How to Verify a Chinese Business License

What information appears on a Chinese business licence

A standard company licence identifies the registered market entity. The layout can vary by issue date and entity type, but buyers normally need to capture the following fields.

Chinese legal company name

The Chinese legal name is the most useful identity key. Ask the supplier to type it in Chinese rather than relying on an English translation. Compare every character with the licence and official record. The sales brand, Alibaba store name and English email signature may be different.

Use the legal name when checking the PI issuer, contract party, company stamp and receiving account. A mismatch can have a legitimate explanation, but the supplier should identify which entity is responsible for the sale and why another entity appears.

Unified Social Credit Code

The Unified Social Credit Code is an 18-character identifier used for registered legal entities and other organizations. The State Administration for Market Regulation explains that the code is carried on the business licence and is intended to map one code to one registered entity.

Search both the code and Chinese legal name. If the code belongs to another company, is incomplete, or cannot be reconciled with the supplier's documents, stop and ask for a clear copy. A failed search can also result from typing, image quality, system access or a recent registration change, so investigate before drawing a conclusion.

Registered address

The registered address is the official address in the company record. It may be an office, shared registration address or administrative location rather than a production site. Compare province, city and district with the supplier's explanation and logistics documents.

If the supplier claims a factory in another city, ask for the full production address, the legal relationship between the locations and evidence connected to your product. Different addresses are not automatically wrong, but an unexplained difference matters when deciding whether to audit or visit.

Legal representative

The legal representative is a registered company role, not necessarily the salesperson or factory manager. Record the name and compare it with official company information. Do not expect every quotation to be signed personally by that individual.

The useful check is consistency: the supplier should be able to explain who is authorized to sign or stamp the order documents. A salesperson's identity alone does not replace verification of the contracting company.

Company type

The company type describes the registered entity form and can help you understand whether you are dealing with a limited company, branch or another market-entity type. It does not by itself distinguish a capable factory from a trading company.

Use company type as one record in a wider identity review. Manufacturing claims still require relevant business scope, a credible production address, process evidence and, where justified, an independent audit.

Business scope

Business scope lists activities registered for the company. The official SAMR rules describe it as the business activities an enterprise registers. Look for activities relevant to the quoted product, manufacturing, processing, sales or import-export work.

Do not use one translated word as decisive proof. A company may combine manufacturing and trading activities, production may sit in an affiliate, and registered wording can be broad. Ask which processes are performed in-house and compare that answer with the factory versus trading company guide.

Registration status

Confirm whether the entity is shown as active rather than cancelled or revoked. Review displayed abnormal-operation or serious-illegality information when available, and record the date of your check because company status can change.

Do not translate a status label from memory. Save a screenshot, use a reliable translation method and seek qualified local help for a high-value decision. A currently active status still does not guarantee performance.

How to use the official Chinese company-information system

Open the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System. Search the exact Chinese legal name or Unified Social Credit Code. Complete any verification prompt, choose the matching province or entity and compare the displayed record with the licence.

1. Search the code first, then repeat with the full Chinese legal name.
2. Match the name, code, legal representative, address, company type and status.
3. Review business scope and displayed public notices relevant to the entity.
4. Save dated screenshots and note any translation uncertainty.
5. Ask the supplier to explain differences in writing before payment.

The system is Chinese-language and may use access controls. A commercial company report or local adviser can help interpret records, but the official record should remain the reference point.

Why the English supplier name may not match the legal name

Chinese companies often use an English trade name that is not a literal or registered English version of the Chinese legal name. A store may also use a brand name, abbreviated name or export affiliate. Therefore, spelling differences alone do not resolve identity.

Ask the supplier to map the English name to the Chinese entity in writing. Then compare the Chinese legal name with the company stamp, PI, contract and payment beneficiary. Use the bank-account mismatch guide when the receiving entity is different.

Business licence address vs factory address

A valid licence at an office address does not prove the company owns the factory shown in photos. Ask for the production address, whether the premises are owned or leased, and which legal entity employs the production staff and controls the equipment.

For a material order, use a continuous video call, product-specific production evidence or an independent factory audit. The goal is not to reject every multi-entity structure; it is to understand who controls manufacturing and who accepts responsibility.

What a valid licence does not prove

A registration match is an identity check, not a supplier approval. It does not prove manufacturing capability, product quality, financial stability, export experience, ownership of a factory or safety of a transaction.

• A real company can outsource all production.
• A registered factory can make a product badly or miss a deadline.
• Business scope does not demonstrate available equipment or current capacity.
• An active company can still provide an unrelated or changed bank account.
• A licence does not confirm destination-market product compliance.

Continue with samples, specifications, payment checks and inspection. The supplier verification pillar guide explains the full workflow.

Common red flags

• The supplier refuses to provide the full Chinese legal name.
• The code resolves to a different entity or province without explanation.
• The licence image is cropped where the name, code or status should appear.
• The official record shows a non-active status.
• The quoted product is unrelated to the business scope and the supplier cannot explain its role.
• The PI, contract, stamp and beneficiary use several unrelated company names.
• The factory address changes when an audit or pickup is proposed.
• The contact pressures payment before basic identity questions are answered.

A red flag means verify before sourcing; it is not automatic proof of fraud.

Copy-ready verification checklist

Use this field-by-field list before a deposit or before spending money on samples, tooling or an audit. Record both confirmed information and unresolved differences.