Cross-district marriage registration allowed in new city trial

Cross-district marriage and divorce registration will be trialled in Shanghai from September 1, local civil affairs authorities announced on Friday.

At present, local lovebirds who seek to tie the knot cannot select the registration centers at which to get married. Instead, they have to visit those in the districts where their Shanghai hukou, or household registration, is based.

In Shanghai, many people's living place and hukou address are not the same, making it inconvenient for their marriage or divorce registration. Also, marriage registration centers in the city vary in their environment and some provide personalized services in issuing certificates.

As more people moving around within the city, there's a growing demand for cross-district marriage and divorce registration, with residents hoping to do it in their working or living districts, the Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau said on Friday.

The reform aims to tackle the demand for couples to register their marriage near their residences or working units, it added.

From next month, besides having marriage or divorce registration in the districts where their Shanghai hukou is based, people can alternatively do it at centers in six trial districts – Huangpu, Xuhui, Jing'an, Putuo, Minhang and Songjiang, and the Pudong New Area.

The trial will run through the end of November, and will be officially promoted citywide.

In the trial stage, the cross-district service will target only Chinese mainland citizens, and will be expanded gradually to all when the process is settled, the bureau said.

Reservations are currently needed for marriage and divorce registration services in the city. They can be made on Shanghai's one-stop government affairs service portal (https://zwdt.sh.gov.cn/govPortals/index.do), the Suishenban app, the WeChat account of Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau and the Alipay app.