A divorce certificate (离婚证) is issued by the marriage registry to each spouse when a divorce by agreement is registered in mainland China. Under the PRC Civil Code, the marriage ends once the registry has checked the application and issued the certificates after the 30-day cooling-off period. The divorce agreement is kept in the registry file. A divorce granted by a court is not evidenced by a divorce certificate but by the legally effective judgment or mediation document.
Why it matters
The divorce certificate is the proof you need to remarry, update property registration, change your hukou marital status, and deal with banks, visas and immigration authorities. For use abroad, a notarial certificate with translation, followed by an apostille where the destination is a convention member, is usually required. In Hong Kong, a mainland divorce certificate can be recognised under the 2022 Hong Kong-Mainland Arrangement. Keep in mind that the certificate itself says little about property or children; the divorce agreement kept by the registry is what sets those terms, so both spouses should keep a signed copy.
How it works in practice
A Chinese woman divorced by agreement in Shenzhen and later planned to marry a New Zealand citizen in Auckland. New Zealand authorities asked for proof that her previous marriage had ended. She obtained a notarial certificate of her divorce certificate with an English translation from a Shenzhen notary office, had it apostilled, and submitted it. Her new marriage was registered without difficulty.
Common mistakes
- Not keeping a copy of the signed divorce agreement, which the certificate does not contain
- Assuming a court judgment needs to be exchanged for a divorce certificate; it does not
- Sending the original certificate abroad instead of a notarised, apostilled copy
- Delaying the collection appointment beyond the 30-day window, so the application lapses
- Forgetting to update property and hukou records after the divorce