How to Verify a Chinese Company: China Company Registration Search Guide

Buyers checking factories and founders checking new WFOEs need a china company registration search based on Chinese legal identity, not translated names or marketplace badges.

TL;DR: six checks before you rely on a company

• Start with GSXT. The National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System (NECIPS), or GSXT, is the statutory platform.
• Get the Chinese licence. Search the Chinese name and 18-digit Unified Social Credit Code (USCC), not an English name.
• Separate subscribed and paid-in capital. A commitment is not cash; new limited companies generally pay within five years.
• Treat Qichacha, Tianyancha and supplier badges as secondary clues. Resolve conflicts through GSXT.
• Cross-check judicial, enforcement, credit, customs and trademark records, then verify the factory and payment account.
• For Hainan, check others through GSXT and handle your own matters through Haiyiban. Tax treatment and individual EF accounts are not publicly searchable.

1. GSXT: the official China company registration search

Operated by the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), GSXT publishes statutory registration, annual-report and immediate disclosures. It covers all 31 provincial-level regions and an estimated 190 million-plus registered market entities in 2026.

How to run a GSXT company search

1. Request a clear scan of the Chinese business licence.
2. Copy the Chinese company name and 18-digit USCC exactly.
3. Open gsxt.gov.cn and search either identifier.
4. Complete the Chinese slider or image check.
5. Compare status, legal representative, establishment date, address, capital and business scope with the documents received.
6. Review shareholder contributions, annual reports, penalties and warning lists.

Basic data is free. Detailed shareholder and paid-in records require real-name login and commonly a Chinese mobile number. GSXT has no government English interface; retain the Chinese record when translating. Some users report that certain features may not work reliably from overseas IP addresses.

GSXT field	What it shows	Verification question
Chinese name and USCC	Legal entity and unique identifier	Does it match the contract and bank instruction?
Legal Representative	Natural person recorded for the role	Does the licence match GSXT?
Type, date and status	Form, age, active/deregistered/revoked status	Does the entity currently exist?
Address and authority	Registered location and registry	Does the location fit the claim?
Registered capital	Subscribed commitment	Is it being misrepresented as cash received?
Shareholders and contributions	Subscribed and paid-in amount, date and method	What has actually been contributed?
Business scope	Registered activities	Does a claimed factory show production activity?
Annual reports	Contributions, social-insurance headcount and self-reported data	Is claimed scale broadly consistent?
Mortgages and equity pledges	Registered security interests	Are assets or equity encumbered?
Penalties, licences and warning lists	Administrative action, Abnormal Business Operation List and serious-dishonesty entries	What requires explanation?

Information is generally published within 20 working days. Annual reports are self-reported. Statuses include 存续/在营 (active), 注销 (deregistered) and 吊销 (revoked licence).

Registered capital is not paid-in capital

See China’s five-year paid-in capital rule. Contribution details appear after login. Non-disclosure can lead to correction and fines of RMB 10,000–50,000, or RMB 50,000–200,000 in serious cases. Zero paid-in capital is not proof of wrongdoing: assess the deadline and operations. GSXT does not provide audited financials, bank balances or production proof.

2. Commercial platforms and marketplace badges

Alibaba Gold Supplier and Verified Supplier labels, and Made-in-China supplier labels, are commercial products, not government qualifications. Return the listed Chinese name and USCC to the licence and GSXT. Aggregators offer fuzzy search and relationship maps, but data may lag by one to three working days or contain matching errors.

Platform	Main value	Indicative price	Access note
GSXT	Statutory registry record	Free	Chinese-only; deep access needs real-name login
Qichacha	Fuzzy search and relationship maps	VIP approx. RMB 388/year; SVIP approx. RMB 1,799/year	No English interface; local payments
Tianyancha	Registry and court-data aggregation	VIP approx. RMB 548/year; SVIP approx. RMB 2,688/year	No English interface; local payments
AiQicha	Baidu-backed platform aggregating public registry data	Approx. RMB 288/year	No English interface
Qixin	Registry, tax and tender-data clues	VIP approx. RMB 366/year	Primarily Chinese

Prices are approximate as of 2026 and change frequently. Use GSXT first; aggregators second. English services such as ChineseCheck may help navigation, but reports should identify the Chinese entity and USCC.

3. Beyond the registry: judicial, customs, credit and IP checks

Channel	Operator	What to check
China Judgments Online	Supreme People’s Court	Published judgments and dispute types; registration required
China Execution Information Public System	Supreme People’s Court	Enforcement, Dishonest Judgment Debtors and high-consumption restrictions
Credit China	Development and Reform Commission and People’s Bank of China	Selected tax, wage, safety and environmental records
Customs enterprise credit platform	General Administration of Customs	Customs registration, status and penalties; no login required
CNIPA trademark search and patent systems	CNIPA	Trademark ownership, announcements and patent records

Advanced Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) enterprises may receive lower inspection rates; dishonest customs status is a warning. Verify ownership through our China trademark guide. Natural-person checks require separate consent, minimum-necessary processing and stricter sensitive-data controls. Commercial background checks need the applicable human-resources permission; overseas personal-data transfers must follow PIPL Article 38.

4. China supplier verification: workflow and red flags

1. Record the licence’s Chinese name, USCC, legal representative and address.
2. Check GSXT status, age, scope, capital, penalties and warning lists.
3. Match the payment beneficiary to the licence name character for character.
4. Search judgment and enforcement patterns.
5. Question a “factory” with only trading or wholesale scope.
6. Compare disclosed social-insurance headcount with claimed scale.
7. Check an exporter’s customs registration, status and penalties.
8. Request live video or an independent site inspection.
9. Start with a sample or small order.
10. Question full prepayment, personal accounts, cryptocurrency or Western Union.

Request a continuous live walk from materials to finished goods. Use a dated newspaper or whiteboard with your company name, inspect equipment plates and record with consent. For orders above USD 10,000, SGS, Bureau Veritas, Intertek, TÜV Rheinland or Qima inspections start around USD 300–500.

Red flag	Why it matters	Response
High subscribed capital but no paid-in amount	Headline capital may overstate substance	Check deadlines and operations
Very recent formation before a large order	Limited track record	Request references and start small
Abnormal or serious-dishonesty entry	Disclosure, address or deeper issue	Obtain and verify remedial evidence
Personal, Hong Kong or unrelated beneficiary	Payee and contracting entity differ	Pause until the relationship is checked
Stolen licence/images or refusal of inspection	Contact may be impersonating a factory	Contact the registered entity independently
Last-minute bank change	Business-email-compromise risk	Confirm through a known phone/video contact
Price over 10% below peers without reason	Price may not support the specification	Reconcile materials, capacity and terms
No production scope or implausible headcount	Claimed factory scale may be inaccurate	Identify and inspect the manufacturer
Frequent recent shareholder or representative changes	Possible restructuring or instability	Review timing and transaction relevance

Use the China business bank-account guide to understand account documents and bank review. Never confirm a changed account only by replying to the email that announced it.

5. Regional focus: Hainan FTP

Hainan companies remain in GSXT and the Hainan local entry. Registration confirmation does not change public fields. See the Hainan FTP guide.

From 18 December 2025, second-line customs credit groups operators into Advanced AEO, no-application white-list and key-watch categories. Entities can check their own result through Credit China (Hainan) or the Hainan Single Window, not another company’s result.

Zero-tariff status is reportedly searchable in the Single Window module using the USCC, legal representative and verification code, with monthly updates. This single non-government claim requires platform testing. It concerns zero-tariff beneficiaries, not the 15% tax rate.

The 15% corporate income tax rate requires Hainan FTP registration, substantive operation, encouraged-catalogue main business and at least 60% qualifying revenue. It is in effect through 31 December 2027, with no automatic renewal; a further extension requires new legislation. See the 15% tax guide and substantive-operation guide.

The mechanism uses self-assessment, filing and retained records; no public beneficiary registry exists. In practice, a company may ask the Hainan Provincial Development and Reform Commission in writing about its business and revenue mix. A reply confirming catalogue fit can support its records in practice, but is not a final tax determination.

EF account openings are not publicly searchable at the individual company level; they are confidential bank data, while only provincial totals are published. The Hainan EF account guide covers the mechanism.

Haiyiban at wssp.hainan.gov.cn offers an English switch, 44 foreign-related services, bilingual guides for 95 matters and “My Applications” tracking. It covers cross-border registration, foreign-employment permission and consular documents, and integrates foreigner work matters. As of September 2026, its Enterprise One-Stop tab showed 87 matters. Reported same-day licence cases are not a timeline promise. Use GSXT to check others and Haiyiban for your own setup; see the Hainan registration process.

6. Put the evidence together

Use three layers: GSXT for identity; judicial, enforcement, credit, customs and IP databases; then inspections, small orders and controlled payments. Public records do not replace professional review of a major transaction.

For a structured supplier, partner or target review connected to a China entry decision, see our China market-entry consulting service. To establish or verify your own entity, compare the WFOE setup guide with our company registration service.

Frequently asked questions

How do I search for a Chinese company on GSXT from outside China?

Search gsxt.gov.cn using the Chinese registered name or 18-digit USCC from the licence. Basic records are free. Detailed shareholder and paid-in data needs real-name login and a Chinese mobile number. The interface is Chinese, and some users report unreliable overseas access to certain features.

I only have the company’s English name. How do I find its Chinese registered name?

Request a clear Chinese business-licence scan. Its Chinese name and Unified Social Credit Code are the verification anchors; English trading names have no registration effect and may vary. Marketplace profiles may show a registered name, but cross-check the licence and GSXT.

Is registered capital the same as paid-in capital? What changed under the 2024 Company Law?

No. Subscribed capital is committed; paid-in capital has been contributed. Limited companies established from 1 July 2024 generally pay within five years. Earlier companies follow transition rules, including the 30 June 2027 adjustment deadline where applicable. Details appear after GSXT login.

What does the Abnormal Business Operation List mean?

A company may be listed for an unreachable address or missed annual report. This is a warning, not proof of fraud. It may remedy the issue and seek removal, but history remains visible. Request an explanation and verify it with other evidence.

Are Qichacha and Tianyancha official sources? Which record wins if they disagree?

They are commercial aggregators of GSXT and other public records. Useful search tools and relationship maps can lag by one to three working days or contain matching errors. GSXT is the statutory disclosure platform, so use its current record when sources disagree.

How do I check a Chinese supplier’s court cases and enforcement records?

Use China Judgments Online for judgments and the China Execution Information Public System for enforcement, dishonest debtors and high-consumption restrictions. Credit China adds selected public records; the customs platform shows customs registration, status and penalties. These free services are mainly Chinese.

What are the biggest payment red flags when paying a Chinese supplier?

Match the beneficiary to the licence’s Chinese company name character for character. Treat personal, Hong Kong or unrelated third-party accounts as high risk. Re-check last-minute account-change emails, verify branch and SWIFT data independently, and question full prepayment, cryptocurrency or Western Union.

Can I verify whether a Hainan company enjoys the 15% tax rate or holds an EF account?

Neither is publicly searchable. The 15% rate requires catalogue activity, substantive operation and 60% qualifying revenue, and runs through 31 December 2027 with no automatic renewal. In practice, companies may seek a written catalogue view from Hainan’s Development and Reform Commission. EF-account data is confidential.

You can send us the Chinese company name, USCC and transaction context or book a 30-minute consultation.

Official sources

• GSXT national system
• Enterprise Information Disclosure Regulation
• Registered-capital rules
• SAMR implementation guidance
• China Judgments Online
• China execution system
• Credit China
• Customs enterprise credit platform
• CNIPA trademark search
• Hainan publicity system
• Haiyiban
• Hainan second-line customs-credit rules
• Hainan FTP: 15% corporate income tax policy

Last reviewed: September 2, 2026. General information only. Confirm identity, evidence and current requirements with relevant authorities and qualified advisers.