China: New GB 44721-2026 Automated Driving Safety Standard for L3/L4 Vehicles

China Issues Mandatory GB 44721-2026 Safety Standard for Automated Driving Systems in Intelligent Connected Vehicles

Regulatory Background

On August 4, 2026, China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) published the national standard "Safety Requirements for Automated Driving Systems of Intelligent Connected Vehicles" (GB 44721—2026). MIIT also released a visual explainer summarizing the new requirements for industry stakeholders.

The standard was formally approved on July 30, 2026, by the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) and the Standardization Administration of China (SAC), following a public comment period that began in February 2026 and a further draft review in June 2026. It supersedes the previous voluntary standard, GB/T 44721-2024, converting a recommended framework into a binding legal requirement.

This is China's first mandatory national standard developed specifically for Level 3 (L3) and Level 4 (L4) automated driving systems, and it arrives as the country's driver-assistance and autonomous-driving market matures rapidly: two L3 models received conditional access permits in December 2025, and combined driver-assistance penetration in new passenger vehicles has already surpassed 70%.

Scope of China's Automated Driving Safety Standard

GB 44721-2026 applies to:

• Class M vehicles (passenger carrying) and Class N vehicles (goods carrying)

• Equipped with Level 3 (conditional automated driving) or Level 4 (highly automated driving) systems

  
  

Automated parking systems are explicitly excluded from scope.

The Four Pillars of the New Requirements

MIIT has structured the China automated driving safety standard around four core areas:

1. Lifecycle Safety Assurance

Manufacturers must build safety capability across four dimensions safety policy, risk management, safety assurance, and continuous improvement spanning design, manufacturing, and post-deployment use. Simulation, closed-course, and public-road testing must be conducted during development, with resources and conditions verified as adequate.

2. Dynamic Driving Task Performance

An automated driving system's safety performance must be at least equivalent to that of a qualified, attentive human driver, without creating unreasonable risk to occupants or other road users. The standard defines safety requirements across driving scenarios and specifies when and how a minimum risk strategy (safe-stop or fallback maneuver) must trigger.

3. Human-Machine Interaction and User Notification

Activation and deactivation of the automated driving function must be safe, with standardized status signals for "ready," "activated," and "deactivated" states. L3 systems must additionally include driver takeover capability monitoring. Manufacturers must communicate automation level, functional boundaries, and control strategy through the vehicle's manual, in-vehicle display, and official website.

4. Testing and Inspection Framework

A three-part verification system combines enterprise safety-capability assessment, safety documentation (dossier) review, and confirmatory testing. Confirmatory testing draws on related recommended standards GB/T 41798, GB/T 44719, and GB/T 47025, using simulation, closed-course, and road testing to validate system performance.

Alignment with the UN Global Technical Regulation (ADS GTR)

GB 44721-2026 follows the UN Global Technical Regulation on Automated Driving Systems, which China helped shape and which was formally approved in June 2026. MIIT has stated that the Chinese standard sets more detailed technical requirements for L3/L4 systems than the international framework, sharpens safety boundaries, strengthens user-information obligations, and introduces a unified, standardized test-scenario system while remaining consistent with the ADS GTR's core technical principles.

Certification Impact Summary

Certification Element	Current State (Pre-2027)	Under GB 44721-2026 (From July 1, 2027)
Legal status	Ad hoc conditional access permits for individual L3/L4 models	Uniform, codified mandatory national standard
Safety dossier	Not standardized across applicants	Formal, standardized safety documentation required
Testing regime	Varies by permit/pilot program	Three-part system: capability assessment + dossier review + confirmatory testing
Human-machine interface rules	Manufacturer-specific	Standardized status signals; mandatory takeover monitoring for L3
Scope of applicability	Limited to pilot/conditional permit holders	All M/N-class vehicles with L3/L4 systems entering the Chinese market
Reference test standards	Not uniformly specified	GB/T 41798, GB/T 44719, GB/T 47025

What This Means for Manufacturers

• Market access shifts from case-by-case to standardized. OEMs currently relying on conditional access permits should expect the pilot-based approach to be phased out in favor of standard-based national certification.

• Safety documentation becomes a core deliverable. A formal, auditable safety dossier covering design, manufacturing, and in-service phases will be required, not optional supporting material.

• Testing budgets and timelines need to expand. The three-part testing framework (capability assessment, dossier review, confirmatory testing under GB/T 41798, GB/T 44719, and GB/T 47025) adds process steps beyond current pilot testing.

• User-facing materials require legal review. Manuals, in-vehicle displays, and official websites must consistently and accurately describe automation level, functional limits, and control strategy creating a compliance touchpoint for marketing and UX teams, not just engineering.

• L3 programs need takeover-monitoring hardware/software validated early. Driver takeover capability monitoring is a explicit, testable requirement, not a design recommendation.

• Global OEMs should map GB 44721-2026 against the UN ADS GTR now. Since the Chinese standard is stricter in places while remaining GTR-consistent, manufacturers already engineering to the UN framework have a head start but should not assume automatic equivalence.

  
  

Timeline and Required Actions

Date	Milestone	Recommended Manufacturer Action
Feb 12 – Apr 13, 2026	First public comment period on draft standard	(Closed) — reference for understanding regulatory intent
Jun 16 – Jun 24, 2026	Second draft published for comment	(Closed) — reference for final technical changes
Jul 30, 2026	Standard approved by SAMR and SAC	Confirm applicability to current/planned China L3–L4 programs
Aug 4, 2026	Official publication by MIIT	Begin gap analysis against existing safety dossiers and test data
Now – Jun 2027	Transition window	Build/update lifecycle safety management system; align HMI and user documentation; schedule confirmatory testing capacity with accredited labs
Jul 1, 2027	GB 44721-2026 takes effect	Full compliance required for all in-scope M/N-class L3/L4 vehicles marketed in China

Conclusion

GB 44721-2026 marks a turning point for China's autonomous vehicle industry, replacing an ad hoc, permit-by-permit approach with a unified, mandatory national standard for L3 and L4 automated driving systems. With just under a year remaining before the July 1, 2027 effective date, manufacturers, Tier 1 suppliers, and testing organizations targeting the Chinese market should treat the transition period as a compliance runway not a grace period and begin aligning safety management systems, testing programs, and user communications accordingly.