The State Administration of Foreign Exchange is a deputy-ministerial-level state administration. The SAFE Head Office consists of eight functional departments (offices) including the General Affairs Department (Policy and Regulation Department), Balance of Payments Department, Current Account Management Department, Capital Account Management Department, Supervision and Inspection Department, Reserve Management Department, Human Resources Department (Internal Auditing Department), Science and Technology Department, and the SAFE CPC Committee. There are also four institutions affiliated with the SAFE, including the SAFE Investment Center, Data Monitoring Center for Foreign Exchange Transactions, General Services Center and Foreign Exchange Research Center.

The SAFE has set up branches (administrative offices) in various provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government, as well as in some cities with sub-provincial status. In addition, the SAFE has established central sub-branches in some prefectural-level cities (cities) and sub-branches in some counties (cities). These branches, central sub-branches, and sub-branches operate on the same premises as the local PBC ones.