PrivacyChina

China Privacy Law personal information cross-border transfer routes

Compare China's current data-export exemptions, CAC security assessment, standard contract, and personal information protection certification routes.

Apply the 22 March 2024 cross-border provisions first. They control over inconsistent parts of the 2022 security-assessment and 2023 standard-contract measures.

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Author
Sorena AI
Published
Jul 5, 2026
Updated
Jul 24, 2026
Sections
3

Structured answer sets in this page tree.

Primary sources
4

Cited legal and guidance references.

Publication metadata
Sorena AI
Published Jul 5, 2026
Updated Jul 24, 2026
Overview

Choose the route in this order: confirm an overseas provision of data, identify personal information and important data, determine CIIO status, test the 2024 exemptions, calculate current-year volumes, and then select , standard contract, or personal information protection certification. The 22 March 2024 provisions control wherever they conflict with the older 2022 and 2023 measures.

Section 1

Start with the data and exemption tests

First confirm what is provided overseas, from where, to whom, and for what purpose. A flow with no personal information or important data falls outside the three route mechanisms under the 2024 provisions. Personal information collected overseas, sent into China for processing, and then sent back out is also exempt if the China processing introduces no personal information collected in China and no important data.

For important data, follow the applicable identification and declaration rules. If a department or region has not notified the processor or publicly classified the data as important data, Article 2 of the 2024 provisions says the processor does not need to declare a on the basis that it is important data.

  • Contract exemption: the transfer is necessary to enter into or perform a contract to which the individual is a party, such as cross-border shopping, delivery, remittance, payment, account opening, travel booking, visa, or examination services.
  • HR exemption: the transfer is necessary for cross-border human-resources management under lawfully adopted employment rules and a lawfully concluded collective contract.
  • Emergency exemption: the transfer is necessary in an emergency to protect a natural person's life, health, or property.
  • Volume exemption: a non-CIIO has provided personal information of fewer than 100,000 individuals overseas since 1 January of the current year, excluding sensitive personal information. The exemption does not cover important data.
  • Free-trade-zone exemption: a processor in a pilot free-trade zone may transfer data outside an approved negative list without the three route mechanisms; the applicable zone list and processor location must be checked.
Sources for this answer
Provisions on Promoting and Regulating Cross-border Data Flow
Articles 2-6 establish important-data treatment and the non-personal-data, overseas-origin, contract, HR, emergency, sub-100,000, and free-trade-zone exemptions.
Section 2

Compare the three route outcomes

After applying the exemptions, is mandatory for a CIIO providing personal information or important data overseas. It is also mandatory for a non-CIIO providing important data, personal information of at least 1 million individuals excluding sensitive information, or sensitive personal information of at least 10,000 individuals, counted cumulatively from 1 January of the current year.

A non-CIIO in the intermediate bands must use either the CAC standard contract or personal information protection certification: at least 100,000 but fewer than 1 million individuals for non-sensitive personal information, or fewer than 10,000 individuals for sensitive personal information. Because the sub-100,000 volume exemption excludes sensitive personal information, even a smaller sensitive-information export can enter this intermediate band unless another Article 5 or 6 exemption applies. Apply the exemptions first, and do not use quantity splitting to avoid a mandatory .

  • : prepare a data-export risk self-assessment, application, proposed legal instrument, and other required material. CAC's written review period is 45 working days after written acceptance, but complex cases or requested corrections can extend it.
  • Assessment validity: the 2024 provisions replace the old two-year rule with three years. If no reapplication trigger occurs, an extension of three years may be requested through the provincial CAC within the 60-working-day period before expiry; the national CAC must approve the extension.
  • Standard contract: use the CAC form, complete an export PIPIA, ensure the contract is effective before export, and file it with the provincial CAC within 10 working days after effectiveness. Reassess and refile when the listed transfer or legal-context facts change.
  • Certification: PIPL recognizes certification by a qualified institution under CAC rules as an alternative route where the current provisions allow it. This page does not determine certification scope, procedure, or eligibility without the applicable current certification rules.
Sources for this answer
Provisions on Promoting and Regulating Cross-border Data Flow
Articles 7-9 establish the current security-assessment and intermediate route bands, count from 1 January of the current year, and set three-year assessment validity and extension.
Measures for Security Assessment of Data Export
Articles 5-14 specify the risk self-assessment, application materials, legal-instrument content, acceptance and review process, review timing, and change triggers, subject to the 2024 provisions.
Measures for the Standard Contract for Personal Information Export
Articles 5-8 specify the export PIPIA, CAC form, contract effectiveness, filing within 10 working days, and refiling triggers, subject to the 2024 provisions.
Section 3

Duties that remain after route selection

A route exemption does not mean that the transfer is outside PIPL. For overseas provision of personal information, apply the Article 39 notice and separate-consent duties where the law requires them, complete the Article 55 PIPIA, and take necessary measures to ensure that the overseas recipient's processing meets PIPL's protection standard.

Keep a route file that a reviewer can recalculate. Counts are cumulative from 1 January of the current year and separate sensitive from non-sensitive personal information. Reopen the conclusion when data, recipients, purposes, methods, retention, destination law, control, CIIO status, important-data status, or counts change.

  • Flow evidence: source, destination, access method, recipient, onward transfers, processing purpose, data categories, and retention.
  • Classification evidence: personal information, sensitive personal information, important-data notification or published classification, and CIIO status.
  • Count evidence: method, period, deduplication approach, sensitive and non-sensitive totals, and threshold forecast.
  • Decision evidence: exemption or route relied on, PIPIA, Article 39 analysis, recipient safeguards, instrument or filing, approver, and change triggers.
Sources for this answer
PRC Personal Information Protection Law
Articles 38-40, 55, and 56 establish overseas-recipient safeguards, notice and separate consent, route conditions, PIPIA, and three-year record retention.
Provisions on Promoting and Regulating Cross-border Data Flow
Articles 10, 11, and 13 preserve applicable notice, separate-consent, PIPIA, and security duties and make the 2024 provisions controlling over inconsistent older measures.
Put the requirement into practice

Prepare the PIPL and data export evidence file

Assign an export owner and keep the flow, classifications, counts, exemption analysis, selected route, filings, and change triggers together.

Research workflow
Map official sources to evidence

Research Copilot connects the official citation, decision, owner, retained evidence, and change history.

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Talk to Sorena
Review the China route

Check the China Privacy Law scope decision and unresolved launch questions with Sorena.

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Primary sources

References and citations

Measures for Security Assessment of Data Export
cac.gov.cn
Referenced sections
  • Articles 5-14 specify the risk self-assessment, application materials, legal-instrument content, acceptance and review process, review timing, and change triggers, subject to the 2024 provisions.
PRC Personal Information Protection Law
cac.gov.cn
Referenced sections
  • Articles 38-40, 55, and 56 establish overseas-recipient safeguards, notice and separate consent, route conditions, PIPIA, and three-year record retention.
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