Male citizens turning eighteen must complete initial military registration by October 31; conscript active service lasts two years

Online registration itself is free and takes minutes. Actual military service is a two-year full-time commitment for conscripts.

China's Military Registration Work Provisions require county-level recruitment authorities to organize initial registration by October 31 for male citizens reaching 18 by December 31 of that year. Registration is primarily completed independently through the online platform. Military Service Law Article 57 provides that refusal or evasion leads to a county-government correction order; continued noncompliance leads to compulsory fulfillment of the duty and a fine. The law sets conscript active service at two years and permits voluntary recruitment at ages 17 to under 18 when military needs require it. Noncommissioned officers with at least 12 years of active service or other qualifying conditions receive government job placement. Those with at least 30 years, age 55, or other qualifying conditions may receive retirement placement. The conscription regulations prioritize ordinary higher-education graduates and recruits with specially required political, physical, or professional qualifications. Full-time students and fresh graduates may apply from their pre-enrollment household registration area or the school's location. These are Chinese national rules.

Registration and enlistment are different commitments. The two-year restrictions on travel and education discussed in entry 3 apply to the specified refusal-of-service conduct, not simply a registration omission. Women are recruited according to military needs and are not subject to mandatory initial registration under this provision. Military-school selection and commissioning of outstanding soldiers depend on military rules for which the source did not obtain public thresholds. The law identifies outstanding serving soldiers as one source of officers and exempts military-school admissions from ordinary recruitment-age limits, but this book supplies no examination cutoff or quota.

General Offices of the State Council and Central Military Commission (2025). Military Registration Work Provisions, Guobanfa [2025] No. 41. https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/zhengceku/202512/content_7051363.htm; Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (2021). Military Service Law, Articles 20, 25, 26, 54, and 57. http://www.mod.gov.cn/regulatory/2021-08/20/content_4892491.htm; State Council and Central Military Commission (2023). Conscription Work Regulations, Order No. 759, Article 5. http://www.gov.cn/gongbao/content/2023/content_5753313.htm