How to Get an ICP License in China (Step by Step)

Quick answer
You cannot apply for an ICP license directly to the central government. The application is submitted through a hosting provider that holds the required access-service license in the province.
The applicant must be a mainland-registered entity — a company for a commercial license, an individual or company for a non-commercial filing.
The sequence is: register the entity, buy mainland hosting, register the domain with an accredited registrar, submit through the provider, verify identity, wait for provincial review.
Filing and licensing are different tracks. Most informational sites need a filing (备案); sites that charge for content or services need a commercial license (许可证).
Applications stall on mismatches: the domain registrant, the entity name, the hosting contract, and the website content must all agree.

What is the process for getting an ICP license?

The process runs through your hosting provider, not through a government office you visit. You choose a provider licensed to offer access services in a province, buy a mainland-hosted product, and submit an application in that provider’s filing system. The provider reviews the package and forwards it to the provincial communications administration, which approves or rejects it.

The order matters because each step produces a document the next step requires. The entity registration produces a business license. The domain registration produces a certificate whose registrant must match that entity. The hosting purchase produces a contract and an IP address in the mainland. Only then can the application be assembled.

What are the steps in order?

First, establish the mainland entity and confirm its registered address is in the province where you will host. Second, register the domain through a registrar accredited by the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), with the registrant name matching the entity exactly. Third, buy mainland hosting and note the IP address and contract number. Fourth, submit the application through the provider and complete the identity verification.

Fifth, wait for provincial review and respond to any correction request within the window given. Sixth, after approval, display the filing number in the site footer with a link to the official portal, and complete public security filing separately if the site is live. The certificate is tied to the entity, domain, and hosting; changing any of them usually triggers an update.

Typical application package
  1. Business licence (company) or ID (individual filer)
  2. Legal representative ID and authorised-agent letter
  3. Domain certificate, registrant matching the entity
  4. Mainland hosting contract and IP address
  5. Website security responsibility statement
  6. Identity verification photos or in-person check
  7. Site description and content category
  8. Provincial administration may request translations or notarisation

Where do applications usually stall?

The most common stall is a name mismatch. The domain registrant is a person, the hosting contract is a company, and the business license uses a third spelling after transliteration. Provincial reviewers compare these strings, so resolve the mismatch before submitting rather than after a rejection.

The second is content. The site must not contain categories that require additional approval — news, publishing, education, healthcare, finance — unless you hold that approval. A site that describes itself as a news or finance platform during filing will be routed to a different, much slower review. Describe the actual function narrowly and accurately.

How long does it take?

Plan for roughly a month from a complete submission, with meaningful provincial variation. The official review window is counted in working days, and the clock resets if the reviewer requests corrections. Entity registration, domain real-name verification, and hosting setup happen before that and often take longer than the filing itself.

Do not start the clock until the package is complete. A submission with a mismatched domain certificate is not in review; it is in a correction loop, and the elapsed time is yours. Build a two-week buffer into any launch date that depends on mainland hosting.

Where this bites vibecoders
The typical failure is ordering. An AI-built app is deployed to a mainland server first, then someone discovers the domain is registered to a personal account and the company was incorporated in a different province. Unpicking that means changing the registrant, re-verifying the domain, and sometimes re-purchasing hosting. Do the entity and domain steps before the first deploy.

Where AI coding assistants get this wrong

Deploying to mainland hosting before the entity and domain registrant match.
Registering the domain under a personal account instead of the company.
Describing the site as a news, finance, or education platform when it is not.
Assuming an ICP filing number from another domain covers the new one.
Buying hosting in one province while the entity is registered in another without checking the provider supports it.
Treating the filing as a one-time task and ignoring the update when the entity or domain changes.

Checklist

Confirm the entity is registered in mainland China.
Match the domain registrant to the entity name exactly.
Buy hosting from a provider licensed in the relevant province.
Prepare the full document package before submitting.
Respond to correction requests inside the stated window.
Display the filing number and link it to the official portal.

FAQ

Can a foreign company apply for an ICP license directly?

Not directly in the ordinary case. The applicant is normally a mainland-registered entity, and foreign-invested entities face additional restrictions depending on the service category. Many foreign companies serve mainland users from Hong Kong or use a local partner; the filing itself is tied to the mainland entity and hosting.

Do I need a license or just a filing?

A filing (备案) is for non-commercial informational sites. A commercial ICP license (许可证) is for sites that charge users for content or services, and e-commerce transactions may need an EDI license instead. If money changes hands on the site, assume the commercial track until a local adviser confirms otherwise.

Can I host with any provider?

No. The provider must be licensed to provide internet access services in the relevant province and must be able to submit your application. That is why the filing is tied to the hosting contract. Moving to a different provider usually means updating or reapplying for the filing.

Is the ICP filing the same as a business license?

No. The business license proves the entity exists; the ICP filing permits that entity to operate a website on mainland hosting. Both are required, and the names on them must match. A business license alone does not authorise hosting a public site in the mainland.