How to Create a WeChat Official Account as a Foreign Company: Step by Step

To open a WeChat Official Account as a foreign company, register a service account under your overseas company on the WeChat Official Accounts Platform (mp.weixin.qq.com), then apply for WeChat verification with your registration certificate and signed letters. Verification costs USD 99 per review and takes 7 to 15 working days once your file is complete.

Key takeaways

• Foreign companies register a service account: accounts registered from outside mainland China cannot be subscription accounts.
• Each overseas entity can register one account, and the account works normally only after it passes WeChat verification.
• The company name and registration number must match your registration certificate exactly, because they cannot be changed after the review.
• Verification needs your registration certificate, the contact person’s ID, two signed letters and a phone bill or bank statement.
• Budget USD 99 per review, paid by WeChat Pay or card, and 7 to 15 working days.

Can a foreign company open a WeChat Official Account?

Yes. For years, a company without a Chinese business license had two unsatisfying options: a special request to Tencent, slow and open to few countries, or an account registered through a Chinese company, which then owned it. In 2018, WeChat opened registration to overseas companies, and a foreign company can now register and own its account directly.

Today, the WeChat Official Accounts Platform accepts service account registrations from mainland China and from a number of countries and regions listed in its registration form. If your country is missing, Tencent advises watching for new registration regions. Three rules shape the procedure (Tencent’s overseas registration guide):

• Registrations from outside mainland China only support company service accounts: an overseas company cannot open a subscription account.
• Each overseas entity can register one account.
• The account can only be used normally after it passes WeChat verification.

If you are still deciding what the account should do, start with our guide to WeChat Official Accounts for overseas businesses. If your company also has a Chinese entity, our WeChat subscription vs service account comparison helps you pick the type. You can also hand the whole procedure to a WeChat agency in Shanghai that prepares the file and follows the review for you.

What do you need before you start?

Gather these items before opening the registration page. They come from Tencent’s registration form and its list of verification documents (documents for overseas verification):

• A login email that is not linked to a personal WeChat account, or to any account on the WeChat Official Accounts Platform or the WeChat Open Platform.
• Your company registration certificate or business license: a photo or scan of the original, or a scanned copy bearing the company seal.
• An administrator: full name, ID card, passport or driver’s license number, and a mobile number that receives a code by SMS. One mobile number can register at most five accounts.
• A contact person’s ID: color scans of both sides.
• An application letter and an operation authorization letter, downloaded from the platform in Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese or English.
• A phone bill of the contact person, or, if you cannot provide one, a statement of the company’s office line with the company seal, or a bank statement.
• Trademark papers if the account name uses a trademark: the trademark registration certificate or a trademark authorization.
• A payment method for the verification fee: WeChat Pay or a card.

Step 1: register the service account

The screenshots date from 2019. The layout has changed since, but the steps below follow Tencent’s current registration guide.

1. Open the platform. Go to the WeChat Official Accounts Platform and click Register now (立即注册) at the top right.

   

2. Choose the account type. Select Service Account (服务号), the only type open to overseas registrations.

   

3. Enter the basic information. Type the login email and activate it with the six-digit code sent to that address. Set a case-sensitive password of at least eight characters, then choose your company’s place of registration in the list. For places outside mainland China, the form reminds you that only company service accounts are available.

   

   

   

4. Register the company and its administrator. Choose the company type, then enter the company name and registration number exactly as they appear on your registration certificate: neither can be changed once the review succeeds. Add the administrator’s name, mobile number, SMS code and ID number.

   

5. Describe the account. Enter the account name, from 4 to 30 characters, where a Chinese character counts as two, and a short introduction to the account’s services. The name does not have to match the company name, but it cannot repeat another account’s name (naming rules).

   

Step 2: complete WeChat verification

Registration creates the account, but the account only becomes usable once WeChat verification succeeds (overseas verification FAQ).

1. Start the application from the WeChat verification page of the platform settings.
2. Fill in and sign the letters. In the application letter and the operation authorization letter, write the entity name exactly as it appears on your company document, including capitalization and language. Sign legibly and affix the company seal.
3. Upload the documents listed above, as clear scans.
4. Pay the review fee: USD 99, by WeChat Pay or by card (American Express, China UnionPay, Diners Club, Discover, JCB, MasterCard or Visa). The fee is charged for each application and is not refunded if the review fails.
5. Follow the review. A third-party review company, assigned at random after payment, reviews the file within 7 to 15 working days. Track the progress under Settings, WeChat Verification, or call the review company named in the platform notice.
6. Start using the account once the review succeeds. The e-invoice for the fee is issued within 3 to 5 working days after approval.

How much does it cost and how long does it take?

Stage	Cost	Time
WeChat verification review	USD 99 per application, not refunded if rejected	7 to 15 working days after payment and a complete file
E-invoice for the fee	Included	3 to 5 working days after approval
Annual review	Required every year to keep the verified status	Before the verification expires

If the annual review lapses or fails, the account loses its verified mark, and a service account loses payments and other advanced interfaces.

How to avoid a delayed or rejected application

Check these points from Tencent’s rules before you pay:

• The company name and registration number are identical to your registration certificate.
• The letters show the entity name exactly as on the certificate, including capitalization and language, with a legible signature and the company seal.
• The account name does not infringe a registered trademark and does not repeat the name of an account verified before yours.
• If the name uses a trademark, the trademark registration certificate or authorization is in the file.
• The login email has never been used for another WeChat account.
• Every new application is charged again, so a complete file on the first try saves both time and fees.

What can you do once the account is verified?

A verified service account can publish articles and send a group notification to all its followers four times a month, reply to followers within 48 hours of their messages, and offer services through its menu. Our guide on how to manage a WeChat Official Account covers the daily routine, and our tips to gain followers on your WeChat Official Account help you build the audience.

A verified overseas service account can also register and verify up to five Mini Programs a month by reusing its verification, without paying the USD 99 fee again (Mini Program quick registration). WeChat Mini Programs work like apps without a download, and our comparison of WeChat web apps and Mini Programs explains which one fits your project. Both are useful tools among the strategies to attract Chinese buyers.

What should you do next?

Check that your country or region appears in the registration list, prepare the documents above and choose your administrator. Then register the service account and apply for verification right away: until the review succeeds, the account cannot be used normally.

QPSoftware is a WeChat development agency in Shanghai. We can prepare your file, follow the review and build what comes next, from menus to WeChat Mini Program development.

Frequently Asked Questions