January 12 (Xinhua) -- According to the website of the National Health Commission, in order to further strengthen the service management of deceased patients in medical and health institutions, improve the standardization of service management, safeguard the dignity of the deceased, optimize the medical environment, and protect the legitimate rights and interests of the people, the General Office of the National Health Commission, the General Office of the Ministry of Public Security, the General Office of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the General Office of the State Administration for Market Regulation, the General Office of the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and the General Office of the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention jointly issued the "Regulations on the Full-Process Service Management of Deceased Patients in Medical and Health Institutions".
The document states that medical and health institutions should focus on their primary responsibilities and are prohibited from providing funeral services. It strictly prohibits the display, exhibition, or sale of funeral service supplies in any location within medical and health institutions, and forbids the burning of incense, candles, or sacrificial items. It also strictly prohibits outsourcing or otherwise entrusting the operation and management of temporary body storage areas (or morgues) to third parties, and prohibits the introduction of related organizations or individuals to provide funeral services within medical and health institutions through renting or lending venues, cooperation with third parties, or purchasing services.
The full text is as follows:
Notice on Issuing Regulations on the Management of the Entire Process of Services for Deceased Patients in Medical and Health Institutions
National Health Commission Office Medical Administration Document No. 31 [2025]
Health Commissions, Public Security Departments (Bureaus), Civil Affairs Departments (Bureaus), Market Supervision Bureaus (Commissions, Departments), Traditional Chinese Medicine Bureaus, and Disease Control Bureaus of all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government; Health Commission, Public Security Bureau, Civil Affairs Bureau, Market Supervision Bureau, and Disease Control Bureau of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps:
To thoroughly implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and its subsequent plenary sessions, and to carry out the relevant arrangements of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, as well as the relevant regulations such as the "Regulations on Funeral Management," to further strengthen the service management of deceased patients in medical and health institutions, improve the standardization of service management, uphold the dignity of the deceased, optimize the medical environment, and protect the legitimate rights and interests of the people, we have formulated the "Regulations on the Full-Process Service Management of Deceased Patients in Medical and Health Institutions." This document is hereby issued to you for your compliance.
General Office of the National Health Commission and General Office of the Ministry of Public Security
General Office of the Ministry of Civil Affairs and General Office of the State Administration for Market Regulation
General Office of the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine; General Office of the State Administration for Disease Control and Prevention
November 12, 2025
(Information disclosure format: Proactive disclosure)
The entire process of deceased patients in medical and health institutions
Service Management Regulations
I. Issuing Authority of Death Certificates
For deaths occurring naturally during treatment at medical institutions or en route to the hospital (including deaths already reported at the scene of a medical visit), the medical institution responsible for treatment (arriving at the scene) shall issue a "Resident Death Medical Certificate (Presumptive)" (hereinafter referred to as the "Death Certificate"), which shall be filled out by a licensed (assistant) physician. For deaths occurring naturally at home or other locations, the "Death Certificate" shall be issued by the township (street) health center or community health service center, etc., where the death occurred. For cases of unnatural death handled by public security organs according to law (excluding those treated by medical institutions), if a certificate is required, the local police station where the incident occurred shall issue an unnatural death certificate based on the investigation and examination results of relevant departments of the public security organs.
II. Death Certificate Issuance Process
Medical and health institutions should establish and strengthen the implementation of work systems and procedures for the completion, review, stamping, and issuance of death certificates. When issuing a death certificate, the physician must personally examine and investigate the deceased patient, carefully verify the deceased patient's identity information, and fill out the certificate accurately, completely, and promptly. After verification, the certificate should be stamped with the official seal of the medical and health institution for death certificates. For natural deaths with a clearly defined cause, medical and health institutions should issue a death certificate within one day of the death or after the deceased's close relatives report the death.
III. Death Certificate Management
Medical and health institutions should establish a system for managing, issuing, recycling, and registering and tracing information on the issuance and stamping of blank death certificates, implementing a system of separation of certificate and stamp and joint management by two personnel. Health administrative departments at all levels (including departments of traditional Chinese medicine and disease control) should promote information sharing and collaborative work with public security and civil affairs departments to strictly prevent and punish the illegal issuance and resale of death certificates. The electronic management of death certificates should be actively promoted.
IV. Establishment of Temporary Body Storage Area
Medical and health institutions should optimize the transportation process for deceased patients' remains and improve the efficiency of remains transfer. Where necessary, temporary body storage areas may be set up to meet the need for temporary parking of remains before the arrival of transport vehicles. These temporary body storage areas can be set up near relevant key departments or centrally within the medical and health institution. Medical and health institutions that already have morgues should, in principle, only provide temporary body storage services in their morgues, and these morgues should be managed in the same manner as temporary body storage areas.
V. Management of the transport of remains of deceased patients
When a patient dies naturally within a medical institution, the relevant clinical department should promptly notify the family, issue a death certificate as required, and transfer the body to a temporary body storage area for awaiting transport by a body transport vehicle. Medical institution staff should inform the family to call the funeral home service hotline or government service hotline to arrange for the body transport and cooperate with the family and funeral home in the process. Medical institutions should register and verify the information of body transport vehicles and provide convenience for their entry and exit from the institution for body transport. The bodies of patients with infectious diseases should be immediately professionally disinfected and treated for epidemic prevention in accordance with the Law on Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases and relevant regulations, and the funeral home should be notified for transport and cremation.
VI. Management of Temporary Body Storage Area
Medical and health institutions should establish and improve management systems for temporary body storage areas for deceased patients, designating specific personnel to be responsible for management and daily operations. They should establish a registration ledger for deceased patients' remains, recording complete and accurate information such as the deceased patient's information, family members' contact information, the receiving department, transfer time, vehicle information for body transport, and the body's destination. They should also improve the system for information verification, registration, and body handover between medical and health institutions, patients' families, and funeral homes. The temporary body storage area should publicly display a catalog of relevant services and their fees, as well as a funeral home service hotline or government service hotline, to accept public supervision. After a body is transferred out of the temporary body storage area, disinfection work should be carried out in accordance with relevant regulations.
VII. The remains of deceased patients shall be transferred out in a timely manner.
The remains of deceased patients within medical and health institutions must be immediately transferred to the temporary body storage area. It is strictly prohibited to leave them outside this area to avoid disrupting normal medical order. For remains left in the treatment area due to disputes or other reasons, medical and health institutions should strengthen communication with patients to handle the matter properly. Those who disrupt public order and constitute violations of public security management should be promptly handed over to the public security organs for legal processing. The remains of deceased patients should be promptly received by the funeral home, and the temporary storage time in the temporary body storage area of medical and health institutions should generally not exceed 24 hours. If an extension of the storage time is necessary due to special circumstances, the medical and health institution should assist the family in promptly transferring the remains to the funeral home. For remains that are unidentified, cannot be contacted, or have been abandoned by family members, the medical and health institution should contact a funeral service agency for collection and storage, and properly register the remains' information, hand over relevant documents, and make backups.
VIII. Service Scope for Deceased Patients in Medical and Health Institutions
Medical and health institutions should focus on their primary responsibilities and are prohibited from providing funeral services. The display, exhibition, and sale of funeral service supplies are strictly prohibited in any location within medical and health institutions, as is the burning of incense, candles, and sacrificial items. Outsourcing or otherwise allowing third parties to operate or manage temporary body storage areas (or morgues) is strictly prohibited, as is introducing related organizations or individuals to provide funeral services within medical and health institutions through leasing or lending venues, cooperation with third parties, or purchasing services. Medical and health institutions are strictly prohibited from receiving and storing bodies from outside the institution and are not allowed to undertake body storage services entrusted by other departments. The use of pre-hospital emergency vehicles or non-emergency medical transport vehicles to transport bodies is strictly prohibited. Medical and health institutions must strengthen the patrol and management of key internal areas to prevent and promptly stop individuals from providing funeral services within their institutions.
IX. Protection of Personal Information of Deceased Patients and Their Families
Medical and health institutions must establish a system for protecting the personal information of deceased patients and their families. They must strengthen education and training for medical and health professionals, administrative staff, and support staff (including staff from third-party organizations) who come into contact with information about deceased patients to improve their awareness of compliance with laws and regulations and the protection of patient information. They must strictly regulate the behavior of their staff, prohibiting them from contacting funeral homes or other organizations and individuals on behalf of bereaved families regarding funeral services, from illegally providing bereaved family information, from recommending, inducing, or forcing bereaved families to receive services from designated funeral service institutions, and from colluding with other organizations or individuals to induce bereaved families to engage in high-consumption activities. Medical and health institutions must promptly issue relevant information forms to the families of deceased patients, provide contact information for legitimate funeral service institutions for families to choose from, conduct education and reminders on protecting privacy information and preventing induced consumption, make a commitment not to disclose the information of deceased patients, and provide corresponding reporting hotlines. They must improve technical means for protecting the personal information of patients and their families, increase the intensity of patrols and inspections of key areas such as outpatient and emergency departments, intensive care units, and temporary body storage areas (or morgues) in medical and health institutions, and prevent and promptly stop unauthorized individuals from "staking out" or "sweeping" these areas.
10. Inter-departmental collaborative supervision
Health, public security, civil affairs, and market supervision departments at all levels should strengthen coordination, fulfill their departmental responsibilities, and intensify supervision. Health administrative departments should strengthen management of medical institutions issuing death certificates and their internal body storage facilities, standardize services related to deceased patients, and severely punish medical institution staff who sell or leak information about deceased patients. Civil affairs departments should supervise and guide funeral homes to promptly transport bodies in accordance with relevant regulations, inform and dynamically update funeral home service hotlines or government service hotlines, and provide body transport vehicle information to medical institutions. They should also promptly explain funeral service management policies and regulations to medical institutions, and promptly transfer leads on illegal and irregular funeral services provided by relevant organizations and individuals within medical institutions to health administrative departments, severely punishing any unauthorized body transport, storage, embalming, cremation, or other related services. Public security organs should fulfill their responsibilities in issuing abnormal death certificates, investigate and punish violations of public security management such as disrupting the normal medical order of medical institutions, and severely crack down on crimes related to the funeral industry. Market regulators should investigate and punish, in accordance with the law, funeral service providers around medical and health institutions for illegal pricing, irregular charges, monopolistic practices, and unfair competition.
XI. Investigation and Handling of Violations of Rules, Regulations, and Laws
Health administrative departments at all levels should strengthen the investigation and handling of leads, establish a mechanism for transferring leads, and enhance communication with departments such as civil affairs, public security, and market supervision. They should fully leverage the role of public oversight, collect leads through multiple channels, and conduct thorough investigations. Problems discovered during investigations should be dealt with seriously in accordance with regulations, discipline, and law to create an effective deterrent. For cases involving suspected violations of discipline or duty-related crimes, or other illegal or criminal matters, the connection between disciplinary and legal provisions, and between administrative and criminal law, should be strengthened, and cases should be transferred to the competent authorities or units for handling according to their respective duties and powers. For cases involving the health system investigated and transferred by other departments, the relevant responsible units and individuals should be dealt with according to law and regulations.
XII. Publicity and guidance on policies and regulations
Health administrative departments and medical and health institutions at all levels should strengthen the publicity and training on relevant service procedures for deceased patients, cooperate with civil affairs departments to carry out publicity and education on relevant policies and regulations, enhance the awareness of all medical and health staff to provide services in accordance with the law and the rule of law, increase public awareness of policies, and guide the families of deceased patients to choose formal funeral service institutions.
