Business License is a business entity’s certificate of identity issued by the local AIC (Administration of Industrial and Commerce), just like the certificate of incorporation in some jurisdiction.

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A Business License should provide all the basic information of an entity, these being:

1. Name of the entity — even if the company has an English name on it’s website, etc., it’s official name must be in Chinese;

2. The Address – if the company needs to move to a different location, this must be updated ASAP;

3. Name of the legal representative – the individual who operates the business on behalf of the entity;

4. Registered Capital — the amount of funds the share holders planned to contribute;

5. Type of entity — if this entity is a limited liability, Wholly foreign owned entity or Joint venture;

6. The business scope — according to the law, the entity is only allowed to do business stated in business scope;

7. The date of incorporation and operate term of the entity.

An officially issued business license will only be typed in Chinese, so it’s important to have your Chinese friends, or preferably a local lawyer, to check if there are any mistakes in order to avoid any major issues.