Check a 2-, 4- or 6-digit Chinese division code, or a place name, against MCA's list 「2023年中华人民共和国县以上行政区划代码」, and read what each pair of digits means under MCA Order No. 79. In the list or not, that does not make a code current or wrong.
China Province Lookup (中国省份查询)
How to use
Search by code
Enter 2, 4 or 6 digits (44, 4401, 440103). The tool says whether the code is in MCA's 「2023年」 list, with the name and parents the list prints, then shows pair by pair which number band in MCA Order No. 79 the digits fall in.
Search by name
At province level, Chinese in either script, English, or the capital: 沈阳, 瀋陽 and Shenyang all find 辽宁省 (Liaoning). Below that, MCA's list prints names in Chinese only; either script works.
Check the code in MCA's database
A code in the 2023 list may have been retired since, and a code missing from it may be newer. Confirm it in MCA's place-name database, the 国家地名信息库, whose data runs to 31 December 2025.
Cross-reference with the ID validator
cn-shenfenzheng-format-validator uses the same 34 two-digit codes; it also accepts 83, the first two digits of the address code on Taiwan residents' residence permits.
China's 34 province-level codes, and what the other four digits mean
The Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA) list 「2023年中华人民共和国县以上行政区划代码」 prints 34 province-level codes: 23 for units named 省 (province), 5 autonomous regions, 4 municipalities and 2 special administrative regions. The table below shows those 34 rows with the codes and Chinese names exactly as the list prints them. For 710000 台湾省, 810000 香港特别行政区 and 820000 澳门特别行政区, the list's note 1 states that prefecture- and county-level information is not included (「暂缺地市和区县信息」).
What the six digits mean
Since 1 September 2025 the rules are in MCA Order No. 79, 《行政区划代码管理办法》. Art. 7: the first two digits identify the province-level unit and the last four are 0000. Art. 8: in digits 3–4 a prefecture-level city takes 01–20 or 51–70, and a prefecture (地区) or autonomous prefecture (自治州) 21–50. Art. 9: a municipality's districts carry 01 in digits 3–4 and its counties 02, and a county-level unit that no prefecture-level unit governs or administers carries 90. In digits 5–6, districts and county-level cities that no prefecture-level city administers take 01–20 or 51–80, counties and autonomous counties 21–50, and county-level cities that a prefecture-level city administers 81–99. Art. 19 treats leagues (盟) as prefectures, and banners (旗), special districts (特区) and forestry districts (林区) as counties.
"An abolished administrative division code may not be used again." — MCA Order No. 79, Art. 11
How well existing codes fit the bands
The bands were written into a rule only in 2025, and Art. 18 keeps codes set before it 「一般不做改变」 (generally unchanged). We checked every prefecture- and county-level code in MCA's 2023 list against them: 3,174 of 3,175 sit in their band. The exception is 六枝特区 520203, which Art. 19 treats as a county (21–50) but which carries 03. That is inside a band, just not the county band a 特区 takes: 01–20 is for districts and for county-level cities that no prefecture-level city administers.
In the list is not the same as current
The tool carries all 3,209 codes of MCA's 「2023年中华人民共和国县以上行政区划代码」 (our copy, taken 8 October 2026), with names, notes and 「*」 marks exactly as the list prints them. It is the last annual list MCA published on its website: the column now reads 「自2026年起，本栏目不再公布行政区划代码相关信息」 (from 2026 it no longer publishes division codes). So the tool says only whether a code is in the 2023 list or not. A code missing from it may have been issued later or retired earlier, and a code in it may have been retired since. Codes do change. Under Art. 6 a new unit gets a code, an abolished unit's code is retired (not replaced), and a change of parent retires the old code and issues a new one; a code is also adjusted when its parent's code changes. A rename, a move of the government seat or a boundary change keeps the code. A 2021 notice from Fujian's civil-affairs department retired the codes of 沙县 and 三元区, among others, and issued 350405 for 沙县区 and 350404 for 三元区 — the same name, with a new code. To check any code, use MCA's 国家地名信息库 (place-name database). Under Art. 16 it publishes each January the codes as of the end of the previous year; its current data runs to 31 December 2025.
What MCA Order No. 79 says the six digits mean
《行政区划代码管理办法》 was published on 30 June 2025 as MCA Order No. 79 and took effect on 1 September 2025.
Art. 7: a province-level code is its two-digit identifier followed by 0000.
Art. 8: in digits 3–4 a prefecture-level city takes 01–20 or 51–70, a prefecture or autonomous prefecture 21–50; Art. 19 treats a league (盟) as a prefecture.
Art. 9: a municipality's districts carry 01 in digits 3–4 and its counties 02; a county-level unit under no prefecture-level unit carries 90.
Digits 5–6: districts and county-level cities no prefecture-level city administers 01–20 or 51–80, counties 21–50, county-level cities a prefecture-level city administers 81–99. The one exception in MCA's 2023 list is 六枝特区 520203, treated as a county yet ending 03.
Art. 6: a rename, a move of the government seat or a boundary change keeps the code; a change of parent retires it and issues a new one.
Art. 10: township-level codes are nine digits — streets 001–099, towns 100–199, townships 200–399.
Resident Identity Card Law, Art. 3: a citizen's ID number is 「终身不变」 (unchanged for life), so an older number can begin with a code a later list no longer carries.
810000, 820000, 830000: the address codes that State Council Office notice 国办发〔2018〕81号 sets for the residence permits of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan residents.
From 2026, the 行政区划代码 column on MCA's website no longer publishes codes; it points readers to the 国家地名信息库.
Frequently Asked Questions
The first six digits of a resident ID number are a division code. The Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau (19 February 2023) says the address code is 「地址码表示编码对象常住户口所在县（市、旗、区）的行政区划代码」 (the division code of the county, city, banner or district of the holder's permanent household registration), and that after certain division changes members of one family can have different first six digits. This tool and cn-shenfenzheng-format-validator use the same 34 two-digit province-level codes; the validator also accepts 83, used on Taiwan residents' residence permits (国办发〔2018〕81号). An ID number never changes, so its first six digits can be a code that later lists no longer carry.
MCA's 2023 list prints 34: 23 for units named 省, 5 autonomous regions, 4 municipalities and 2 special administrative regions.
Not necessarily. MCA stopped publishing the list on its website from 2026, so a code issued after the 2023 list is not in it; nor is a code retired before it — and an ID number never changes, so an older one can still begin with such a code. The list's note 3 also says development zones and other functional areas are left out. Check the code in the 国家地名信息库.
Under Art. 6, a new unit gets a code, an abolished unit's code is retired, and a change of parent (including who administers it) retires the old code and issues a new one; a code is also adjusted when its parent's code changes. A rename, a move of the government seat or a boundary change keeps the code. Since the order took effect on 1 September 2025, Art. 11 has barred reusing a retired code.
MCA's 2023 list prints 710000 台湾省, 810000 香港特别行政区 and 820000 澳门特别行政区, and its note 1 says prefecture- and county-level information for them is not included (「暂缺地市和区县信息」). This tool shows the same three rows and reads nothing past their first two digits.
Under State Council Office notice 国办发〔2018〕81号, residence-permit numbers for Hong Kong and Macao residents use the address codes 810000 and 820000, and Taiwan residents' permits use 830000.
Yes, as far as MCA's 2023 list goes. MCA's 「2023年」 list has 3,209 codes: 34 province-level, 333 prefecture-level and 2,842 county-level. Search by code or by Chinese name and the result says whether it is in that list, with the name exactly as printed. Rows the list prints with no code (西沙区 and 南沙区 after 三沙市, for example) are shown too, and say so.
The codes and names are MCA's 「2023年中华人民共和国县以上行政区划代码」, published by 中华人民共和国民政部, copied on 8 October 2026; the band rules are MCA Order No. 79. The national standard GB/T 2260-2007 is listed as current (现行) on the national standards platform.
No. The band rules are in one JavaScript file, cn-division-code-kernel.js, which runs in your browser; the 2023 list is a data file on this site, downloaded the first time you click into the search box or search. Nothing you type is sent anywhere.
Yes. All RECATOOLS tools are 100% free, ad-supported. No signup, no paywall.
Method & sources
How it computes
Codes and names from MCA's 「2023年中华人民共和国县以上行政区划代码」 (3,209 codes, copied 8 October 2026), the last annual list MCA published on its website. A 2-, 4- or 6-digit code is reported as in or not in that list, with its listed parents; names are searched in either Chinese script. Each pair of digits is also read against the number bands of MCA Order No. 79 (in force 1 September 2025), Arts 7-9 and 19. Neither answer says a code is current.
What this tool implements
- MCA Order No. 79, 《行政区划代码管理办法》 (published 30 June 2025, in force 1 September 2025). Art. 7: the first two digits identify the province-level unit and the last four are 0000. Art. 8: in digits 3-4, prefecture-level cities 01-20 or 51-70, prefectures and autonomous prefectures 21-50. Art. 9: a municipality's districts 01 and its counties 02 in digits 3-4, and 90 for a county-level unit under no prefecture-level unit; in digits 5-6, districts and county-level cities no prefecture-level city administers 01-20 or 51-80, counties and autonomous counties 21-50, county-level cities a prefecture-level city administers 81-99. Art. 19: 盟 as 地区; 旗, 特区 and 林区 as 县.
- The 34 rows match MCA's 2023 list code for code and name for name: 23 units named 省, 5 autonomous regions, 4 municipalities and 2 special administrative regions. The list's note 1 gives no prefecture- or county-level information for 710000, 810000 and 820000, so the tool reads nothing past their first two digits.
- Measured on 2 October 2026: 3,174 of the 3,175 prefecture- and county-level codes in MCA's 2023 list sit in their Order No. 79 band. The exception, 六枝特区 520203 (a 特区, treated as a county, which carries 03), is shown wherever the rule is shown. The bands were published in 2025 and Art. 18 keeps earlier codes generally unchanged, so digits outside a band are reported as outside the rule, never as invalid.
- The tool reports a code as in or not in MCA's 「2023年中华人民共和国县以上行政区划代码」 — all 3,209 codes (34 province-level, 333 prefecture-level, 2,842 county-level), names, notes and 「*」 marks as printed, copied 8 October 2026 — and never as valid, invalid or current. MCA has not published the list on its website since 2026, so a code missing from it may be newer or retired, and a code in it may have been retired since (Art. 11: a retired code is never reused). Readers are sent to MCA's 国家地名信息库, whose data runs to 31 December 2025.
- 83 is not a province-level code in MCA's list, but since 2018 830000 is the address code on Taiwan residents' residence-permit numbers (国办发〔2018〕81号).
Sources
- 民政部令第79号《行政区划代码管理办法》 (2025年6月30日公布, 2025年9月1日起施行), State Council Gazette 2025 No. 23: https://www.gov.cn/gongbao/2025/issue_12226/202508/content_703697…
- 民政部 国家地名信息库, 行政区划代码 (数据截止日期为2025年12月31日): https://dmfw.mca.gov.cn/XzqhVersionPublish.html
- 民政部 行政区划代码 column — 「自2026年起，本栏目不再公布行政区划代码相关信息」: https://www.mca.gov.cn/n156/n186/index.html
- 福建省民政厅《关于变更漳州市和三明市部分行政区划代码的通知》 (2021年4月28日) — 三元区 keeps its name and gets a new code, 350404: http://mzt.fujian.gov.cn/gk/zcfg/gfxwj/202104/t20210430_5588701.htm
- 国家标准 GB/T 2260-2007《中华人民共和国行政区划代码》, national standards portal record (现行). https://openstd.samr.gov.cn/bzgk/gb/newGbInfo?hcno=C9C488FD717AFD…
- 国务院办公厅《港澳台居民居住证申领发放办法》(国办发〔2018〕81号), address codes 810000/820000/830000. https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/content/2018-08/19/content_5314865.htm
- 《中华人民共和国居民身份证法》 Art. 3 — a citizen's ID number is unchanged for life: http://www.npc.gov.cn/zgrdw/npc/xinwen/2011-10/31/content_1678466…
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