Military and ex-servicemen matters in China depend first on legal status: active-duty service member, officer, sergeant, conscript, civilian personnel, reservist, discharged veteran, disabled service member or eligible family or survivor. The status, service record, discharge method, placement decision and benefit category determine the responsible military or civilian authority and the available process.
Preserve the enlistment and personnel file, discharge order and certificate, placement notice, service and award history, medical and disability records, household-registration and family evidence, employment communications, benefit calculations and every service date. Do not assume that a petition, service-centre enquiry or informal coordination suspends a formal review deadline.
Subject to editorial and legal review. Military systems, classified material and national-security restrictions may limit ordinary access or process. Obtain qualified advice before handling protected records or choosing a challenge route.
Classify status and responsible authority
Identify the person’s service category, rank or grade, service branch, discharge date and legal placement method. Separate decisions made within the armed forces from post-discharge implementation by a veterans affairs department, receiving employer, social-security body or another civilian authority. Status controls jurisdiction and benefits.
Map discharge and placement
The 2024 Veteran Placement Regulation provides different routes for retired officers, sergeants and conscripts, including retirement, transfer, monthly retirement payments, self-employment, arranged work and support. Confirm the official route, receiving locality, file transfer, registration, reporting date and duties of the receiving authority or employer.
Employment and education transition
Check vocational training, education preferences, recruitment policies, arranged-work protections, service-credit treatment and entrepreneurship support. Preserve the placement letter and any refusal, demotion, probation, compensation or termination record. Ordinary labour remedies may intersect with special veteran-placement obligations but should not be treated as identical.
Pensions, insurance and service credit
Reconcile military service records with pension, medical, unemployment and occupational-injury accounts and the applicable transfer rules. Identify missing periods, contribution bases and the authority holding the source record. Benefits differ by placement route and local implementation; obtain a written calculation rather than relying on an oral estimate.
Disability, medical and preferential treatment
The revised Military Pensions and Preferential Treatment Regulation took effect October 1, 2024. Confirm whether injury or illness is classified as combat-related, duty-related or illness-related, the disability-assessment procedure, grade, review and certificate status. Medical, transport and other preferences depend on the person and valid documentation.
Death, survivor and family matters
Classify martyr, duty-related death and illness-related death status and identify eligible survivors. Preserve the official determination, kinship and dependency evidence, award history, payment calculation and any competing claim. One-time and periodic benefits have different conditions and recipients.
Rights protection and complaint routes
Request the written decision, legal basis, reasons and review notice. Depending on the authority and act, routes may include internal military procedures, veterans-affairs coordination, administrative reconsideration, administrative litigation, labour proceedings or petition and supervision channels. Confirm reviewability and deadlines separately; not every military personnel act is reviewable in ordinary court.
Evidence and protected information
Use authenticated service, placement, medical, payroll and benefit records. Request correction of inconsistent archives through the responsible custodian. Observe state-secret, military-secret, privacy and data rules; redact and transfer records securely and do not publish operational or classified details to support a claim.
Working-file checklist
- Status, rank, service branch and complete chronology.
- Discharge order, certificate and placement method.
- Personnel, award and service-credit records.
- Receiving authority, employer and reporting evidence.
- Pension, insurance and benefit calculations.
- Medical, disability and causation evidence.
- Death classification and survivor evidence.
- Written decision, service date and remedy map.
- Security classification and disclosure controls.
Official sources
- National Administrative Regulations Database: Veteran Placement Regulation
- Chinese Government: Military Pensions and Preferential Treatment Regulation
- Beijing Government: Law on Military Personnel Status and Rights
Law checked: September 11, 2026. Official Chinese texts, current military rules and the individual service and placement record control.
