Verify a Chinese Business License: Field-by-Field Check

To cross-check a Chinese business license, transcribe its Chinese legal name, Unified Social Credit Code and other visible fields exactly as printed. Retrieve the corresponding official registration record independently, record the lookup date and source, and compare the original Chinese text field by field. Keep translations separate. A match supports an entity-identity comparison only; it does not establish factory ownership, solvency, product compliance, operating quality, supplier capability or ownership of a payment account.

Transcribe the business license as an observed document

Treat the supplied license as the observed document, not automatically as the current official record. A scan, photograph or digital copy shows what appeared on that document when it was created or captured. Current registration status must come from the official record.

For every visible field, preserve:

• The original Chinese field label, where visible.
• The complete Chinese value.
• Numbers, dates and punctuation as displayed.
• Blank, obscured, cropped or illegible fields as unavailable rather than guessed.

Capture these company-license fields:

1. Chinese legal name
   Transcribe the full Chinese name exactly. Do not replace it with an English trading name, transliteration or translation.

2. Unified Social Credit Code
   Copy the complete code character by character. Do not insert, delete or rearrange characters. Articles 9–10 of the SAMR unified code rules, effective February 1, 2026, address identifier uniqueness and display of the code on the license. The code identifies an entity within the registration framework; it does not indicate operating quality or supplier capability.

3. Registered address

4. Legal representative

5. Registered capital

6. Company type

7. Business scope

8. Registration authority

9. Establishment date

Article 4 of the SAMR company registration rules, effective February 10, 2025, specifies company business-license fields. This support applies to company licenses. Other entity types or jurisdictions may use different labels, fields or procedures.

Keep translations outside the source-text columns. The License original text column must contain the license’s Chinese text, while the Official record text column must contain the Chinese text displayed by the official record. Put any English rendering in a separately labeled note keyed to the relevant field. Never substitute a translation for either original string.

Retrieve the official registration record independently

The purpose of the lookup is to locate the official registration record corresponding to the identity shown on the license. Search with the strongest original identifier available:

• The Unified Social Credit Code.
• The exact Chinese legal name.

Transcribe the official record independently. Do not copy values from the submitted license into the official-record column, and do not reconstruct Chinese values from an English translation.

Retain the following lookup evidence:

• Lookup date.
• Official source reference.
• Identifier used for the search.
• Record text as displayed.
• Whether access and retrieval succeeded.

The applicable official lookup route and all time-sensitive URLs must be checked immediately before publication. Retain the date checked and the geographic and entity scope. No registry URL is provided here because the approved source package does not establish one.

If the record cannot be retrieved:

• Record the date, source attempted and access problem on the designated failure line.
• Leave unavailable official-record cells blank.
• Do not fill them from the submitted license or another secondary source.
• Do not represent the company as matched.
• Keep the comparison unresolved for a named reviewer or further lookup.

Compare the evidence without merging it

Keep three evidence layers distinct:

1. Observed license text: What is visibly printed on the reviewed document.
2. Official record text: What the independently retrieved official registration record displays.
3. English translation: A reading aid kept separate from both Chinese source strings.

Use this comparison order:

1. Compare the Unified Social Credit Code character by character.
2. Compare the complete Chinese legal name.
3. Compare the registered address.
4. Compare the legal representative.
5. Compare registered capital and company type.
6. Compare the business scope.
7. Compare the registration authority and establishment date.
8. Record the current registry status from the registry only.

Do not infer current registry status from a physical or digital license image. A license may be old, incomplete or presented without evidence of the entity’s status at the time of review.

Assign one outcome to each row:

• Text agrees.
• Text differs.
• License field is unavailable or illegible.
• Official record field is unavailable.
• Comparison remains unresolved.

Do not silently correct either source, translate over the Chinese text, combine two differing values or treat a partial match as a complete identity match. Keep every difference visible and assign a next action.

If a transcription appears wrong, recheck the original document while preserving the first observation until the correction is documented. If the two sources differ, copy both values exactly and describe the difference without explaining it away. Assign an accountable reviewer and hold the identity decision until the discrepancy is resolved or formally accepted.

A difference between English translations does not establish a difference between the underlying records. Return to the original Chinese strings and do not alter either source-text column to force agreement between translations.

This registration comparison is only one part of due diligence. Use the supplier verification screening guide for a wider pre-order review. If the separate issue is whether a supplier operates as a manufacturer or intermediary, use the factory-versus-trading-company verification checklist. Neither resource changes the evidentiary boundary of the registration comparison.

Blank business-license comparison record

Copy this worksheet unchanged. Enter only evidence you personally observed on the license or independently retrieved from the official record. Keep Chinese source text in the two source-text columns and add translations as separately labeled notes outside those columns. Never populate the worksheet with illustrative or fictional company data.

Field	License original text	Official record text	Lookup date / source reference	Difference / unavailable	Next action
Chinese legal name
Unified Social Credit Code
Registered address
Legal representative
Registered capital
Company type
Business scope
Registration authority
Establishment date
Current registry status (registry only)

Official-query access failure: __________.
Reviewer / review date: __________.
Decision and unresolved identity issues: __________.

Copy the blank operating template, fill it with your own evidence, and retain unresolved issues for an accountable reviewer.

Sources

• SAMR company registration rules

  • Relevant support: Article 4 on company business-license fields.
  • Effective date: February 10, 2025.
  • Applicability: Companies; the rules should not be generalized to every registered entity type.

• SAMR unified code rules

  • Relevant support: Articles 9–10 on identifier uniqueness and displaying the code on the license.
  • Effective date: February 1, 2026.
  • Limitation: The code does not establish operational quality or supplier capability.

Source package check date: October 8, 2026.

Recheck both sources, their effective status and their URLs before publication. Retain the new check date and applicable geographic and entity scope.

Scope and limits

This process covers a reproducible comparison between a mainland Chinese company business license and the corresponding official registration record. A completed worksheet may document:

• Whether the observed license and official record display matching or differing identity fields at the recorded lookup time.
• Whether the official query succeeded.
• Which discrepancies remain unresolved.

Registration evidence does not establish:

• Factory ownership or manufacturing role.
• Solvency or financial condition.
• Product quality or compliance.
• Operational capacity or reliability.
• Ownership or control of a bank, marketplace or payment account.

Other entity types and jurisdictions may use different fields and registration procedures. Do not add invented suppliers, completed checks, registry outcomes, interviews, tests, photographs or verification claims.

Before release, identify the author and reviewer and check factual accuracy, source freshness, privacy, image rights, the CTA and the canonical URL /guides/verify-chinese-business-license/. Any illustrative graphic must be clearly distinguishable from supplier, registry or bank evidence; suitable alt text is Illustrative field-by-field Chinese business license comparison worksheet. Final article and image approval are required, and publication must not be automatic.

If the official record is unavailable or a material identity difference remains unresolved, preserve that limitation and hold the identity decision for accountable review.