Buyer questionAnswered from the China side
Third-party inspection in China: scope and blind spots.
A third-party inspection checks sampled goods against your written brief. It does not, by itself, verify the contract seller or payee. Agree those checks separately before payment.
1. What a third-party inspection actually covers
An inspector checks the agreed goods at a named site against your written brief. Common checks include:
- Quantity: cartons present, units per carton, against the packing list.
- Workmanship: visual defects, classified by severity, against agreed limits.
- Function and safety tests: whatever your brief specifies: on/off cycles, drop test, dimensional checks, pull tests.
- Packaging, labelling and shipping marks: including barcodes and country-of-origin marking, checked against the destination requirements in your brief.
Ask the provider to confirm which checks and tests it can perform. The report covers the agreed scope and observations; it does not certify the whole supplier.
Prepare the inspection brief and acceptance criteria.
2. A pass is a statement about a sample
For a sample-based inspection, agree how units will be selected and how defects will be counted. A pass does not mean every unit is defect-free.
An AQL (Acceptable Quality Limit) plan sets lot-acceptance rules for the chosen sample. Ask the provider to explain these before booking:
- Sampling: lot size, inspection level, sample size and selection method.
- Pass limits: critical, major and minor defects, AQL values and acceptance or rejection counts.
Record the plan and defect definitions in the order. Do not wait until a failed inspection to agree them.
3. Choose when to inspect
Choose the visit date around the production stage and the decision you need to make.
- During production: check selected work while there is time to correct it.
- Before shipment: inspect the defined lot and agree how failed findings will be resolved before release.
- Before balance payment: align the inspection with any payment conditions in your contract.
- On arrival: check received goods and record damage or defects within the applicable claim deadlines.
Agree access, provider, date and scope. Ask the inspector to disclose conflicts and sampling limits. Supplier involvement alone does not determine independence.
Before you book: which entity does the inspector meet?
Name the site operator in the booking brief. The visit address and contract seller may belong to different companies.
On 22 August 2026, we checked returned group and branch records for 45 uniquely matched companies in the NHTSA study.
| Structure | Companies |
|---|---|
| Group record returned | 10 of 45: 22% |
| Branch record returned | 8 of 45: 18% |
The rows can overlap. They describe returned records in this cohort, not the number of sites a company operates.
Ask for the operator’s Chinese name and credit code, its link to the seller, and how the inspector will confirm those details.
A missing group or branch record does not prove a standalone factory. A branch entry does not prove production takes place there.
4. Check the seller and payee separately
Keep these checks separate from the goods inspection:
- Contract seller: match the Chinese legal name, 18-character code and current company record to your contract.
- Payee: match the beneficiary to the seller. Verify changed instructions through a contact you already trust before sending funds.
Confirm what the provider was engaged to check. A report on goods does not, by itself, verify the seller or payment instructions.
How the two fit together
Plan the checks around the order:
- Before deposit: match the company, seller and payee, and agree the inspection terms.
- Before release: review the inspection findings against those terms and record the next action.
Currawong provides company-record checks. We do not perform or resell product inspections. Our separately quoted site visit reports scoped observations at an address; it is not a quality inspection.
Engage an inspection provider directly. Related: factory capability, supplier due diligence and minimum order quantity.
Registry evidence is separate, and access can fail
If a registry will not open, record the access problem and arrange a follow-up check. A failed lookup is not evidence about the supplier.
Keep the company record, inspection report and payment check in the same order file, with their sources, dates and unresolved questions.
PRIMARY SOURCES
Sources for this page
ISO’s overview and QIMA’s sampling guide rechecked 5 September 2026. Confirm the provider’s current accreditation, scope and terms separately.
- ISO/IEC 17020:2026, Requirements for bodies performing inspectionThe competence and impartiality standard for inspection bodies. A current edition was published in 2026; ask which edition an inspector’s accreditation cites.
- QIMA: AQL samplingProvider guidance on lot size, inspection level, sample size and acceptance counts.
This guide helps you prepare a brief. It is not an inspection, legal opinion or conformity assessment.
Questions before booking
What does a third-party inspection in China actually check?
The agreed goods at the named site, checked against your brief. The report states observations, results and limits. Confirm the tests and sampling scope with the provider before booking.
Does a passed inspection mean the whole shipment is good?
No. A sample-based pass means the lot met the agreed acceptance rules for that sample. It does not show that every unit is defect-free.
What can an inspection not tell me?
A goods report does not, by itself, verify your contract seller or payee. Arrange those checks separately and confirm any extra work in the inspector’s scope.
When should the inspection happen?
Choose the stage that fits your decision: during production, before shipment or on arrival. Agree access and correction steps in advance, including any link to balance payment.
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. 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 22 August 2026. Where a table carries its own date, that date governs.
Need company records? Review the Company records before a contract selection in the report menu. Packs start from $26.55. Confirm the selected lines and delivery window before ordering.