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China Company Registration: Documents, Steps and Timeline

A practical guide for foreign founders on registering a company in mainland China: the documents you need, the steps from name approval to bank account, and a realistic timeline, with a note that this is general information rather than legal or tax advice.

Setting up a company in mainland China is a process with a defined sequence, a fixed set of documents and a timeline that depends heavily on your city, your business scope and how quickly you can produce notarised and legalised paperwork. For most foreign founders the vehicle of choice is the wholly foreign-owned enterprise (WFOE), a limited liability company owned entirely by foreign investors. This article walks through the documents, the steps and the timeline in practical terms.

This is general information for planning purposes, not legal, tax or investment advice. Rules vary by city and change over time; confirm details with a qualified local adviser before you commit funds.

First, understand the shape of the process

Registration in mainland China is not a single filing. It is a chain of approvals and registrations, each of which depends on the one before it. Broadly, the chain runs: name approval, establishment registration (business licence), company seals, bank account, tax registration and, if relevant, sector-specific licences. The order matters because you cannot open a bank account without a licence, and you cannot file establishment documents without an approved name.

Two structural points affect everything downstream. The first is the registered capital you commit to, which you must state in the articles of association and which affects the credibility of the application. The second is the registered address, which must be a real, verifiable commercial address in the city where you register; many cities accept serviced offices or incubator addresses, but requirements differ and some districts are stricter than others.

Documents you will need

Investor (shareholder) documents

• Certificate of incorporation of the foreign parent company, or passport if the investor is an individual.
• Notarised and legalised (or apostilled) copies of those documents. China's acceptance of apostille depends on the treaty status of the issuing country, so confirm the current requirement for your jurisdiction.
• Certified translation into Chinese of all foreign-language documents, usually by a translation agency acceptable to the local authority.
• Bank reference letter or proof of funds for the investor, requested in some cities.
• Board resolution or shareholder resolution authorising the investment and appointing the legal representative.

Company-level documents

• Articles of association (the company charter), drafted to match the registered capital, business scope and governance you intend.
• Name reservation application with several candidate names in Chinese, ordered by preference.
• Lease agreement and property ownership certificate for the registered address, plus the landlord's consent to registration.
• Appointment documents for the legal representative, supervisor and (if appointed) general manager, with copies of their identity documents.
• Business scope wording, drawn from the standard catalogue used by the local administration for market regulation; some activities require pre-approval.

People and practical items

• Passport copies and, where required, proof of residence for foreign directors and the legal representative.
• A Chinese mobile number and, in many cities, a local contact person for service of process.
• A company seal set, which is ordered after the licence is issued.

The steps, in order

1. Name approval

You submit several candidate Chinese names to the local administration for market regulation. Names must be unique and must follow naming conventions; foreign brand names are usually transliterated or paired with a Chinese mark. Approval is typically quick, but rejections are common, so prepare alternatives.

2. Prepare and legalise the document package

This is where timelines slip. Notarisation and legalisation or apostille of the parent company's certificate, plus certified translations, can take weeks depending on the jurisdiction and the courier chain. Start this before you need it.

3. File for establishment registration

With the name approved and documents assembled, you file the establishment application, articles of association, address proof and appointment documents. If the business scope includes restricted activities, a pre-approval from the relevant regulator is needed first. On approval you receive the business licence, which is the company's legal birth certificate.

4. Make the company seals

Seals are made to a registered template and typically include the company seal, financial seal, legal representative seal and, where used, contract and invoice seals. Seals carry real legal weight in China; control them carefully.

5. Open the bank account

You open a basic RMB account, and often a foreign-currency capital account, at a bank. Banks apply their own onboarding and due diligence, which can take longer than the registration itself. Bring the licence, seals, identity documents and address proof, and expect questions about the source of funds and the business model.

6. Tax and social insurance registration

After the licence and bank account, you complete tax registration, choose the taxpayer status appropriate to your expected revenue, and register for social insurance if you will employ staff. You also need to arrange invoicing capability, which usually means obtaining tax-control equipment or an electronic invoicing setup.

7. Sector licences, if applicable

Restaurants, education, logistics, medical devices and many other sectors need additional licences after the business licence. Build these into your plan; they can be the longest part of the project.

Realistic timeline

Assuming a straightforward WFOE in a tier-one or tier-two city with no restricted business scope, a common planning range is:

• Name approval: a few working days.
• Notarisation, legalisation/apostille and translation: two to six weeks, depending on the jurisdiction.
• Establishment registration: roughly one to three weeks after a complete filing.
• Seals: a few working days.
• Bank account opening: one to four weeks, bank-dependent.
• Tax registration and invoicing setup: one to three weeks.

In practice, founders should budget six to twelve weeks from a standing start to a company that can operate and invoice, with the document legalisation and the bank account as the two most common sources of delay. Add several weeks if a sector licence is required, and add time if the registered address needs to be sourced or if the business scope needs regulatory clarification.

Practical advice for foreign founders

• Sequence your money and your paperwork. Capital contribution timing is set out in the articles; plan the remittance to match, and keep clean records for the bank.
• Choose the city deliberately. Registration, tax and licensing practice varies by city and district. Where you register affects your admin burden, not just your address.
• Do not treat the business scope as boilerplate. It determines what you can invoice for and which licences you need.
• Keep the legal representative decision conscious. That person carries statutory responsibilities; appoint someone who understands them.
• Use local professionals for the filings. A local adviser or corporate services firm will know the current document format, translation requirements and district-level quirks.

Registration is the beginning, not the end. Once the licence is in hand, ongoing obligations include bookkeeping, annual reporting, tax filings and, for many companies, audit requirements. Build those into your operating budget from day one.