Obtaining a marriage certificate requires only an ID card and a signed declaration — no household register needed, no fees, and issuance is immediate

There are no fees involved. Both parties must be present in person. The entire process typically takes just a few minutes.

The new marriage-registration regulation, in force from 10 May (5) 2025, changed the materials inland residents must produce to marry. The text says only two things need be produced: “(1) the person’s resident identity card; (2) a signed statement that the person has no spouse and has no lineal blood relationship and no collateral blood relationship within three generations with the other party.” The household register is no longer required. The registration authority is “the civil-affairs department of the county-level people’s government, or a township (town) people’s government designated on the principle of convenience by the people’s government of the province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the central government.” The old regulation’s limit of going “to the place of permanent household registration of one of the parties” has been removed. The regulation also says “the marriage-registration authority shall not charge a fee for handling marriage registration,” and “where the parties meet the conditions for marriage, registration shall be made on the spot and a marriage certificate issued.” The situations for refusing registration are four: “(1) not yet of statutory marriage age; (2) not the complete voluntary will of both the man and the woman; (3) one or both already have a spouse; (4) lineal blood relatives or collateral blood relatives within three generations.”

国务院 (2025). 婚姻登记条例（国令第 804 号，第二、六、八、九、十条）. https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/zhengceku/202504/content_7017752.htm

The registration authority refuses only in four situations: not yet of statutory marriage age, not both completely voluntary, one or both already have a spouse, or the two are lineal blood relatives or collateral blood relatives within three generations. The only possible charges are peripheral services such as photos and copies. Registration itself costs nothing; if you meet “document fees” or “expedite fees,” refuse and complain. The 30-day cooling-off period for divorce registration is in item 15 of this section (cost of leaving). Consequences of holding only a wedding without registering are in item 21 of this section (go and get the marriage certificate even after the banquet).