China ICP filing and the ICP license are the two registrations a website or online service needs before it can be served from servers inside mainland China. ICP stands for Internet Content Provider. The ICP filing, often called ICP bei’an, registers a non-commercial site, such as a company website, against its owner and hosting provider. The ICP license, a value-added telecommunications permit, is needed for commercial internet information services, broadly those provided for compensation; which permit a service needs depends on its model. Requirements are set by Chinese regulators and enforced in practice by hosting providers, and they change, so this entry is an overview for buyers, not legal advice.
At a glance
- A filing is generally required before a domain can be served from servers or CDN nodes in mainland China.
- Most company and marketing sites need only the filing; internet information services provided for compensation need the ICP license, and platform activity may need another permit, such as an EDI license.
- Applicants generally need a legal entity in mainland China; commercial licenses have additional ownership and capital conditions.
- The filing is submitted through the hosting or cloud provider, which can block domains without one.
- Sites hosted outside mainland China avoid the filing but often load slowly or unreliably for mainland users.
What problem it solves
China regulates who publishes online content from inside the country. The filing gives regulators a record of who operates each site, where it is hosted and who is responsible for it; the license controls who may run commercial internet services. For the site owner, compliance is the price of local hosting.
For a mid-market buyer, the problem appears as performance. A global website hosted in the US or Europe can be slow or patchy for users in mainland China, because traffic crosses congested international links. Hosting inside China, or using a mainland CDN, can improve that, but mainland providers generally block domains that lack a valid filing. Teams that plan a China launch without allowing time for the filing can see their timeline slip.
How it works
Eligibility. The applicant is usually a company or individual in mainland China. A foreign company without a local entity generally cannot file in its own name and relies on a subsidiary or partner.
Filing. The owner buys mainland hosting, cloud or CDN service, then submits company, domain, website and responsible-person details through the provider’s filing system. The provider checks the application and passes it to the regional communications administration under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). Once approved, the filing number is displayed on the website, usually in the footer.
License. A business offering commercial internet information services applies for an ICP license, a category of value-added telecommunications license, with stricter requirements on the applicant, its ownership and its capital. Whether a service counts as commercial depends on its model, not simply on whether the company sells something: selling your own goods on your own site does not automatically require the license, while hosting third-party merchants or other platform activity may call for a different value-added telecom permit, such as an EDI license. Classify your service against current MIIT licensing categories with local counsel or your provider.
After approval. A public security filing commonly follows. The filing must be kept current when hosting providers, domains or responsible people change, or the domain can be blocked.
Related rules. Content on Chinese servers is subject to local content rules, and personal information collected there falls under the Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL).
Filing vs license
There are no levels in the usual sense. The structure is two instruments, plus related filings.
| Instrument | Who needs it | How it is obtained | Typical evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| ICP filing (bei’an) | Non-commercial sites and services served from mainland servers or CDN, such as company and marketing sites | Submitted through the hosting provider and approved by the regional communications administration | Filing number shown on the site |
| ICP license (commercial) | Internet information services provided for compensation, depending on the service model | Value-added telecom license application to the communications authorities, with entity and ownership conditions | License number shown on the site |
| EDI license | Online data and transaction processing services, such as some platforms that host third-party merchants | Separate value-added telecom license application, with entity and ownership conditions | License number shown on the site |
| Public security filing | Commonly required after the ICP filing | Filed with public security authorities online | Public security filing number |
| Sector permits | Regulated activities such as payments, news, publishing, games or healthcare information | Separate approvals from the relevant regulator | Permit numbers |
When it matters for buyers
- When launching a site, app or portal for mainland China users. Build the filing, and possibly a license, into the timeline.
- When choosing a cloud or CDN for China. Providers differ in filing support and in how they deliver traffic across the border.
- When deciding between mainland and nearby hosting. Hong Kong or Singapore avoids the filing but costs performance; compare with a test from inside China.
- When structuring a China entity. The entity determines whether you can file at all.
Our public cloud, CDN and global WAN overviews cover China hosting and delivery options.
Questions to ask vendors
- Do you serve our domains from mainland China, and do you support ICP filing through your platform?
- Which local entity will be the filing owner, and what happens if we change providers?
- If we only need a filing, can we use your mainland CDN without moving our origin servers?
- What performance can mainland users expect if we host in Hong Kong or Singapore instead?
- Where is personal information from China users stored, and how do you support PIPL obligations?
- What happens to our site if the filing lapses or details change?
How it differs from data residency
Data residency is about where data is stored and processed, often to meet a law or customer requirement. ICP filing and licensing are about permission to publish or operate an online service from servers in mainland China, whatever data is involved. They often meet, because a company that keeps China data local for PIPL reasons will usually host its China-facing site locally too, which brings the filing. A content delivery network (CDN) with mainland nodes needs a filed domain, and DNS pointing a domain at mainland servers without one usually results in the domain being blocked by the provider. A governance, risk and compliance (GRC) program should track these permits alongside privacy duties.