How to Check Chinese Company Registration Number(2024 Updated)

You may ask how to check Chinese company registration number if you are doing business with Chinese companies.

There are multitudes of Chinese companies operating online all vying for your attention. You, however, want to make sure that by the time you settle on a few they are all legal. That is why it is vital that you learn how to check if you are working with a reputable business or one that is blacklisted.

Before we get into how to check Chinese company registration number, we first ought to highlight what that is. Every company in China is required by law to be officially registered. The result is a business license that has a unique registration number/ business license numbers. Lack of this document is an indication they are operating illegally.

The number gets logged as government records under authorities in charge of business registration (AIC -Administration for Industry and Commerce) in a given province. These records are made public online via the website. That makes it incredibly easy to see if a Chinese company has a business license and look up the registration number. When doing this, you are doing so to check if what the company you are in talks with checks out. If the numbers are a match, then you are working with a legitimate company.

That sounds straightforward, but that’s far from the reality as you have to have some knowledge of how the system works and the language. We are here to help you learn how to check Chinese company registration number the easy way.

Why should we check the Chinese company registration number?

The online world comes with the good and the bad, and the last thing you would wish for yourself and others is to get scammed. That is why you should insist on checking a Chinese company registration number. In essence, this practice is to verify if the company is real or not. Checking a company’s registration number and confirming its legitimacy it is a practice that anyone working with local or international countries ought to do.

Apart from scams, some companies continue to operate despite their licenses being revoked. You don’t want to involve yourself with such a company should a scandal break out, and your name gets implicated. Businesses ought to ensure that they are doing business legally.

The other advantage of working with a registered Chinese company is you are sure that you can take legal action should they not keep their end of the contract, something unlikely to happen.

Evolution of the Chinese Business Registration Number

Change in Chinese business registration numbers came about in October 2015. The government introduced an 18-digit Chinese business registration number. Companies across Mainland China have adopted this change. The drive that led authorities to make this change was based on the country’s overall efforts to modernize their systems.

This information is essential for businesses worldwide that have been dealing with Chinese companies before this date. Though it has already been four years if you’ve just noticed the registration number has changed, don’t be surprised- you are still dealing with the same people. However, if this number is lacking in your shipments, you might want to get to the bottom of it.

So, led to the evolution of the Chinese business registration number? The rapid growth of China made that there were a lot more new businesses registering. The previous 15-digit registration number was no longer valid. The new code was designed to meet this demand. It was also modernized to include elements of the tax registration number and the organization code, which were separate equally important documents businesses needed to have.

The old one

The name of the 18-digit code is called the “Unified Social Credit Code” (统一社会信用代码) and was in full effect by the end of 2017. Eighteen numbers are quite long, but they are all significant. They are as follows.

The New one

The first number= registering authority (typically a 9, representing AIC)
The second number= registered entity type (enterprise, personal owned business, etc.)
Third to eight numbers= registering region code (highest administrative division, associated city, etc.)
Ninth to seventeenth numbers = organization code (likely the old tax registration number)
The eighteenth number= check digit (either a number or letter)

Ways to check Chinese company registration number

Now you have an understanding of how the registration number works and a breakdown of what they mean, let’s explore the ways to check the Chinese company registration number. There are many steps to take, but you want to ensure that all documents are legitimate.

Request a copy of the registration number from the company you are vetting
Look up the company name on the country’s official registries. Website: http://www.gsxt.gov.cn/index.html ( This website has no SSL certificate, but it is SAFE to use）
Compare the digits to confirm the legitimacy

STEP BY STEP EXAMPLE

STEP 1

If you are doing business with SOQ jewelry, if can ask or find the copy of the registration number. Contact with them or find it on their website(Chinese companies loves share their registration number on their website.

This one or this one. Both Are OK

STEP 2

Look up the company name on the country’s official registries.

Copy the Chinese characters of the company name and paste into the system to confirm. Website: http://www.gsxt.gov.cn/index.html

TIP: IF you do not know Chinese, find a friend who knows Chinese to help you. You need to know Chinese to verify some Captcha. ( Some Chinese Characters)

Copy the Chinese characters of the company name

You need to know Chinese to verify some Captcha.

Confirm

Step 3

Click the results you found and Compare the digits to confirm the legitimacy.

You can check the name and the numbers in details.

As you can see, You can check number, name and their business address

Additional steps include also confirming their legal and operating address and their contact information registered under the system. If you can, opt to visit the premises to confirm the same. Methods you can use are AIC China Company Registration Check, National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System, National Company Credit Information System and other local systems available. Here is a website you can try.

Tip: Most systems are not in English notably for businesses not registered in Hong Kong or other major cities. Therefore, you will have to copy the Chinese characters of the company name and paste into the system to confirm.

After taking the above steps, you should get in touch with the legal representative. That means you should reach the boss. It is unlikely that their contact details will be listed; instead, you will find the marketing team or the project manager. Insist on getting their boss’s contacts as there are the final decision-makers. You may also want to partner with a local law firm if you intend to do long-term business with high stakes in China. That is especially where an NDA is involved.

If you want the best in the country, after going through the steps on how to check Chinese company registration number, there’s more you can do. Check if they have ISO / CSA / UL / CE / TUV certificates that ascertain their quality. You can contact the organizations directly to verify this information.

Armed with this knowledge, working with an overseas company, China included, should no longer feel too complicated.