Family
A compulsory 30-day cooling-off period before divorce by agreement
Marriage and divorce sit in Book Five of the Civil Code. The 2021 codification introduced a mandatory 30-day cooling-off period for uncontested divorce, after which the parties must actively confirm the application or it lapses.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — Uncontested divorce is registered at civil affairs bureaus; contested divorce goes to the basic people's court.
- Deadline — 30-day cooling-off period after filing for divorce by agreement
- Deadline — Confirmation must be filed within 30 days after the cooling-off period or the application lapses
Governing law
- Civil Code of the PRC (2021), Book FiveMarriage and Family
- Anti-Domestic Violence Law2016
In practice
Same-sex marriage is not recognised. The Civil Code retains fault grounds and adds a route to divorce where the parties have separated for a year and a first petition was refused. Marital property is community by default, with property acquired before marriage or by gift or inheritance to one spouse remaining separate. Custody decisions favour the mother for children under two. Personal safety protection orders under the Anti-Domestic Violence Law are available from courts independently of divorce proceedings.