The China 12345 government service hotline is the local, round-the-clock non-emergency number for a question, complaint, suggestion, or request that belongs to a government department or public-service provider. Call an emergency number instead when someone faces immediate danger, and use a specialist channel such as 12315 or 12367 when the issue clearly belongs to market regulation or immigration.［1］

Key Takeaways

12345 is a local government service channel, not an emergency dispatch number.

Start with the city and district, the exact location, a short factual timeline, and the outcome you want.

Ask whether the case will be answered immediately or transferred, then save the case or reference number.

Language support, online channels, routing practice, and response targets differ by city.

Share only the identity and evidence needed for the authority to handle the request.

A submitted case is not a promise that the authority will accept your interpretation or deliver a particular result.

For wider digital and travel preparation, keep the Best VPN for China guide separate from public-service procedures. A VPN can affect network access, but it cannot change jurisdiction, create a government case, or speed up an official response.

Is the China 12345 government service hotline the right channel?

The national framework describes 12345 as a 24-hour local government service hotline and keeps 110, 119, 120, and 122 outside that consolidation because they are emergency services.［1］ The practical question is therefore not simply “Can I call 12345?” but “Which authority owns this problem, and is anybody in immediate danger?”

Situation	Better first channel	Why
Crime, immediate threat, or urgent police help	110	Police emergency dispatch
Fire or rescue emergency	119	Fire and rescue dispatch
Medical emergency	120	Emergency medical response
Traffic accident requiring police response	122	Traffic police dispatch
Local government service, city management, or public-service concern	12345	Non-emergency local routing and follow-up
Consumer dispute or suspected market-regulation violation	12315	Consumer complaint or regulatory report
Immigration and exit-entry policy inquiry	12367	National Immigration Administration service channel

If the situation is urgent, use the China emergency numbers guide and seek nearby human help. Do not delay emergency assistance while trying to create a 12345 case.

12345 can be useful when you do not know which local department handles a matter. Examples may include city facilities, transport administration, public utilities, environmental sanitation, administrative-service questions, or concerns about how a local public service was delivered. The hotline receives and routes the request; the responsible department may still need to investigate and reply.

What should you prepare before calling 12345?

Write a five-line case note before you call. This prevents a language gap or stressful situation from turning the request into a long story without an actionable question.

Jurisdiction: city, district, subdistrict, and the location where the issue occurred.
Event: what happened, when it started, and whether it is still happening.
Owner clue: the department, venue, public-service operator, or earlier case involved, if known.
Evidence: reference numbers, receipts, notices, photos, or correspondence that directly support the issue.
Requested outcome: information, correction, inspection, referral, callback, or another specific action.

Keep your local contact number and a reliable callback method available. If a Chinese app rejects your number, use the separate foreign phone-number troubleshooting guide; do not enter someone else's identity or invent a local number just to submit a government request.

Avoid sending a full passport scan, payment record, medical file, or unrelated chat history unless the responsible authority explains why it is required and provides an official submission route. Begin with the minimum information needed to locate the event and contact you.

How do you call 12345 step by step?

Confirm that nobody needs immediate police, fire, medical, or traffic assistance.
Identify the city and district that own the issue. A visitor staying in one city should not assume another city's portal or language service can process it.
Dial 12345 from a working phone. Follow the current local menu rather than relying on an old screenshot or blog instruction.
State your preferred language. If the local service cannot support it, ask a hotel, employer, venue, or trusted bilingual person to help interpret without giving that person unnecessary account credentials.
Give the location first, then the one-sentence problem, factual timeline, and requested outcome.
Answer identity or contact questions accurately. Ask why sensitive material is needed before sending it.
Ask whether the operator can answer now or whether the matter will be transferred to a responsible department.
Record the date, time, city, summary, receiving department if stated, and case or reference number.
Confirm the callback method and whether you need to submit supporting material through an official local channel.
After the response, compare it with your original request. If a material point was missed, follow up with the reference number and the missing fact rather than opening several duplicate cases.

Beijing's English service page shows a local workflow in which the operator may answer directly or transfer the case, followed by a reply and satisfaction check. It also lists ten supported languages.［3］ Shanghai separately describes a 24-hour service in Chinese and 18 foreign languages.［4］ These examples prove that multilingual local services exist, but they do not establish one nationwide language list.

Can you use a local online 12345 channel instead?

Some cities provide a website, mini program, municipal app, or other official online entry. Use only the channel linked by the current city government, and verify the city before submitting. A search result, social-media account, or copied QR code is not enough proof that a form is official.

An online form can be useful when names, addresses, dates, or supporting documents are difficult to explain by voice. It can also leave a written submission record. However, the local portal may require a supported phone number or identity method, and that requirement does not become optional because the visitor is abroad or uses a foreign device.

Do not submit the same text through several local channels at once unless the authority instructs you to do so. Duplicate cases can be routed to different units and make later follow-up harder.

What happens after a 12345 request is transferred?

12345 is an intake and coordination layer. The department that owns the subject may call back, ask for a clearer location, request a document, explain that another authority has jurisdiction, or provide a final response. The 2025 State Council opinion emphasizes standardized intake, handling, supervision, evaluation, and protection of personal information, while actual local procedures remain controlling.［2］

Keep a simple case log:

Record	What to save	Why
Intake	Date, time, city, short issue summary	Shows what was initially reported
Reference	Case number and stated receiving unit	Lets staff find the same case
Evidence	Only the files actually submitted	Prevents later confusion about the record
Contact	Callback number and time	Helps distinguish an official follow-up
Reply	What was decided and any next route	Supports a focused follow-up or specialist channel

Do not assume that a local response target is a national legal deadline. Shanghai publishes local service aims, for example, but those targets should only be described as Shanghai's current practice and may depend on case complexity.［4］

Troubleshooting and escalation decision tree

Problem	Check first	Next action
Menu or operator is only in Chinese	Confirm the city and current language options	Ask whether interpretation is available or use trusted local help
Foreign number cannot receive a callback	Check country code, roaming, blocking, and voicemail	Offer another lawful contact method and record it in the case
Case was sent to the wrong department	Re-read the stated issue and jurisdiction	Follow up with the case number and explain the routing mismatch
Authority asks for more evidence	Ask which fact the document must prove	Submit the minimum relevant material through the official route
No reference number was provided	Check SMS, call notes, or portal account	Contact the same local channel with date, time, and issue summary
Reply does not address the request	Separate disagreement from a missing fact	Cite the case number and identify the unanswered point precisely
Issue is really a consumer dispute	Confirm the merchant and requested remedy	Use the 12315 consumer complaint guide
Issue is now an emergency	Stop the administrative process	Call the correct emergency number immediately

Escalation should be specific. “Nobody helped” is difficult to route; “case X was transferred to department Y, but the reply did not address the inaccessible entrance at location Z” gives the next operator something verifiable.

Summary

Use 12345 for local, non-emergency government and public-service matters.
Put emergency, consumer-regulation, and immigration issues into their specialist channels.
Prepare the jurisdiction, location, timeline, evidence, and requested outcome.
Save the case number and follow the responsible department's official submission route.
Treat language support and response targets as local services, not nationwide promises.
Share only necessary personal data and follow up with a focused, factual record.

FAQ

Is 12345 an emergency number in China?

No. It is a non-emergency local government service channel. Call 110, 119, 120, or 122 when the principal need is police, fire, medical, or traffic-accident emergency response.

Is 12345 available 24 hours a day?

The national 12345 framework calls for 7×24-hour human service. The department that investigates a transferred case, language support, and callback timing can still follow local arrangements.

Can an international visitor call 12345?

Yes, a visitor can ask the local service to receive an appropriate request. The ability to complete a specific case can depend on jurisdiction, contact details, identity checks, evidence, and the responsible department.

Does every city offer English on 12345?

Do not assume so. Beijing and Shanghai publish multilingual services, but languages and access methods are local. Check the current city-government page or ask the operator.

Can 12345 order a business to refund me?

12345 may route a local government-service concern, but a consumer dispute normally belongs first to the merchant and, where appropriate, the 12315 complaint process. Neither filing guarantees a refund.

What if I do not know the responsible department?

Explain the city, district, exact location, facts, and desired outcome. Routing an unclear local-government request is one of the practical reasons to use 12345.

Should I upload my passport with the first request?

Not automatically. Provide only what the official authority says is necessary to verify identity or facts, and use its official submission route. Redact unrelated information where the authority permits.

Can I create several cases to get a faster reply?

Duplicate cases do not guarantee speed and can complicate routing. Follow up on the original reference unless staff direct you to submit separately.

Why does my 12345 case number show no record when I look it up?

Check that you are searching the official portal of the same city that took the request and that you entered the case number exactly, not a call time or SMS sender code. A new or transferred case may not appear online straight away, so if it still shows nothing, contact the same local 12345 channel with the date, time, and issue summary.

Does a case number mean my request will be resolved in my favor?

No. It proves that a request was recorded or routed. Jurisdiction, facts, law, policy, evidence, and the responsible authority still determine the response.

Disclaimer: This guide provides general information about local government service channels. It is not emergency, legal, immigration, or administrative advice. Current instructions from the local 12345 service and responsible authority control.

Sources

State Council, 2021 guidance on optimizing local government service hotlines — https://app.www.gov.cn/govdata/gov/202101/06/466736/article.html
State Council, 2025 opinion on further standardizing and improving 12345 services — https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/content/202506/content_7029400.htm
Beijing Municipal Government, 12345 Citizen Service Hotline — https://english.beijing.gov.cn/12345hotline/index.html?src=4
Shanghai Municipal Government, 12345 public service hotline — https://english.shanghai.gov.cn/en/20231223/7b8359d283634bd99b4e7a2c5a89314c.html

Sources checked 4 October 2026.

How to Use China’s 12345 Government Service Hotline