---
title: "China's public-data registry just went live — every authorized dataset now needs a code"
date: 2026-10-10
category: Policy & Governance
site: NeuroAI
canonical: https://neuroai.site/a/na-policy-public-data-registration-measures
language: en
---

# China's public-data registry just went live — every authorized dataset now needs a code

> The Interim Measures for Public Data Resource Registration, issued by NDRC and the National Data Administration, took effect on 1 March 2025 and build a national, two-tier registration system with unified coding.

A public agency holds a valuable dataset but nobody outside knows it exists, or who may use it. China's data regulators decided the fix was not more portals but a single registry with one code per resource.

## The document and who issued it

On 8 January 2025, the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Data Administration (国家发展改革委、国家数据局) issued the *Interim Measures for the Administration of Public Data Resource Registration (公共数据资源登记管理暂行办法)*, document number 发改数据规〔2025〕26号. The measures took effect on **1 March 2025** and are valid for five years.

They implement the earlier central opinions on public data (公共数据) by turning the promised "registration system" into operating rules.

## What gets registered

The measures define the key terms:

- **Public data resources (公共数据资源)** — data sets generated by party/government organs and public-service units in the course of duty or service that have use value.

- **Registration subject (登记主体)** — the unit that directly holds or manages the resource, or a legally authorized operator developing it.

- **Registration institution (登记机构)** — a public institution set up or designated by national or local data-management departments to provide registration services.

- **Registration platform (登记平台)** — the information system supporting the full registration workflow.

Registration is required for resources brought into authorized operation (授权运营); registration of other resources is encouraged.

## One system, two tiers

The measures build a "one system, two-tier platforms" (一个体系、两级平台) structure:

- a **national platform** supporting central party and state organs, their subsidiaries and central state-owned enterprises, interfacing with provincial platforms;

- **provincial platforms** supporting local registration, with a unified national coding rule so every registration result gets one code and information interconnects.

The National Data Administration leads the national registration standard system and an evaluation mechanism; provincial departments evaluate the service level of local institutions.

## How registration works

The workflow runs through application, acceptance, form review, public notice, and code assignment. The measures recognize first registration, change registration, correction registration and cancellation registration, each with its own material and review requirements.

Supervision is graded: the National Data Administration governs the whole country; provincial departments govern their regions; cross-department coordination is required. Institutions that fake registrations, tamper with results, or leak information can be warned, guided on-site, or stripped of qualification. Subjects that falsify materials can have registration revoked.

## Why a registry, not just open data

Registration creates the "bottom account" (底账) of what public data exists, who holds it, and under what terms it may be used. For authorized operation to function, buyers and operators first need to know what is available and on what legal basis. A unified code makes a dataset traceable across regions and sectors — the plumbing beneath the public-data market.

## Honest limitations

This article is based on the official text published by the National Data Administration. The measures set the framework; the actual richness of the registry depends on how thoroughly agencies and operators file. Enforcement depth and the pace of provincial platform interconnection are not yet measurable from the text alone. No specific counts of registered resources were cited in the source.

## What readers can do now

- **If you operate or consume public data, learn the registration types.** First vs. change vs. correction vs. cancellation determines your compliance steps before any authorized-operation contract.

- **Check the unified code.** Treat the registration code as the canonical identifier when negotiating data products; it is the link that makes cross-region use traceable.

- **Follow provincial implementation rules.** The measures allow provinces to issue detailed rules, so the operative detail for your region will come from local data-management departments.

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Published by NeuroAI (https://neuroai.site/) — https://neuroai.site/a/na-policy-public-data-registration-measures
Free to quote with attribution and a link to the original.