Getting a business license in China involves more steps than most foreign companies expect. Each one is manageable by itself. The challenge is the sequence — one missing document at step three can stall everything at step seven, and you may not discover the problem until you’re already weeks into the process.
Here’s how the process works in practice for a WFOE in Shenzhen or Guangzhou.
Step One: Company Name Pre-Approval
Before anything else, you need to confirm your company name is available. This is done through the Administration for Market Regulation’s online system.
The name has a specific format: administrative division, trade name, industry description, and company type. For example, “Shenzhen Smith Medical Devices Co., Ltd.” Jin Chinese, the trade name — “Smith” in this example — needs a Chinese character version. For foreign brands, this is often a phonetic translation that also sounds positive in Chinese.
The name check takes one to three working days. Multiple name options should be submitted because your first choice may conflict with an existing registration. Words like “China,” “International,” and “Group” have additional requirements and generally can’t be used by new WFOEs without special approval.
Step Two: Business Scope Drafting
Your business scope is a short description of what your company does, and it appears on your business license. It determines which invoices you can issue, which tax incentives apply, and whether you qualify for certain industry benefits.
The scope must be written in Chinese, using standard industry classification terminology. Generic language doesn’t work — “consulting services” needs to specify what kind of consulting. Overly broad language triggers questions from the registration authority. The scope also can’t include activities that require additional licenses unless you already have those licenses.
Forward planning matters here. If you might add related business lines in the future, include them now if possible. Adding a new activity later requires an amendment to your business scope, which means another round of approvals and a new business license.
Step Three: Registered Address Documentation
You need to prove you have a physical address suitable for business registration. The documentation requirements vary by district.
In most Shenzhen districts, you need a lease agreement for a property that’s zoned for commercial use. The lease must be registered with the housing authority. Some districts accept a “property use right certificate” or similar documentation for sub-leased spaces.
Virtual office addresses and co-working memberships generally don’t satisfy the requirement in Guangzhou’s commercial districts, though some Shenzhen districts are more flexible. A secretarial address through a licensed service provider can work in Shenzhen but may cause problems later with bank account opening.
If you’re still looking for office space, this step becomes the bottleneck. You can’t register without an address, and finding the right office in Shenzhen’s Nanshan or Guangzhou’s Tianhe district can take weeks in a competitive market.
Step Four: Document Preparation and Notarization
Your parent company documents need to be notarized in their country of origin and then authenticated by the Chinese embassy or consulate, or through the apostille process for Hague Convention countries.
Documents typically include the parent company’s certificate of incorporation, articles of association, board resolution authorizing the China entity setup, and identification documents for the legal representative and supervisors. The board resolution is particularly important — it must specifically authorize the establishment of the China entity and name the appointed legal representative.
If any of these documents are in a language other than Chinese, certified translations are required. The translation quality matters because the Chinese version is the legally operative version for registration purposes.
Step Five: License Application Submission
With the name approved, scope drafted, address secured, and documents prepared, you submit the full application package to the AMR. In Shenzhen, this is done electronically through the city’s digital platform. In Guangzhou, some documents may still need physical submission.
The AMR reviews the application for completeness and compliance. If everything is in order, the review takes three to five working days in Shenzhen and slightly longer in Guangzhou. If there are issues, the AMR will issue a notice to rectify, specifying what needs to be corrected. Each round of corrections adds time.
Step Six: Business License Issuance
Once approved, the AMR issues your business license. This is a single document that combines the business license, organization code certificate, tax registration certificate, and social insurance registration certificate — what used to be four separate documents before China consolidated them.
The license has a unified social credit code that serves as your company’s identifier for all government and commercial purposes. This code appears on your invoices, your bank account, your tax filings, and every contract you sign.
Step Seven: Company Chops
With the business license in hand, you can have your company chops made. A chop is a seal or stamp that functions as the company’s official signature. In China, a document isn’t legally executed until it’s chopped — a signature alone often isn’t sufficient.
A typical WFOE needs four chops: the company chop for general documents, the financial chop for banking, the legal representative chop for official filings, and the invoice chop for tax invoices. Some companies also have a customs chop if they’re conducting import or export business.
Chops must be made by licensed chop-making facilities and registered with the public security bureau. Losing a company chop is treated seriously — it requires police reporting, newspaper announcements, and a re-application process.
Step Eight: Bank Account Opening
The final operational step is opening a corporate bank account. This typically takes two to four weeks, and the process has become more rigorous in recent years.
The bank will conduct a site visit to verify your registered address. They’ll interview the legal representative about the company’s business activities. They’ll review the parent company’s background. For a newly established WFOE, the bank wants to be satisfied that the business is legitimate and that the registered capital is credible.
Having a higher registered capital helps at this stage. Banks are cautious about accounts with minimal registered capital, and some have internal policies that effectively set minimum capital requirements even though the law doesn’t.
