How to Get a Business License in China and What It Shows

A China business license (营业执照) is the certificate a company receives when a local registration authority, under the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), registers it. It shows the company’s unified social credit code, name, type, legal representative, business scope and registered capital. You get one by registering the company, online or on site.

Key takeaways

• Since October 1, 2016, a single business license carrying a unified social credit code has replaced five certificates: business license, organization code, tax registration, social insurance registration and statistical registration.
• Registration follows the Regulations on the Administration of Market Entity Registration, in force since March 1, 2022: a complete application is registered on the spot, or within three working days.
• The electronic business license has the same legal effect as the paper one.
• Foreign investors usually hold theirs through a company registered in China, such as a wholly foreign-owned enterprise (WFOE) or a joint venture.
• With a business license, a company can file for an ICP in its own name and host its website in mainland China.

Doing business in China has never been easy for foreign companies. The country has a long history of complicated and ever-changing bureaucracy, which makes it challenging for foreign entrepreneurs to obtain a business license in China.

Over the past decade, the Chinese government has introduced new regulations to make China a more business-friendly environment and attract foreign investors. The reform did not always move at the expected speed, but 2018, when this article was first written, saw significant changes that confirmed the government’s determination to continue it.

For instance, several unnecessary licenses and certificates were cut or merged into a single document, first known as the “five-in-one” business license. As we will explain, obtaining a business license in China is still not as easy as in many Western countries, but it is easier and faster than before.

All that comes as good news for foreign businesses who want to enter the Chinese market. Despite the ups and downs of the local economy, China remains one of the most appealing and rewarding markets. The first version of this article quoted a market report that put e-commerce at 23.8% of China’s retail sales in 2017, with a forecast of 33.6% for 2019. Online sales have kept growing since: in the first eight months of 2026, China’s online retail sales of goods and services reached 13,476.6 billion yuan, up 4.6% year on year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

Retail e-commerce sales from 2014 to 2019, as published in the first version of this article.

Therefore, a simplified process to obtain a business license creates new opportunities to operate in the local market.

Even though a business license is not always necessary to operate in China, as our guide on whether you need a company in China to sell online explains, having one is highly recommended if you want to be successful in this market. A business license gives your company access to essential benefits that let you operate fully in China.

Let’s consider, therefore, what is required to obtain a Chinese business license and what benefits come with it.

What Did the Five-in-One Business License Change?

Since October 1, 2016, under a State Council notice on the “five certificates in one, one license, one code” reform, registration authorities issue a single business license that carries a unified social credit code. As the name five-in-one suggests, this license replaced five different certificates:

• The Business License: This document includes key details about the company, including the name of the organization, registration number, legal representative, registered capital, and so on. An additional important feature is that this license is necessary to open a bank account in China.
• The Business Tax Registration Certificate: This document contains the company’s tax number, taxpayer name, and indicates the scope of the business.
• The Organization Code Certificate: This certificate demonstrates the legality and legitimacy of the business in front of customers or clients. The government uses this same document when creating a digital database of all the companies registered in the country.
• The Social Security Registration Certificate: It is mandatory for employers to register and contribute to the social security system. The document certifies that the company is compliant with this requirement.
• The Statistical Registration Certificate: This document was issued for statistical purposes, even though some regions like Shanghai and Guangzhou had stopped using it.

The introduction of the five-in-one license simplified the process of obtaining a business license in China in several ways.

In the past, companies had to start this process by applying first for a business license with the local Administration for Industry and Commerce. After obtaining the business license, the company had to apply for all the other certificates individually. A different office released each additional certificate, and it would take many days, or weeks, to be released. This made the entire process very lengthy and time-consuming.

How to Get a Business License in China Today

Registration is now governed by the Regulations on the Administration of Market Entity Registration (State Council Order No. 746), in force since March 1, 2022. The State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) is in charge nationally, and the market regulation departments of local governments, from county level up, register the companies of their area. The regulations call for applications that can be handled online, close to the applicant, or away from the company’s home region.

1. Choose the company type and name. The applicant declares the name, and a company can register only one name (Article 10).
2. Define the items to register: entity type, business scope, address, registered capital, legal representative and, depending on the company type, its shareholders or investors (Article 8).
3. Prepare the application: the application form, the applicant’s qualification and identity documents, documents on the company’s address, the articles of association, and any other material the market regulator requires (Article 16).
4. Apply online or at the registration office. A complete application in due form is registered on the spot. When that is not possible, registration takes place within three working days, and complex cases can be extended by three more working days. For an incomplete file, the authority lists all the missing documents at once (Article 19).
5. Receive the business license. It comes as an original and a duplicate, and the electronic business license has the same legal effect as the paper one (Articles 21 and 22). You can then open the company’s bank account.

These reforms have made the procedure much shorter. However, this does not mean that the process has become entirely easy for foreign businesses.

The local bureaucracy remains complex, and the language barrier can make the whole process discouraging. It is advisable to work with a local consultant who knows the process and can handle the steps on your behalf. This makes it easier and faster to obtain your business license and become fully operational.

What Are the Benefits of a Business License in China?

Once your company holds a business license in China, it can operate locally within its registered business scope. For instance, if you run an e-commerce website that targets the Chinese market, or a company website, a business license gives you much more freedom for your marketing activities.

The Chinese business license lets your company apply for an ICP filing in its own name, the registration that any website hosted in mainland China needs; a Commercial ICP License is only required for some paid online services. Without an ICP number, your website cannot be hosted in China, and once your license is issued, our team can help you make your website work in China.

Therefore, if China is an important market for you, a business license is necessary. Other solutions, such as targeting the Chinese market from abroad, or using a cross-border platform, may bring results, but they will be limited. For example, websites hosted outside mainland China often load slowly for users in China. This results in a poorer user experience and can reduce your potential revenues.

Another factor to consider is WeChat. A business license is part of the documents for a WeChat Official Account: a Chinese company uses its Chinese license, while an overseas company can register a service account with its own registration documents, as explained in our guide to setting up a WeChat Official Account for overseas businesses. WeChat is a necessity when marketing your products and services in China. You can use this platform to reach out to your audience, create promotions and reward programs, build customer relationships, and more. Chinese users rely on WeChat even to finalize their purchases online. Every trusted business in China is expected to have a WeChat Official Account.

What Information Does a Chinese Business License Show?

This is the standard license needed to carry out your business activities in China. In this document, you will find the following information, which places your company within the Chinese commercial framework.

1. Unified Social Credit Code

This is the company’s central identification number, used, for instance, in tax and credit searches. Since the five-in-one reform, this single code has taken the place of the separate numbers of the former certificates.

2. Business License Number

This number identifies the license document itself rather than the company.

3. Company Name

(Custom Name + Name of Business Field + Company Type)

a) Custom Name

This name is written in Chinese characters and must fulfill a range of criteria, as stipulated by Chinese authorities. It must not mislead, nor indicate the name of political or military organizations.

b) Name of Business Field

This contains a term relevant to your business activities. This will be featured in your company name, for identification purposes.

c) Company Type Suffix

The company type must feature at the end of the company name.

4. Company Type

Company types can range from:

1. Limited Liability Company (invested by individuals)
2. Limited Liability Company (invested by foreign invested company)
3. Limited Liability Company (invested by foreign investor)
4. Limited Liability Company (invested by Hong Kong/Taiwan Macau investors)
5. Individual invested company
6. Joint Stock Limited Company
7. Limited Liability Company (invested by companies)

The structures open to foreign investors are compared in our guide to the types of companies in China.

5. Legal Representative

This denotes the person who represents the company within the legal environment. This individual enjoys power of attorney and can act as legal proxy in company matters. This representation extends into all aspects of the legal environment, as illegal activities carried out by the company can make the individual liable for the same infractions.

6. Business Scope

The section outlines the business’s intended activity. Depending on the nature of the company, this section can be extensive, as it must outline details of every business operation conducted by the enterprise.

7. Registered Capital

This section states the amount of capital that the investors commit to the company.

8. Founding Date

The segment provides the date of the establishment of the formal legal entity.

9. Operating Period

This is the intended period under which the company will carry out its activities. Customarily, this amounts to 30 years. When the time elapses, and without renewal, the enterprise legally dissolves.

10. Registration Address

This is the company’s registered address, or domicile, one of the items recorded at registration.

What Should You Do Next?

Although China is a market with plenty of opportunities, it can still be challenging to enter it successfully. The best solution for foreign businesses is to ask for the support of local experts. This will speed up the process of obtaining a business license, and it is a necessary step in understanding how to approach Chinese customers.

QPSoftware, a digital agency founded in 2009, set up its own WFOE in Shanghai in 2010 and has since designed and developed web solutions specifically tailored for local customers. Thanks to our knowledge of local culture and habits, we can advise you on how to create a product that meets local expectations. Once your business license is issued, our ICP license and China hosting consulting can take your website through the ICP filing and onto servers in China.

Frequently Asked Questions