China applies a special criminal-procedure framework when a person is alleged to have committed an offence before turning 18. Age at the alleged conduct, not simply age when questioned or tried, can affect criminal responsibility, procedure, sentencing and later record sealing. Exact birth records, the alleged offence date and the current custody stage should therefore be established immediately.
The framework emphasizes education, rehabilitation and rescue, while preserving the ordinary requirements of proof and defence. It also adds protections involving legal aid, arrest, separate custody, participation by a legal representative or another appropriate adult, social investigation, privacy, conditional non-prosecution and sealed records. These protections are related but not interchangeable, and none should be assumed without checking the statutory conditions.
Subject to editorial and legal review. This guide provides general orientation and does not address the merits or strategy of a particular case.
Start with age, identity and procedural stage
Build a dated record of the person's birth, the alleged conduct and every investigative or procedural step. Preserve household-registration materials, passport or travel records, school records and any other reliable age evidence. Where documents conflict, counsel should address the evidentiary issue early because age can affect whether criminal responsibility exists, which penalties are available and whether the special juvenile procedure applies.
Also identify whether the matter is at initial inquiry, compulsory-measure review, arrest approval, investigation, prosecution review, conditional non-prosecution supervision, trial, appeal or enforcement. Rights and responsible authorities change across these stages. A family should retain notices, summonses, detention documents, property lists and proof of every submission rather than relying on informal accounts.
Defence and legal assistance
Under the Criminal Procedure Law's juvenile-case chapter, a minor suspect or defendant who has not retained a defender must be referred to a legal-aid institution for appointed defence. The police, procuratorate and court should use personnel familiar with the physical and psychological characteristics of minors. Counsel should verify when appointment occurred, whether confidential communication is available and whether opinions on custody and case disposition have been placed in the record.
The defence should examine both offence-specific evidence and juvenile-specific material. This may include age, capacity, role, coercion or influence by adults, school and family circumstances, restitution, apology, victim impact, supervision arrangements and realistic education or reintegration plans. Social-background material is not a substitute for testing the prosecution evidence.
Arrest, detention and separate treatment
Arrest of a minor is to be strictly limited. When a procuratorate reviews arrest approval, or a court decides arrest, the minor must be questioned and defence counsel's opinion heard. Minors who are detained, arrested or serving a sentence must be held, managed and educated separately from adults.
Any custody review should address necessity, risk, available supervision and whether a less restrictive compulsory measure is workable. The family should avoid coaching accounts or contacting witnesses in a manner that could create new risk. Practical arrangements for residence, schooling, guardianship and attendance can be documented for counsel to assess.
Questioning, hearings and an appropriate adult
A legal representative should be notified to attend questioning and trial. If notification is impossible, the representative cannot attend or is implicated in the case, another adult relative or a representative from the school, employer, local organization or a child-protection organization may be notified, with the circumstances recorded. The attending adult may exercise procedural rights on the minor's behalf and may object where questioning infringes lawful rights.
Statements should be reviewed together with the full recording and surrounding circumstances. Counsel should examine comprehension, fatigue, pressure, translation needs, the accuracy of the written record and whether required participants were present. A signature alone does not answer those questions.
Social investigation and family responsibility
Police, procuratorates and courts may investigate the minor's upbringing, reasons for the alleged conduct, guardianship and education. Courts also review reports and written material concerning personality, family, schooling, social contacts, development and conduct before and after the alleged offence. Material accepted through the proper process may inform education and sentencing.
A useful plan is specific: who will supervise, where the minor will live and study, how treatment or counselling will be arranged, and how contact with harmful influences will be controlled. Unsupported assurances carry less weight than verifiable arrangements. Families should also preserve evidence of restitution or reconciliation without pressuring a victim.
Conditional non-prosecution
For a minor suspected of an offence within the statutory categories for which the possible sentence is one year or less, and where the prosecution conditions are otherwise met but remorse is shown, the procuratorate may make a conditional non-prosecution decision. The supervision and observation period is six months to one year. The procuratorate supervises compliance, while the guardian should strengthen discipline and cooperate with the required measures.
The minor and legal representative may object to conditional non-prosecution. During supervision, new offences, specified serious violations or serious breaches of supervision requirements can lead to revocation and prosecution. Successful completion may result in a final non-prosecution decision. The exact obligations and consequences should be explained in language the minor understands.
Privacy and closed proceedings
Cases involving a defendant who is under 18 at trial are not heard publicly, although representatives of the minor-protection organization and other specified persons may be permitted with consent. Authorities and participants must protect identifying information. Families, schools and employers should avoid public posts, group messages or circulation of case documents that could defeat those protections or harm the minor.
The protection of a minor victim and the procedural rights of a minor suspect can arise in the same case. Each requires careful handling; privacy protection does not determine guilt, and defence rights do not justify exposing a victim's identity.
When juvenile criminal records are sealed
The Criminal Procedure Law provides that where a person was under 18 when the offence was committed and received a sentence of five years' imprisonment or less, the relevant criminal record must be sealed. Sealed records may not be supplied to organizations or individuals except where a judicial authority needs them for case handling or a relevant organization makes an inquiry under national rules. An organization permitted to inquire must keep the information confidential.
Implementing rules extend sealing procedures across case records and address non-prosecution records, inquiries, confidentiality, corrections and circumstances in which sealing may be lifted. Eligibility should be checked from the final disposition and the combined sentence, including whether a later-discovered offence changes the threshold. Record sealing is not the same as erasing every private copy, news report or independently held record.
Employment, education and certificates
Before answering a background question, identify who is asking, the legal basis, the wording used and whether the request falls within an authorized inquiry channel. A sealed record generally should not be disclosed through an ordinary unauthorized inquiry, but sector-specific eligibility and statutory reporting rules may require separate advice. Applications for a no-criminal-record certificate should follow the current public-security rules and local channel.
If a sealed matter appears in an unauthorized check, preserve the request, response and disclosure trail. Counsel can then assess correction, supervision or complaint mechanisms without republishing the protected details.
Practical file checklist
- Reliable evidence of birth date and identity.
- A chronology of the alleged conduct, questioning, custody and filings.
- All compulsory-measure, prosecution, judgment and enforcement documents.
- Defence appointment and legal-aid records.
- Questioning recordings, transcripts and attendance records where accessible.
- School, family, medical or counselling material relevant to social investigation.
- A concrete guardianship, education and reintegration plan.
- The final disposition and sentence needed to assess sealing.
- Any later background inquiry, certificate or suspected unauthorized disclosure.
Official sources
- Supreme People's Court Gazette: Criminal Procedure Law, juvenile criminal-case procedure
- Supreme People's Court: Interpretation on application of the Criminal Procedure Law
- Supreme People's Court and related authorities: implementing measures on sealing juvenile criminal records
- Supreme People's Court: opinion on strengthening juvenile judicial protection and crime prevention
Law checked: September 10, 2026. Official Chinese texts control. Obtain case-specific advice promptly where a minor is questioned, detained or facing a live filing deadline.
