How to read a Chinese business licence (营业执照) and its registered scope
A supplier sends you a photo of their business licence and says “we are real”. The licence is a good starting point, but a scan is easy to alter. The useful habit is to read it field by field, then confirm it in the public record.
The fields that matter
| Chinese term | English | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 名称 | Company name | Must match your contract and the name on the bank account you pay. |
| 统一社会信用代码 | Unified social credit code (18 characters) | The key you use to look the company up in the public record. |
| 类型 | Company type | Limited company, sole proprietor and others behave differently. |
| 法定代表人 | Legal representative | The person who legally represents the company. Compare with who you are dealing with. |
| 注册资本 | Registered capital | A supporting signal, not proof of size or financial strength. |
| 成立日期 | Date of establishment | A very new company cannot have a long track record. |
| 营业期限 | Operating term | Check that it has not expired. |
| 住所 | Registered address | Industrial zone or commercial building? See the factory-or-trader guide. |
| 经营范围 | Registered scope | What the company is allowed to do. The most useful field for judging fit. |
Step 1: check the scan against the public record
Look up the credit code in the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System (国家企业信用信息公示系统, gsxt.gov.cn). The site is run from mainland China and can be slow or unreachable from outside it. The name, type, capital, date, address and scope should match the licence you were sent. A mismatch is a reason to stop and ask.
Step 2: read the status
- 存续 or 在业 generally means the company is registered and operating.
- 吊销 (revoked) and 注销 (cancelled) mean you should not be paying this entity.
Step 3: read the scope like a buyer
Newer licences often split the scope into licensed items (许可项目, which need a permit) and general items (一般项目). Ask three questions:
- Does it cover your product? Look for the product or its category. A company registered for clothing is not registered for electronics.
- Does it include production? Words such as 生产 and 加工 suggest manufacturing. 销售 alone suggests resale.
- Does it need a permit? Some categories, such as food or certain regulated goods, need approvals that the scope alone does not prove.
A worked example, from an anonymised report on a headwear supplier: the scope included caps, headscarves, headbands, prayer rugs and prayer scarves, with processing and sales. That matches what the supplier sells, so the line is marked Verified.
Red flags worth a question
- The name on the licence differs from the name on the invoice or the bank account.
- The scan is cropped, blurry or missing the credit code.
- The company was registered very recently but claims many years of experience.
- The scope has nothing to do with the product.
What a licence cannot tell you. It does not show factory capacity, product quality or whether the supplier will deliver. It tells you who the legal entity is and what it may do. That is the foundation for the other checks.