TL;DR
Every Chinese supplier that asks you for a deposit has one legal identity you can check for free. Here is how to verify it in ten minutes before you send a cent.
1. A Chinese company’s legal identity is its 18-digit Unified Social Credit Code (USCC), printed on invoices, contracts, and official websites.
2. The only authoritative free source is the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System (GSXT, gsxt.gov.cn), operated by China’s State Administration for Market Regulation.
3. Before any deposit, verify five things in the record: date of incorporation, registered capital (subscribed vs paid-in), business scope, operating status (including abnormal-operations lists), and administrative penalties.
Short Answer
To look up a Chinese company, find its 18-digit Unified Social Credit Code on the contract or invoice, open the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System (gsxt.gov.cn), and search the code. The system is free and requires no registration. It returns incorporation date, registered capital, business scope, shareholders, operating status, and any administrative penalties or abnormal-operations listings. Third-party sites such as Qichacha or Tianyancha are convenient but secondary — the official registry is the authoritative record.
Why This Matters Before You Pay a Deposit
In due-diligence training with Western importers, we keep seeing the same pattern: a buyer gets an attractive quote from a supplier with professional-looking factory photos, sends a 30% deposit, and only then discovers the company was incorporated six months ago with a subscribed capital of 100,000 RMB — if it exists in the registry at all.
Chinese corporate registration is the one identifier that every legal entity in China must have. The USCC is issued once, at incorporation, and never changes — not when the company moves, not when it changes its name or legal representative. Checking it is not optional diligence; it is a ten-minute task you can complete on your phone before signing anything.
The registry behind it, GSXT, is the statutory public platform under China’s Interim Regulations on Public Disclosure of Enterprise Information. If a supplier cannot be found there, it does not hold a legal registration — that is the single strongest red flag in China sourcing.
What Exactly Is the Business License Number?
Since 2015, China merged business licenses, tax registration, and social security registration into one document under the three-certificates-in-one reform. The business license number is now the Unified Social Credit Code (USCC) — always 18 characters.
The 18 characters carry meaning:
| Position | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 1 | Registration authority code (91 = enterprise, 92 = partnership, 93 = individual business) |
| 2-3 | Entity category |
| 4-7 | Administrative division (province/city) |
| 8-17 | Entity identification code |
| 18 | Check digit |
Practical rule for buyers: if the number on the payment document is not 18 characters, or does not start with “91” (enterprise), pause. Individual businesses (starting with 92/93) are not corporate legal persons — they carry different liability and export implications. Older 15-digit registration numbers exist for companies incorporated before 2015, but every operating company has already been re-registered with an 18-digit USCC.
Where to Find the Number
| Source | Reliability |
|---|---|
| Commercial invoice | High — the number is printed on every official invoice |
| Purchase contract, first page | High — standard seller identification |
| Company website footer or About page | Medium — verify it actually matches the contract |
| Business card / email signature | Medium — easy to fake, always cross-check |
| Shipper’s export declaration | High, but usually only after the order begins |
Red flag: if the number on the contract letterhead differs from the number on the invoice or the official website, stop the transaction. This mismatch is the most common sign of a trading company impersonating a factory — or worse, of documents fabricated for the deal.
Which Database Is Authoritative?
| Source | Type | Cost | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| GSXT (gsxt.gov.cn) | Official government registry | Free | The primary source — statutory, authoritative |
| Qichacha / Tianyancha | Third-party aggregators | Free tier / paid | Convenient, but secondary; data can lag or contain errors |
| Paid verification reports | Commercial | $69–$199+ | Faster to read, but built on the same underlying registry |
Use GSXT as the ground truth. Third-party platforms are useful for speed and cross-checking, but any discrepancy must be resolved in favor of the official registry. For EU and US buyers, the official source also gives you a defensible evidence trail if a dispute ever reaches arbitration or a chargeback process.
Step-by-Step: How to Search GSXT
- Open the system — go to gsxt.gov.cn. Note: the site requires access from within mainland China; if you are overseas, use a China VPN or ask your sourcing partner to run and share the record.
- Enter the full 18-character code in the search box.
- Pass the slider captcha, then click the company name in the results list.
- Read the record section by section — the profile page shows Basic Information, Shareholders & Paid-in Capital, Change History, Operating Status, Abnormal Operations, and Administrative Penalties.
- Save the evidence — screenshot or export the page with the date and time visible. Registry data is not real-time; a report quoting the registry should state “data as of [date]”.
The 5-Point Deposit Screen (Audit-Style Checklist)
Use this five-point screen before any deposit. All five must pass:
| # | Check | Healthy signal | Danger signal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Date of incorporation | Operating ≥ 3 years (common credit-insurance benchmark) | Incorporated < 1 year yet claims years of export experience |
| 2 | Registered capital | Subscribed capital consistent with the order size | Subscribed capital under 100,000 RMB while quoting large orders |
| 3 | Business scope | Includes manufacturing terms for a factory claim | Only trading terms while claiming factory status |
| 4 | Operating status | In operation | Cancelled or revoked — highest danger |
| 5 | Abnormal listings & penalties | None | Listed for abnormal operations or repeated penalties |
Remember: registered capital in China is subscribed, not necessarily paid in. The registry shows whether shareholders have actually contributed in the shareholder information section. A company with 5 million RMB authorized capital may have contributed only a fraction — always look at paid-in figures before drawing conclusions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it free to look up a Chinese company’s registration?
Yes. GSXT is free and requires no registration or login.
Can I access GSXT from the US or EU?
Not directly — the site restricts access to mainland China networks. Use a China-capable VPN, or have your supplier or a local partner run the query and share the full record with a timestamp.
Is the USCC the same as the business license number?
Since 2015, yes. The 18-character USCC is the unified number on the current business license.
What does 5 million RMB registered capital mean?
It is mostly subscribed capital — the amount shareholders committed, not necessarily paid in. Check the paid-in figures in the shareholder section.
How do I know if a company is a shell company?
Run the five-point screen: incorporation age, paid-in capital, business scope vs. its claims, operating status, and abnormal-operations history.
What if Qichacha and GSXT disagree?
Trust GSXT. Third-party platforms can lag or carry errors; the official registry is the statutory record.
Does “in operation” mean the company is safe to pay?
No. It only means the registration is active. You still need to check abnormal operations, penalties, and the other four screen points.
Can an individual business (individual industrial / commercial household) be my supplier?
It can trade with you, but it is not a legal person — which affects liability, export documentation, and dispute options. Identify it from the code prefix (92/93) and plan accordingly.
Should I save the registry result?
Yes — a dated screenshot of the official record is evidence you can attach to the contract file. It has protected buyers in chargeback and arbitration cases.
Do I need a paid lookup service?
No. GSXT is sufficient for a first screen. Paid services add convenience and human analysis — that is exactly what we do at SourcePlaybook — but the official record remains the foundation.
This article is for general business information only and does not constitute legal, financial, or investment advice. Registry data is sourced from the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System (gsxt.gov.cn), operated by the State Administration for Market Regulation, and reflects the registry state as of the query date.
By the SourcePlaybook Editorial Team — an independent due-diligence library for buyers sourcing from China.