Sourcing Tips
How to Check a Chinese Company’s Business License (Before You Send a Deposit)
Most buyers don’t get scammed by obvious fraudsters — they get scammed by companies that look real. That’s why learning how to check a Chinese company’s business license is the first step we run for every new buyer.
A license is the cheapest proof a company can show you — and the easiest one to fake.
We’ve watched buyers wire 30% deposits to suppliers who turned out to be three people in a rented office.
One “8-year Gold Supplier” we checked was a trading company with no factory at all.
The license looked perfect. The story behind it didn’t.
The good news: checking a Chinese company’s business license takes about ten minutes, costs nothing, and most of it is free and public.
Here’s exactly how we do it, step by step.
Why You Must Check a Chinese Company's business license Before You Pay
Step 1: Look at the license itself first
When a supplier sends you their business license (营业执照), don’t just save the file. Read it. Four things matter:
Company name (公司名称): make sure the name matches the company you’re dealing with — not a similar one with one extra word.
Unified Social Credit Code (统一社会信用代码): 18 characters. This is the company’s national ID number. Write it down; you’ll need it for every check below.
legal representative (法定代表人): the person whose name appears here is legally responsible. Note it.
business scope (经营范围): this tells you what the company is actually allowed to sell. A “trading company” license with “import and export” is fine — but if the scope says nothing about manufacturing, they’re not a factory, whatever their salesperson says.
Also check the registration date. A brand-new license is not a crime, but a company registered three months ago that claims 10 years of factory experience is already lying to you.
Step 2: Run the free official check
Go to the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System (国家企业信用信息公示系统) at gsxt.gov.cn.
This is the official government database, run by SAMR (the State Administration for Market Regulation).
Enter the company name or the Unified Social Credit Code. You’ll get:
registration status (registered, canceled, or revoked)
registered capital and paid-in details
the legal representative’s name
business scope
annual reports
administrative penalties, if any
If the system shows “canceled” or “revoked” — walk away.
If the annual reports stop years ago, ask why.
the site can be slow from overseas. Be patient, or ask the supplier to send you a screenshot of the system page showing their company — a real supplier can do this in five minutes.
Step 3: Cross-check with Qichacha or Tianyancha
The official system tells you the company exists. It doesn’t tell you the whole story.
This is where Qichacha (企查查) and Tianyancha (天眼查) come in — they’re private data platforms that compile court records, shareholder history, and related companies.
Type the company name in and look for:
Shareholder history: has the legal representative changed often? Companies that change owners every year are often avoiding responsibility.
Related companies: the same boss may have registered several companies — including a closed one. A “serial re-registrar” is a red flag: when one company goes bankrupt, they close it and open the same business under a new name.
Court records and litigation: any unpaid debts, contract disputes, or enforcement actions against the company.
You don’t need a paid account for the basics. The free version shows the core risk signals.
Step 4: Check the blacklist
Finally, search the China Enforcement Information Publicity Network (中国执行信息公开网) at zxgk.court.gov.cn.
This is the official list of people and companies the courts have ordered to pay and who haven’t.
Type in the company name — and also the legal representative’s name.
If either shows up as a “person subject to enforcement” (失信被执行人), the company is in serious financial trouble. do not send money.
Step 5: Ask for an English copy — and a real conversation
Chinese licenses are in Chinese. If you can’t read it, ask the supplier for a notarized English translation — or send it to us and we’ll translate it for free as part of your inquiry.
Then do the test that no document can pass: talk to them.
Ask for the factory address, then ask again in a different way. real factories answer the same question consistently. fakes trip over their own story.
The mistakes we see buyers make
Believing the license alone. It proves registration, not capability.
Skipping the shareholder check. The company is fine; the boss has a history.
Trusting a brand-new license with a 10-year story.
Falling for “Gold Supplier” badges on platforms. That badge means they paid for advertising, not that they’re verified.
The bottom line
Check the license. Then check the company behind it. Then check the people behind the company.
ten minutes of free checking has saved buyers from losing 30% deposits more times than we can count.
If you’re not sure what you’re looking at, send us the license — company name, registration number, and the logo — and we’ll verify it for you, free.
We check licenses, factories, and legal records for buyers in the Pearl River Delta every day. That’s our job.
2 回复