Company Registration in China - Steps and Documents

If you want to legally register a company in China, you must take into account the specific incorporation procedure with the local Trade Register, overseen by the Administration for Market Regulation (AMR). The company registration is the main role of the Chinese Trade Register; however, the institution has other roles too, which you can discover in this article. We also note that our lawyers in China can represent you for business registration with the above-mentioned authority.

Short Facts
Trade Register in China is known as	National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System (NECIPS)
Controlled by	Administration for Market Regulation (AMR)
Applicable legislation	Company Law
Main function of the Chinese Trade Register	Business registration
Other important functions	– acts as a database of companies in mainland China, – provides access to information of existing companies, – records business updates, etc.
Required incorporation documents	– enterprise name self-declaration, – Articles of Association , – proof of registered business address, – official resolution of appointed directors, – IDs/passport copies, etc.
Standard application form	Must be completed with details about the activities of the company, shareholding structure, capital, business address, and more.
Issues Certificates of Incorporation (YES/NO)	YES
Name verification & reservation	With the Chinese Trade Register
Business updates that must be recorded	When a business changes its name/ directors/ structure/ capital
Legal agent/ representative for business registration	Required. You can collaborate with our lawyers in China when dealing with this matter.
Precautions	Foreign documents must be notarized and apostilled (China joined the Apostille Convention on 7 November 2023) or legalized, and translated into Chinese.
New business regulations in China in 2025	Under the revised Company Law (in force 1 July 2024), LLC shareholders must pay their subscribed capital in full within 5 years of incorporation; SAMR rules on registered capital apply from 10 February 2025.
Incorporation fee for companies in China	No government registration fee is charged (the enterprise registration fee has been suspended since 1 January 2015)
Working with our law firm in China	We represent customers with a power of attorney for business registration in China.

How to register a company with the Chinese Trade Register

Here are some of the formalities for business registration in China:

verifying and reserving a trade name is done with the Chinese Trade Register. Make sure you choose a unique name that can be used appropriately;
preparing documents is done according to the chosen business structure;
it is also necessary to fill out a standard application form with details about the business in question.

If all these steps are followed, one of the officials of the Chinese Trade Register will verify the documents and issue the required approvals. If other documents are required, the institution will be in charge of notifying the applicants. The business license, which serves as the certificate of incorporation, will then be issued. Remember that our Chinese lawyers can represent local and foreign entrepreneurs with a power of attorney at the Trade Register in China. You may also discover this infographic:

What documents are required for business registration in China?

Here are some of the most important documents required for company registration in China:

you must present the enterprise name self-declared in the Administration for Market Regulation's online system (name pre-approval was abolished) in China;
the Articles of Association are the main documents on which company registration in China is based;
you must provide proof of the registered business address in China with a rental agreement;
proof of deposited capital is no longer required (capital verification was abolished in 2014, but LLC capital must be paid within 5 years under the 2024 Company Law), nor is an incorporation fee;
an official resolution of appointed managers, legal representatives, and supervisors of the company in question is also required.

These documents are, as mentioned above, necessary for company registration in China. You can benefit from the support of our attorneys in China in drafting and registering them with the Chinese Trade Register.

Foreign investors who open companies abroad should know that the incorporation requirements are different from one country to another. For example, if you open a company in Canada, as a non-resident, with the help of our partners from BridgeWest Canada, you should choose if you want to register it at a federal, provincial or territorial level. The incorporation process takes only one day in this country, while in China it may last up to eight days.

Main functions of the Trade Register in China

The Chinese Trade Register has other roles, apart from the company registration. Here are some of the most important and sought-after:

issuing business licenses for company owners/sole traders in China;
registering modifications made to a company;
recording and achieving the company data;
implementing business regulations and new measures according to law modifications that can be approved by the business field in China;
clarifying and reducing administrative inconveniences linked to business registration in China.

We invite you to explore the following video with details on this topic:

Registering company updates/changes in China

The same Chinese Trade Register records all company changes brought to its attention. In other words, if a company changes its name, structure, capital, or shareholders, it must immediately notify the Trade Register in China. Also, if shareholders decide to change their activities, they must notify the Chinese Trade Register and complete some forms within a short time.

Data about companies operating in China

Here are some interesting statistics about companies registered in China:

over 189 million business entities were registered in China, according to data for 2024.
around 57 million companies in China are private businesses, according to the same data.

So, if you are planning to register a company in China, we recommend that you work with our specialists and contact us. At our law firm in China, you can find complete support and representation at the Chinese Trade Register.