When a foreign buyer sends me a Chinese business licence, I do not begin by translating every line. I first copy two things exactly as they appear: the company's full Chinese legal name and its Unified Social Credit Code. Those are the identity anchors. Without them, the English name used on a website, Alibaba store or email signature may point to the wrong company.
I then compare the document with the current government record. A licence can be genuine but out of date. It can also belong to a real company that is not the company named in the contract or receiving the buyer's money. The practical question is therefore not simply, “Is this document real?” It is, “Does this registered entity occupy the role the supplier says it does in my transaction?”
Start with the Chinese legal name and social credit code
The field marked 名称 is the registered name. Copy the whole Chinese name, including the company-type suffix. Do not replace it with the supplier's preferred English translation. Mainland companies often use an English trading name without registering that wording as their legal name, and two related companies may use almost identical English names.
The Unified Social Credit Code (统一社会信用代码) is an 18-character identifier. It can contain numbers and capital letters, so I avoid calling it an “18-digit number”. The national coding system is designed so that one code identifies one subject and remains available for historical tracing after that subject is deregistered. A code that merely looks plausible is not enough; it must return the same Chinese legal name in the official registry.
Search the exact name or code in the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System. The site may require a Chinese-language CAPTCHA. I record the date of the search and preserve the result used for the review. If the licence image is cropped, blurred or missing either identity anchor, I ask for a clearer current copy rather than guessing at a character.
Read the remaining fields without asking them to prove too much
The other fields are useful, but each has a limit. I read them as prompts for the next question, not as isolated pass-or-fail tests.
Entity type and establishment date类型 · 成立日期
The entity type tells me whether I am looking at a company, branch, partnership or another registered form. A branch, for example, is not the same legal structure as a limited liability company. The establishment date helps test claims about trading history, but an old registration date does not prove that the current sales team, factory or product line has operated for the same period.
Legal representative法定代表人
This is the person registered to represent the legal person. It is not an ownership field, and it does not mean that only this person can make a binding contract. Chinese law also recognises acts performed by personnel within their duties, authorised agents and, in appropriate cases, apparent authority or later ratification. If somebody else signs a material order, I check that person's position, the company chop, written authority where appropriate and the surrounding transaction documents.
Registered capital注册资本
The figure is registered capital, not a bank balance and not a valuation of assets available to satisfy a claim. Under the Company Law now in force, newly formed limited liability companies generally have a five-year contribution period, while transitional rules apply to earlier companies. The practical review therefore looks beyond the number printed on the licence: contribution information, company history, operating evidence and known enforcement risk may all matter. A large figure should not be treated as security for the order.
Registered domicile住所
This is the registered address, not automatically the factory. A supplier may have its registered office, sales office, warehouse and production site in different places. That difference is not inherently suspicious. It should, however, be explained and supported when the supplier claims that a particular facility belongs to the contracting company.
Business scope经营范围
The scope can help test whether the company's registered activities are broadly consistent with the transaction and whether a separately licensed activity may be involved. It is not a product-quality certificate, a factory audit or a complete answer to export capability. Article 505 of the Civil Code also provides that a contract is not invalid merely because it exceeds a party's business scope.
The licence ends where due diligence begins
Registration status, abnormal-operation records, annual reports, shareholder information, changes of name or representative, administrative penalties and other current disclosures are not all established by the face of the licence. They require a registry search. This distinction matters because a supplier may send an older but once-valid document after its address, legal representative, name or status has changed.
Nor does a registry match prove commercial reliability. A real and active company may still have repeated delivery disputes, weak finances, no meaningful role in manufacturing your product, or a payment request involving another entity. Conversely, one modest capital figure, one address change or one lawsuit does not automatically make the supplier unsafe. The records need context and the depth of review should be proportionate to the order.
A business licence also does not verify the company's bank account. Banks perform their own account-opening checks, but the public company registry does not display the beneficiary account a supplier sends to a buyer. That is why I compare the beneficiary name and payment instructions separately, especially where the money is directed to an individual, export agent, unrelated company or Hong Kong collection company.
Match the registered entity to the deal before payment
Once I understand the licence, I put it beside the transaction documents. The aim is not to force every name in the supply chain to be identical. Trading companies, factories, export agents and payment affiliates can perform different roles. The aim is to know who each entity is, why it appears and which company is legally responsible if the order fails.
The last point deserves care. China removed the separate filing requirement for foreign-trade operators at the end of 2022. Companies handling import or export declarations still need the relevant Customs filing, and particular products may involve additional licences or inspection requirements. A manufacturer may also export through an agent. I would therefore treat “import and export” wording in the business scope as one piece of context, not as a decisive licence to export and not as a rule for contract validity.
If the documents do not line up, I ask for an explanation before payment. A mismatch does not automatically prove fraud. An unexplained mismatch is the point at which the buyer should stop relying on the licence image and clarify the legal structure while commercial leverage still exists.
Documents I would put beside the licence
Not every order needs the same depth of review. These are the materials that usually reveal whether the registered entity and the transaction fit together.
Questions buyers usually ask
Can I verify a Chinese business license online?
Yes. Search the exact Chinese company name or 18-character Unified Social Credit Code in GSXT and compare the current record with the document supplied to you. The match confirms registered identity information. It does not confirm product quality, solvency or future performance.
Does the legal representative have to sign the supply contract?
Not necessarily. The answer can depend on the signatory's duties, actual authority, apparent authority, later ratification, use of the company chop and the surrounding evidence. For a material order, checking the signatory and obtaining clear written authority where appropriate is still sensible risk control.
Does missing import-export wording mean the supplier cannot export?
No. That conclusion cannot be drawn from the business-scope field alone. Check the company's actual export role, Customs filing where relevant, product-specific requirements and any export-agent arrangement.
Official Sources
The links below support the registration, identity, authority, capital and export points discussed above. The official registry may use access controls or a CAPTCHA.
- State Council - Regulation on the Administration of Registration of Market Entities
- National Development and Reform Commission - 18-character Unified Social Credit Code
- National Bureau of Statistics - Civil Code of the People's Republic of China
- Shandong Courts - Company Law of the People's Republic of China (2023 Revision)
- Chinese Government Website - Removal of foreign-trade-operator filing
- General Administration of Customs - Consignee and consignor filing service guide
- National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System - official registry search
A licence review is useful because it turns a supplier's marketing identity into a legal identity that can be checked. It remains only one layer. Before a significant payment, the licence, live registry record, contract party, chop, signatory, factory role and beneficiary should tell one coherent story.