for people to send soldiers, the following work shall be done:
1. When the recruitment starts, the army shall send out the contact group in the unit of army (armed police army in the unit of squadron, hereinafter the same), which is responsible for the contact with the recruitment offices of relevant provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government, deciding through consultation on the place to which the counties and cities shall send the soldiers, the transfer on the way, the handover and other relevant matters;
2. The allocation and transfer of new soldiers shall be relatively concentrated, generally, the units of new soldiers recruited from one county or city that are supplied to the army shall not be more than 3 divisions or brigades;
3. The recruitment offices of the counties and cities shall, according to the arrangements of the recruitment offices at the higher level, designate capable personnel to be responsible for sending the new soldiers to the division or brigade of the army; the proportion of the sending personnel and the new soldiers shall be about 1:30;
4. The recruitment offices of the counties and cities shall, after the new soldiers have been assembled, divide the soldiers into groups according to the destination and number of the new soldiers, and shall conduct necessary education of general military knowledge, safety and ideological knowledge to the new soldiers;
5. The sending personnel shall, after sending the new soldiers to the army, introduce the political, physical, cultural, characteristics information, etc, to the army, and shall return in time after finishing the handover; and
6. The army shall warmly welcome the new soldiers upon their arrival, and shall make arrangements for room and broad for the sending personnel and the new soldiers appropriately.
Article 30 If the counties and cities organize the new soldiers to report to the army in person, the following work shall be done:
1. When the recruitment starts, the army shall send out the contact group in the unit of corps, which shall be responsible for the contact with the recruitment offices of relevant provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government, and deciding through consultation on relevant matters concerning the new soldiers reporting for duty by themselves;
2. The recruitment offices of the counties and cities shall, according to the arrangements of the recruitment offices at the next higher level, decide through consultation with the contact group sent out by the army on the specific matters concerning the place where the new soldiers report for duty, the contact methods and the handover, etc; and shall divide the new soldiers into groups according to the destinations and number of the new soldiers, and appoint the new soldiers that have the organizational ability to be the squad leader, platoon leader and company commander who shall be responsible for the management of the new soldiers on the way; and
3. The army shall set up receipt groups at the stations, ports, and airports of the places where the new soldiers report for duty, which shall be responsible for the receipt of new soldiers.
Article 31 If the army sends personnel to pick up the soldiers, the following work shall be done:
1. The army shall designate the cadres and medical personnel that are ideologically sound, have strong sense of policy and the organizational ability to form a good temporary meeting agency to do a good job of meeting the soldier;
2. The meeting personnel shall, after arriving the areas of soldier receipt, actively assist the recruitment offices in the recruitment under the leadership of the local people's government and the military organs;
3. The organs of military service at various levels shall initiatively make arrangements for room and board for the meeting personnel, and introduce the goings of recruitment to them and hear their opinions, and decide through consultation on relevant matters concerning the handover of new soldiers, etc; and
4. The concentration and handover of new soldiers may be conducted at the place where the people's government of the county or city is located or at other places where the traffic is convenient. The procedures for handover shall be finished one day before the transfer of new soldiers departs.
Article 32 The following work shall be done when the procedures for handover of new soldiers are handled:
1. The recruitment office of the county or city shall draw up the Muster Rolls of New Soldiers uniformly, which shall be in duplicate, one shall be submitted to the army, and the other shall be kept by the recruitment office of the county or city;
2. If the recruitment office of the county or city assign personnel to send the soldiers or the army assign personnel to pick up the soldiers, the two parties to the handover shall count and handover the new soldiers according to the Muster Rolls of New Soldiers face to face, and shall sign and seal the Muster Rolls of New Soldiers and submit the archivist materials and introduction letters of the organizations to the army;
3. If the new soldiers are organized to report for duty to the army by themselves, the Muster Rolls of New Soldiers, the archivist materials of the new soldiers and the introduction letters of the organizations shall be sealed up and be taken by the appointed company commander or platoon leader, who shall submit them to the army after arriving the place of duty report; the army shall count heads according to the Muster Rolls of New Soldiers, and inform by letter the recruitment office of the county or city of recruitment of the time of arrival and the number of the new soldiers.
Article 33 The recruitment office of the county or city shall make full observation of the assembled new soldiers before the transfer starts, if there are soldiers that don't meet the requirements for new soldiers because of the changes of political or physical conditions, they shall be replaced promptly thus to prevent sending unqualified new soldiers to the army.
Article 34 The department of combined service force (logistics) of the military area, the provincial military area (garrison area, guard area), and the military sub-area shall be responsible for drawing up and planning the quits and uniforms of the new soldiers, and for allocating them to the counties and cities. The counties and cities shall be responsible for granting the quits and uniforms to the new soldiers before the transfer of new soldiers starts.
Chapter 7 Transport of New Soldiers
Article 35 The army shall send out contact groups in the unit of corps to relevant provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government 15 days before the day on which the recruitment starts, and shall file its plan of new soldier transport according to the provisions.
Article 36 The recruitment offices of the provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall, according to the relevant provisions on transport, file the plan of new soldier transport of their respective regions to the departments of combined service force of the military areas according to the number of the new soldiers, and the places of beginning and end of the vehicles, ships and airplanes.
Article 37 The departments of railway, communication and civil aviation shall, according to the plan of new soldier transport, prepare the vehicles, ships and airplanes in time thus to ensure that the new soldiers arrive the army safely.
Article 38 The recruitment offices of the counties and cities and the armies that receive the soldiers shall organize the start of transport on time according to the transport plan, and shall conduct education of traffic safety to the new soldiers before the transport starts to prevent accidents on the way.
Article 39 The military representative offices stated along the traffic line and the supply stations of military food and drink on the way shall initiatively solve the relevant problems in the transport of new soldiers. The supply stations of military food and drink, the personnel that send and pick up the new soldiers and the new soldiers shall accept the guidance of the military representatives.
Chapter 8 Quarantine, Reexamination and Returning of Soldiers
Article 40 The new soldiers shall go through quarantine and reexamination according to the provisions after arriving the army. Those who are found to be affected by infectious diseases through quarantine shall be isolated and treated promptly, and necessary control measures shall be taken on those found to be suspicious of crime before joining the army through reexamination.
Article 41 The soldiers that are found not suitable for going into active service in the army because their physical or political conditions don't meet the requirements during the quarantine and reexamination shall be sent back. The time limit for sending back, in the case of disqualification of political requirement, shall not be more than 90 days from the day on which the new soldiers arrive at the army to the day on which the army approves the returning; in the case of disqualification for physical requirements, not more than 45 days. For the new soldiers that have infectious diseases or dangerous and serious diseases, the army shall give medical treatment to them promptly and shall, at the same time, notify the recruitment offices of the provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government that recruited them, and have them sent back by the army after their disease has stabilized, the time for returning shall not be limited. And the vacancy of the soldiers that have been returned will not be filled any more.
Article 42 The soldiers that have been returned due to disqualification for physical conditions must be checked and certified by the hospitals stated in the army (the hospital of regiment or the people's hospital of the region or city is required for the army of armed police), be examined by the department of public health of the units of division (brigade, regiment of the armed police army) or above; and be reported to the command organs of the units or division (brigade, regiment of the armed police army) or above for approval; for the soldiers that are needed to be returned due to disqualified for political conditions, the army shall contact with the recruitment offices of the provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government that recruited them for affirmation, those that are really disqualified shall be examined by the security departments of the units of division (brigade, regiment of the armed police army) or above, and be reported to the political organs of the units of division (brigade, regiment of the armed police army) or above for approval.
Article 43 The army shall do the ideological work of the returned new soldiers, handle the procedures for returning and send them back to the recruitment offices of the provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government that recruited them.
Article 44 The recruitment offices of the provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government shall accept the disqualified new soldiers sent back by the army according to the provisions, and shall notify the recruitment offices of the counties and cities that recruited them to take them back, write off the procedures for their enrollment, and the local departments of public security shall settle them down; if the soldiers used to be employees of state organs, organizations, enterprises and institutions, the original units shall approve them to resume their work and posts, if the soldiers used to be the students of universities and colleges, the original schools shall approve them to resume their studies according to the relevant provisions.
Chapter 9 Funds and Expenditures
Article 45 The funds needed for carrying out the recruitment by the Ministry of National Defense shall be incorporated in the central budget. The funds needed for the recruitment and military service registration of the provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government shall be afforded by the provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government and be incorporated into the heading of “military recruitment funds” of the local budget. The scope of expenditure and the measures for use and management of the military recruitment funds shall be formulated by the Ministry of Finance and the headquarters of the general staff.
Article 46 The funds needed for recruiting new soldiers for the army of armed police shall be implemented according to the relevant provisions of the State Council and the Central Military Commission.
Article 47 The departments of combined service force of the military areas and the departments of logistics of the armies of armed police of the provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government shall be responsible for the reimbursement of the transport expenses needed for allocating the new soldiers to the counties and cities respectively. The transport expenses needed for granting the quilts and uniforms by the counties and cities shall be afforded by the military recruitment funds.
Article 48 For the new soldiers recruited that are sent by the localities or report for duty by themselves, the army shall, according to the provisions, reimburse the expenses for traveling, board and accommodation needed on the way from the assembling place of new soldiers of the county or city to the army; if the soldiers are picked up by the army, the army shall be responsible for the expenses needed from the day on which the army takes over the soldiers.
Article 49 The traveling expenses needed by the sending personnel with the new soldiers on their way to the army and the accommodation expenses needed during the handover of new soldiers after arriving the army shall be reimbursed by the army according to provided provisions; the food subsidies of the sending personnel during the handover of new soldiers in the army and the traveling fees for turning back shall be afforded by the military service recruitment funds of the cities or counties.
Article 50 The army shall be responsible for the expenses needed for sending back the unqualified new soldiers before the recruitment offices of the relevant provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government handle the procedures for returning the soldiers; and the recruitment office of the people's government shall be responsible for the fees after the procedures for returning the soldiers are gone through.
Chapter 11 Supplementary Provisions
Article 51 The state organs, organizations, enterprises and institutions that refuse to accomplish the recruitment tasks, obstruct the citizens to perform their obligations of military service, or that have committed other acts to disturb the recruitment work shall be punished according to the provisions of the military service law and the relevant regulations.
The citizens subject to the obligations of military service that refuse or avoid the military service registration and physical examination, and the citizens to be recruited that refuse or avoid the recruitment shall be punished according to the provisions of the military service law and the relevant regulations.
Article 52 The state functionaries or the army personnel shall strictly execute the recruitment orders and guarantee the quality of the new soldiers when handling the recruitment work. Those that accept bribes, practise favoritism and frauds, abuse their powers neglect their duties shall be punished according to the provisions of the military service law and the relevant regulations.
Article 53 The specific punishments to be given by the people's governments at the level of county according to the military service law and the relevant regulations shall be done by the departments of military service of the people's governments at the level of county.
Article 54 The power to interpret these Regulations shall remain with the Ministry of National Defense.
Article 55 These Regulations shall come into force on the date of promulgation.