There are three main categories of ICP registration relevant to websites or e-commerce platforms hosted on a server or Content Delivery Network (CDN) in Mainland China:

ICP Filing, ICP License and EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) License.

It is important to first understand which ICP category will allow your company’s website to operate with its intended functionality. That being said, an ICP Filing is compulsory for all applicants.

An ICP License allows online platforms selling goods and services to deploy their website on a hosting server or CDN within Mainland China. An example is a retailer that is marketing and selling directly via an online payment gateway such as Alipay or PayPal.

Organizations intending to operate at a commercial level must apply for the ICP Filing before applying for the ICP Commercial License. Once they receive the ICP Filing, they may operate their website, but only as an information platform: they cannot trade from the website until they receive their ICP License.

There are prerequisites for certain industries operating in China prior to the ICP registration requirement. Organizations involved in online news information services, Internet publications, education, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, culture, radio, film and TV, financial services, call centers or telecommunications, will definitely need to check the prerequisites which relate to their classification.

There are three main categories of ICP registration relevant to websites or e-commerce platforms hosted on a server or Content Delivery Network (CDN) in Mainland China:

ICP Filing, ICP License and EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) License.

It is important to first understand which ICP category will allow your company’s website to operate with its intended functionality. That being said, an ICP Filing is compulsory for all applicants.

An EDI License is required for web platforms processing online data and transactions. This means marketplaces that have multiple vendors directly selling goods and services on a web platform, as opposed to one vendor selling their products from an e-commerce website. An example would be platforms or marketplaces such as Taobao or Tmall where the platform facilitates transactions between multiple independent vendors and customers. The specific criteria vary across China and will evolve over time but any business in Peer-to-Peer lending or the fast-growing areas of “C2C” (Customer-to-customer) and “O2O” (Online-to-offline) transactions will need an EDI License to operate.

To obtain an EDI License, applicants must first apply for an ICP Filing.