FAQ about China ICP license
1. What is ICP license?
ICP license (ICP stands for Internet Content Provider) is a permit issued by the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology to permit China-based websites to operate in China. The ICP license numbers for Chinese websites can often be found on the bottom of their front page.
This license regime was instated by the Telecommunications Regulations of the People’s Republic of China that was promulgated in September 2000. By the letter of the law, all websites with their own domain name that operate inside China are required to obtain a license, and China-based Internet service providers are required to block the site if a license is not acquired within a grace period. Licenses are issued at the provincial level.
2. How to register an ICP license?
Register at http://www.miibeian.gov.cn/
3. If I build a Chinese website but host in on US server, do I need to register for an ICP license?
No, only websites based on Mainland China are required to register for ICP license.
4. I am using a .com domain, not .cn domain, do I still need to register for ICP license?
Yes, no difference with .com or .cn.
5. My site is neither political nor pornographic, will it be safe if I host outside the GFW?
If your site has pornographic or anti-Chinese government contents, it will be blocked by GFW shortly. However, it does not mean if your site does not have such content it will be safe. For example, if you use virtual hosting, when china block an IP it may block your site as well. In many cases, china also block a range of IPs.
6. Do I need to pay for the license or is it free?
It does not require any fee for the license itself. But in order to get the license, your must have a company. That’s expensive. You can also choose to apply the personal icp license, which costs much less.
7. How long does it take to get an ICP license?
It says it will take 20 days to get the license. But there is no guarantee your application will go through.
8. Do I really need to get an ICP license if my site is based on China server and are there any consequences if I don’t?
Many Chinese sites do not have ICP license but they are still accessible to users, your site may be one of them. But do not feel surprised if one day, you found that you cannot access your site anymore.
9. My site is not ecommerce, do I have to apply for ICP license?
Yes, you still need an ICP license. There are two kinds of ICP license, commercial and none-commercial.
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March 4th, 2009 at 4:02 pm #
[...] For those who want to get a ICP license, you can take a look at this. [...]
How to Apply for China ICP License - Hosting In China
March 28th, 2009 at 12:40 am #
[...] For more info, please refer to FAQ about China ICP License. [...]
Molly millions
April 16th, 2009 at 4:59 pm #
Do I need an ICP license if I am a content delivery network? I am moving content around, but it is not sitting on my company’s website.
karen
April 16th, 2009 at 6:59 pm #
Yes, you need the ICP license as far as your site is hosted on China based server.
alex
May 20th, 2009 at 7:14 pm #
I want to find a chinese suppliers. How can I check by ICP is that site legal or not? i.e frauders can put any number instead of ICP or personal ICP number and say that they are legal company or manufacturer.
karen
May 20th, 2009 at 7:32 pm #
Good question, you can find if an icp number is valid or not at http://www.miibeian.gov.cn/CX/main.jsp?1648702777=2094222824 It is a website of China Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, but the page is in Chinese only.
Arrtur
May 27th, 2009 at 4:03 pm #
Well i’m loooking for a company that will apply on my behalf for ICP, do You know any? for commercial one - but as a foreigner i cannot do it my self…
杰茂
June 21st, 2009 at 8:25 am #
Hello Karen,
If i am a overseas company with no office in China…怎么办 ？Which kind of companies can help me with applying for a ICP license? And what are the costs?
Thank you in advance!
Looking forward to your respons.
杰茂
karen
June 23rd, 2009 at 12:52 pm #
Hi J, do you or your friends have Chinese Citizen ID card or passport? If yes, you can apply for a personal ICP license. It is quite common for small and medium businesses in China to have a personal ICP license certificate on their website.
Thomas
June 27th, 2009 at 2:53 am #
Hi Karen,
I bought a *.cn domain using a french registrar (ovh.fr).
Then I host the web site using a US company (http://www.icdsoft.com/) that have data center in in HK.
Do i need a ICP Licence ?
Thank you in advance!
karen
June 27th, 2009 at 5:14 pm #
Hi Thomas, you don’t need to apply for ICP license since the website is hosted on HK server. Only websites hosted in Mailland China need to have ICP licenses.
Colin O'Halloran
July 15th, 2009 at 2:54 am #
I have noticed that two China (not HK) based companies that my company knows well do not have an ICP number on their websites. They are companies well respected in their industry. Is there any reason for this? Should I be concerned?
Bernard Ross
August 9th, 2009 at 4:38 am #
Dear Karen, I was told that each website has a unique ICP number and that it is a way of checking the validity of a company. However, when I googled ICP 08105644 I came up with many companies, including the export import bank of china. Is it true that the numbers are unique to the website or company? thank you for your help
Righteousness of Sammich » Blog Archive » chinaSMACK t-shirt design contest
August 9th, 2009 at 5:14 am #
[...] government-controlled internet and “represent” Chinese netizens, I made a parody of China ICP license. You know, most websites based on Mainland China often have the ICP registered number and the red [...]
karen
August 9th, 2009 at 1:42 pm #
Each applicant has a unique ICP account and a unique ICP number, but the applicant could own several websites. Websites of the same owner share one ICP number. So, it happens that different websites have the same ICP number.
karen
August 9th, 2009 at 1:46 pm #
Even the companies are based in Mainland China, it is possible that their websites are hosted on overseas servers. If the websites are not hosted inside China, they don’t have to apply for ICP license. Many Chinese companies host their website on US or HK servers.
ep
August 10th, 2009 at 12:55 am #
Karen,
we want to do business and make profits in china market. does it mean we HAVE TO host our site in China? Another words, i want to make a nation wide profitable web site, do i HAVE TO apply for a ICP and have a physical server in China?
Thanks!
ell
karen
August 10th, 2009 at 1:20 pm #
Hi Ell,
Many companies host their websites outside China and still make profile in China market. However, oversea websites always have a slower loading speed for China visitors and the websites might be blocked by GFW for various reasons. So, if you host your website outside China, you’d better ask a friend in China to check your website from time to time and notify you when he has difficulty to access the website.
If you host the website in China, yes, you have to apply for an ICP license. You may consider renting a VPS (visual dedicated server) or buy a shared hosting plan from a China based hosting company. Some hosting companies help client to apply for ICP license.
Regards
Karen
Mark
August 25th, 2009 at 11:36 pm #
Hi.
Our applications are hosted on US servers. However we’re planning on using CDN servers to cache our content in servers located in China. Is an ICP license required before we can perform caching. Also, in this scenario, who is responsible for applying for an ICP license?
karen
August 26th, 2009 at 1:36 pm #
Yes, you need to have an icp license before performing caching. http://www.miibeian.gov.cn/, this is the government website where you can apply for ICP license. You may consult with your hosting company in China with the process, some Chinese hosting companies may help clients to apply for the icp license.
Des
September 11th, 2009 at 10:35 am #
Hi. I want to make a follow-up on Mark’s question. To give more background, a company is requesting that their current application hosted in the US be made faster. A third party vendor has been requested to setup the CDN servers and these will be the servers hosted in China. Who will need to file the ICP - the company or the third party vendor? Thanks in advance!
karen
September 12th, 2009 at 10:42 pm #
The owner of the website (the company) needs to file the ICP license.
greg
November 3rd, 2009 at 9:52 pm #
Hello Karen
thx for all those explanations. I need to know if a foreign website, hosted in foreign country, can apply for ICP ? I know it is not mandatory but is it possible ?
thx in advance !
Patricia
November 9th, 2009 at 6:58 pm #
Ive launched a new website in China. At the moment the server is in China. However, I have purchased a domain name in the US and am trying to use ‘forwarding’ and ‘masking’ options. The good news is that it works. I can access the purchased domain name and land on the website Ive made. HOWEVER, from China the domain name doesn`t work. From China, the website has to be accessed through the server address.
I am at a complete lose. Does this have something to do with ICP?
Thanks in advance… any help is welcome!!
karen
November 11th, 2009 at 4:39 pm #
No, it is not possible. ICP license is for websites hosted in China only.
karen
November 11th, 2009 at 4:43 pm #
Could you send me the domain name in question? I will check out and try to find out the problem.
Chieng
December 3rd, 2009 at 8:59 pm #
Hi Karen, we have an existing business (FICE) in China and we want to operate internet business. I know from the feedback above we must apply for commercial ICP. Is they a way that my company can apply for it with our FICE status?
Any issue without a license beside shutting down? Like penalties or anything?
Maybe alternatively can you suggest some local hosting server companies to me. Appreciate your help!
karen
December 4th, 2009 at 5:50 pm #
No problem to apply for commercial ICP license with your FICE status. But it requires lots of paper work and the process might last several months. Perhaps you could simply apply for a none-commercial icp license at the beginning to set up a basic website then apply for the commercial one later on?
For websites without icp license, no penalties besides shutting down.
If you need a local supplier with none-commercial icp license assistance, I will suggest a few, but I am afraid they cannot help with commercial ICP licenses.
karen
December 8th, 2009 at 1:16 pm #
Hi Maria, you may select a hosting plan at http://www.eblhost.cn/enwh.html and contact support@eblhost.cn. The support staff at eblhost.cn will help with these issues.
eric
December 18th, 2009 at 3:51 pm #
hi karen,
all your information is very usefull and highly appreciated, thanks for that!
As I Understand from posts above there are commercial ICP and a non commercial ICP licenses. What is the exact purpose of ‘having’ a commercial ICP? Doing legal business through your website? please help me out !
thanks,
cheers
eric
karen
December 21st, 2009 at 10:46 pm #
If your website provides e-business, web building or telcom services, you need to apply for commercial icp. If not, an none-commercial icp is fine.
eric
December 23rd, 2009 at 3:24 pm #
Thanks Karen; If my website provides e-business, it means selling by internet ? or also display advertisement ?
cheers
eric