The compulsory registration of bicycles in China has been abolished due to cost of administrating the system and the drop in value of the once cherished form of transport.
Buyers can now ride their bikes on the streets without first going to the police.
The new road traffic safety rules were passed in Beijing on Friday.
Similar reforms have been carried out in some other parts of the country, including Sichuan Province and Zhoushan City in Zhejiang Province.
The bicycle is an indispensable form of transport for most Chinese.
China produced 78 million bicycles last year, about one third of the global total.
In 2002, every Chinese urban family owned an average of 1.4 bicycles.
People used to apply for bicycle plates before taking to the street or they stood the chance of being fined.
There was also an annual registration fee to police, who were supposed to take care of the safety of all registered bicycles.
The annual tax was four yuan (48 US cents) for one bicycle in Beijing.
But the registration has always been a hassle for citizens as well as increasing the cost of government because the old registration system did not prevent theft, said Wang Jiayan, deputy director of the Subcommittee of Legislative Affairs of the Beijing Municipal People's Congress, the city's legislature, said.
Cars are fast replacing the image many foreigners have of China where bicycles clog the streets. The bicycle is now becoming a form of physical exercise as much as a form of transport.
China is entering the age of the car and the application for an license plates is becoming more difficult.
There were more than 9 million vehicles registered last year and the figure is climbing by 15 percent each year.
This reform is similar to the abolishment of pre-marriage physical checks and company permits for their employees' marriage, said Wang Yukai, a professor with the National School of Administration.
It also indicates the government was paying closer attention to administration efficiency.