Legal basis: People's Republic of China (PRC) Identity Card Law.
Article 1 This Law is formulated for the purpose of proving the identity of citizens living in People's Republic of China (PRC), safeguarding their legitimate rights and interests, facilitating their social activities and maintaining social order.
Article 2 China citizens who have reached the age of 16 and live in People's Republic of China (PRC) shall apply for resident identity cards in accordance with the provisions of this Law; China citizens under the age of 16 may apply for resident identity cards in accordance with the provisions of this Law.
Article 3 The contents of the resident identity card registration include: name, gender, nationality, date of birth, permanent residence, citizenship number, personal photo, fingerprint information, validity period of the certificate and issuing authority.
Citizenship number is a unique and life-long identity code for every citizen, which is compiled by public security organs according to the national standard of citizenship number.
Citizens applying for obtaining, renewing or replacing resident identity cards shall register their fingerprint information.