Field noteFive registry words
What does your supplier’s company status mean?
Find the Chinese status label in the current company record, then use the table below to choose your next check. An active record does not confirm product quality, payment safety or the licences needed for your order.
1. Match the Chinese status label
Copy the status exactly and keep the company code beside it. Use the next-check table below; a translated label alone may hide differences between jurisdictions.
2. Choose your next check
Use the status as a starting point. The table does not assess a supplier’s capacity, finances or the safety of a payment.
| Status on the record | What to check next |
|---|---|
| 存续 / 在业 Active record | Check required licences, the company on the contract and the payee. This status does not mean it is safe to pay. |
| 歇业 Filed pause | Ask when business resumed. Check the notice and any changed company details before paying. |
| 吊销 Licence revoked | Pause payment. Match the code and read the revocation record. The company may still legally exist. |
| 注销 Entity ended | Confirm which legal entity your contract names. The deregistered company has terminated. |
| 迁入 / 迁出 Registry transfer | Match the company code, new registry and address. Check the current status and required licences. |
Order No. 746, Article 12(4), sets a further limit after a licence is revoked for illegal acts. A legal representative who was at fault faces a three-year bar on holding that role. Check the full rule before applying it to a person.
Liquidation and bankruptcy have separate procedures. A status label alone does not settle your rights under an existing contract.
3. If the licence is revoked, pause the order
吊销未注销 means revoked but not yet deregistered. A company can still appear in the registry and answer messages after its business licence has been revoked. A storefront is not evidence that it may trade.
Check that the record matches your supplier’s code. If it does, pause payment and ask for records that explain what happened. Get legal advice if this affects your order or a dispute.
A licence photo may predate the revocation. In a 264-manufacturer change-log sample, 54.9% had changed registration within 12 months. That sample measures registration changes, not revocation risk. Keep a dated record of your own check.
The dated examples below show how status labels varied across two samples.
4. Re-check at the points that affect your order
- Before the deposit: check the code for typing errors, then read the current company record. An active status does not approve the payment. Match the contract entity and payee too.
- Before the balance: repeat the lookup if production has taken months or the supplier’s details have changed. Save the new query date.
- During a dispute: identify the legal entity behind the order. If it is revoked or deregistered, get qualified advice on your specific claim.
Use the official registration search steps, or request a China-side record check. Appeals, liquidation and disputes need case-specific review. This guide is not legal advice.
5. If the supplier is dormant, ask whether it has resumed
Under Order No. 746, an entity facing specified operating difficulties can file 歇业 before pausing business. The published dormancy period may not exceed three years.
Article 42 of the implementing rules requires public notice within 30 days of deciding to resume or actually resuming business. Changes to the company record must also be filed as required.
If a dormant company sends you a quote, ask when it resumed. Check the public notice and any changed company details before paying.
Research examples: different labels for active records
A separate lookup started with 106 Chinese manufacturers listed by the US vehicle regulator, NHTSA. Searches by English name returned 84 possible matches on 18 August 2026.
| Status shown | Records | Means |
|---|---|---|
| 存续 | 64 | Active |
| 仍注册 | 11 | Active: Hong Kong wording |
| 在业 | 3 | Active: different provincial wording |
| 注销 | 6 | Deregistered: the company is gone |
存续 and 在业 describe active records. The 仍注册 wording here comes from Hong Kong’s separate registry. Check which jurisdiction and entity the result belongs to.
Six candidate records showed 注销. Match the company code before connecting any such result to your quotation. A name search alone does not establish that identity.
None of the 84 records showed 吊销. This small, selected sample cannot establish how common revocation is among suppliers generally.
What else can the lookup return?
Once you have checked status, look for changes, filings and the certificates needed for your order. Some may be missing. This sample covered 19 record categories for 45 manufacturers on 21–22 August 2026.
| Field | Companies with a record |
|---|---|
| Legal form and status | 45 of 45 |
| Shareholders and annual reports | 44 of 45 |
| Change history and import/export credit | 41 of 45 |
| Qualification certificates | 36 of 45 |
| Current sanction records | 0 of 45 |
The lookup returned status for all 45 companies. It returned no current sanction records for any of them. That is a result from the queried source, not proof that all 45 had no sanctions.
Record missing fields as missing. A status result cannot fill the gaps in qualifications, annual reports or change history.
Official sources
- Market Entity Registration Regulations, Order No. 746. Article 30 covers dormancy. Article 31 covers termination on deregistration; Articles 32–34 describe deregistration routes. Article 12(4) sets conditions for the legal-representative restriction.
- Implementing Rules for Market Entity Registration. Article 42 requires notice within 30 days when business resumes.
- National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System (GSXT). Use it to check the matched company’s published record.
Official texts checked 5 September 2026. Each sample keeps its query date. Use a fresh lookup for your supplier.
Frequently asked questions
What does 存续 mean in a Chinese company registration?
存续 means the company remains registered. 在业 is another active-status label. Neither proves that it holds every required operating licence or that a payment is safe.
What is the difference between 吊销 and 注销?
注销 means the entity has terminated on deregistration. 吊销 means the business licence has been revoked as a penalty. Losing the licence alone does not end the company.
Why is revoked-but-not-deregistered (吊销未注销) the state that catches buyers?
The company may still appear in a registry and answer messages after revocation. Match the company code, read the revocation record and pause payment while resolving the issue.
Can I rely on a photo of the business licence for company status?
No. A photo may predate a status change. Look up the current company record for the exact company code, and save the source and query date.
How we checked
Availability figures come from requests to the official portals, each with its status and elapsed time recorded, repeated on later dates with the date beside the number. Field statistics come from reading the same registration fields across a stated sample of official records. Candidate figures come from running real supplier names through our own lookup and recording how many candidates came back and where the intended company sat. Fill rates come from running our report process on real companies and counting how many of the twelve dimensions returned data on the date stated. The most recent query date on this page is 28 August 2026. Where a table carries its own date, that date governs.
The official pages we read are listed on this page with the date each was accessed, so every figure can be re-checked at source.
Before you pay a deposit Use the free pre-payment checklist to review the company, payee and order terms.
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