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Chapter 2 Fertility Regulation

Article 9 Citizens of childbearing age are encouraged to defer marriage and childbearing and have fewer but healthier birth. Citizens can only have a child after applying for marriage registration according to law. Extramarital childbirth is prohibited. Men of 25 and women of 23 at first marriage are considered deferred marriage; women of 24 at first childbirth are considered deferred childbearing.

Article 10 One couple is allowed to have only one child, with the second birth under strict control and third birth prohibited.

Article 11 Couples who are government employees or other types of non-agricultural residents and meet any one of the following conditions, subject to application and approval, can have a second birth:

1. The first child is diagnosed by hospitals above county level and confirmed by medical institutions above municipal/prefectural/regional level of having non-genetic defects and unable to grow up to be a normal laborer;

2. The couple has no child after getting married for more than five years, the wife is over 35 and becomes pregnant after having adopted a child legally;

3. Remarried couples with one party having a child from previous marriage but the other having none;

4. Either party is a veteran soldier with disability of second-class, second-degree and above or has the same degree of disability as a result of workplace accidents.

If both or either party is returned overseas Chinese from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan or foreign countries, their applications for having children shall be handled in accordance with relevant regulations.

Article 12 Couples who are both agricultural residents and meet any one of the following conditions, subject to application and approval, can have a second birth:

1. Those who meet any one of the conditions listed in Article 10;

2. Those who have only a female child;

3. Those who are members of ethnic minorities;

4. Men live with spouse' families without a son and take care of their parents-in-law (if the woman has sisters, only one is eligible)

Article 13 Couples with one party being a government employee or other non-agricultural resident and the other being an agricultural resident who meets any one condition of Article 11, subject to application and approval, can have a second birth.

Article 14 Aside from Articles 11 and 12, the provincial government, in accordance with relevant national regulations and the principle of strict control of second birth, may grant a birth permit to couples who want to have a second birth for other special reasons and shall report to the provincial People's Congress standing committee for filing.

Article 15 Those who meet the conditions of this regulation and are allowed to have a second birth shall have an interval of more than four years.