A Chinese supplier’s business license is one of the first documents you should verify before paying a deposit or signing a purchase order. It lets you match the company you are speaking with to a registered legal entity in China. The practical process is simple: request the license, capture the legal Chinese name and Unified Social Credit Code, search China’s official enterprise registry, and compare the result with the supplier’s quote, bank account, contract, and factory information.

This check is important, but it has a clear limit. A matching license shows that a registered company record exists; it does not prove that the supplier owns a factory, can meet your quality requirements, or will perform well on your order. Treat it as the first identity check in a wider supplier-verification process.

Start with the legal Chinese name, not the English trading name

Ask the supplier for a clear copy of its current business license, known in Chinese as a **营业执照**. Do not rely on an English company name from a website, email signature, trade-show badge, or marketplace profile. English names can be informal translations, marketing names, or names used by another company in the group.

The record you need is the registered **Chinese legal name**. It should appear on the license together with the Unified Social Credit Code, often called the USCC. This is normally an 18-character identifier. Save the Chinese legal name exactly as shown, including punctuation and company-type wording. It is the best search term for the official registry.

A supplier that cannot provide its legal Chinese name and a readable license has not given you enough information to send money safely. Ask why before moving forward.

Read the key fields on the license

A business license contains several fields that are useful for a buyer. You do not need to become a China company-law specialist. You do need to know which details should remain consistent across the supplier’s documents.

| License field | What to check | Why it matters | |---|---|---| | Legal Chinese name | Copy it exactly and use it in the registry search. | This is the legal entity that should appear in the contract and payment trail. | | Unified Social Credit Code | Record the full 18-character code. | It is a stronger identifier than a similar company name. | | Legal representative | Compare it with the person authorised to sign or approve key documents. | A salesperson may not be authorised to bind the company. | | Business scope | Check whether the registered activities are broadly consistent with what the supplier says it does. | A mismatch is a question to resolve, not an automatic rejection. | | Registered address | Compare it with the address on the quote, contract, website, and factory-visit plan. | A registered office and production site can differ, but unexplained differences deserve attention. | | Establishment date and status | Confirm that the entity exists and is active. | A newly formed or abnormal-status company requires more investigation. |

Registered capital is worth noting, but it is not a balance-sheet figure and should not be treated as cash available for your order. Use it as one item in a broader review of the company’s operating history, ownership, customer references, production evidence, and payment terms.

Search the official enterprise registry

China’s National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System, commonly called NECIPS or GSXT, is the official public platform for company information. New Zealand Trade and Enterprise describes it as a platform operated by China’s State Administration for Market Regulation and notes that users can search by the entity name, social credit number, or registration number.[^nz]

Search first with the Chinese legal name copied from the license. If the result is unclear, search with the Unified Social Credit Code. Registry access can be difficult outside mainland China and much of the interface is in Chinese, so use a qualified Chinese-speaking colleague or local adviser if you cannot confidently interpret the result.

Match the registry result against the license line by line. At a minimum, check the legal name, USCC, legal representative, registration status, registered address, establishment date, and business scope. A company record that does not match the document you received needs an explanation before you proceed.

> Do not accept a screenshot of a registry result as proof on its own. Keep a dated record of the search, the company name used, the result you found, and any questions raised.

Check status before you treat the company as an approved supplier

The registry result can indicate whether the entity is operating, revoked, deregistered, or otherwise abnormal. A status issue does not tell you the whole story, but it changes the risk level immediately.

Also look for public information about administrative penalties, abnormal-operation records, and major changes in the company record. These items should lead to specific questions. For example, if the company changed its legal representative or address recently, ask when the change happened, why it happened, and whether it affects the contract, bank account, production location, or people managing your order.

Keep the questions factual. A change can be legitimate; the problem is an inconsistency that the supplier cannot explain clearly or document.

Match the legal entity to the commercial documents

A license check is most useful when you compare it with the documents that will control your transaction. Before a deposit, place the following documents side by side:

  • The business license and official registry result.
  • The supplier quotation and pro forma invoice.
  • The purchase order or contract draft.
  • The supplier’s bank-account details.
  • Any test report, audit report, factory address, or certification supplied as evidence.

The legal Chinese company name should be consistent wherever the contracting party or payment recipient is identified. If the bank account belongs to a different entity, do not treat a verbal explanation as enough. Ask for a written explanation of the relationship and independent evidence that the payment route is legitimate. If the proposed payee is an individual account, a company in another jurisdiction, or a recently changed account, pause the payment until the reason has been checked.

This does not mean every address must be identical. A supplier may use one registered address, another office address, and a separate factory address. What matters is that each difference is explained and supported by the role that location actually plays.

Use the business scope as a starting question, not a final verdict

Buyers sometimes reject a supplier because the business scope sounds broader than the product category they want to buy. That can be an overreaction. Chinese business scopes often use broad wording, and a trading company may lawfully coordinate a product that it does not manufacture itself.

The better question is: **does the supplier’s legal entity, claimed role, and production evidence fit together?** If the supplier says it is a factory, ask which site makes the product, which processes are internal, and which are subcontracted. If it is a trading company, ask which legal entity owns the factory relationship and who controls quality, tooling, product specifications, and export documents.

Use a factory visit, remote evidence review, or independent audit when the order value or product risk justifies it. The [supplier-verification page](/en/supplier-verification/) and [factory-visit guidance](/en/factory-visits/) can help you plan the next check.

Know what a license check cannot prove

A valid company record does not answer several operational questions that matter to a buyer:

  • Whether the quoted product is made in the claimed factory.
  • Whether the factory can meet your material, tolerance, testing, packaging, or labeling requirements.
  • Whether the supplier has capacity for your order date.
  • Whether its bank account is safe to pay without further verification.
  • Whether its quality system works consistently in mass production.
  • Whether its product claims or certificates apply to your exact product version.

For that reason, use the license check to establish **who you are dealing with**, then continue with product evidence, factory evidence, sample approval, quality planning, and payment controls. The goal is not to find one perfect document. It is to make the supplier’s identity, capability, and transaction documents tell the same story.

A practical deposit gate

Before authorising a first deposit, make sure your project file contains a readable license, a dated registry check, the verified legal Chinese name, a consistent contract party, and checked bank details. Add a clear product specification, quote version, sample or product evidence, lead-time assumptions, and quality requirements.

If a discrepancy remains unresolved, do not hide it in an email chain. Put it in a short risk log with an owner, the evidence requested, and a decision date. This makes it easier to decide whether to proceed, revise the payment structure, request more evidence, or select another supplier.

If you are preparing a first order and need a structured review of your supplier documents, you can start with the [Project Brief Builder](/en/start-project/).

Frequently asked questions

### Can I verify a Chinese supplier using only an English company name?

Usually, no. Ask for the legal Chinese company name and Unified Social Credit Code from the business license. An English trading name may not identify the registered entity precisely enough for a reliable official-registry search.

### Does a valid business license prove that a supplier is a factory?

No. It proves that a registered company record exists. You still need to verify the supplier’s role, production location, internal processes, subcontracting, and product capability through additional evidence.

### What should I do if the bank account name differs from the business license?

Pause the payment and ask for a written explanation with evidence of the relationship between the legal supplier and the proposed payee. Verify the change independently before releasing funds.

### Does registered capital show how much cash the company has?

No. Registered capital is not the same as current cash, creditworthiness, or available production capacity. Consider it alongside operating history, ownership, order evidence, factory conditions, and payment risk.

Sources

[^nz]: [New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, “Conducting due diligence in China”](https://my.nzte.govt.nz/article/conducting-due-diligence-in-china), reviewed 3 December 2025.

[China Justice Observer, “What Is China’s National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System?”](https://www.chinajusticeobserver.com/a/what-is-china-s-national-enterprise-credit-information-publicity-system).

[China Justice Observer, “How to Check Chinese Company Registration Certificate”](https://www.chinajusticeobserver.com/a/how-to-check-chinese-company-registration-certificate).