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ICP 备案 Filing: What Foreign Brands Actually Need

Filing types, sponsor model, real-name and domain rules, top rejection reasons, renewal pitfalls — everything that goes wrong with ICP filings.

By Mike · China-entry broker 9 min read

ICP 备案 Filing: What Foreign Brands Actually Need — overview illustration

ICP 备案 (filing) vs ICP 许可证 (license) — which one you need

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The sponsor model — entity-tied filings and why they exist

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Real-name verification and the 30-day PSB clock

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Top 10 reasons foreign-brand ICP filings get rejected

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Renewal, transfer between sponsors, and annual review

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When a foreign-hosted site can skip the filing entirely

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Go deeper

Frequently asked questions

Can a Hong Kong company hold an ICP filing?

No. The filing must be held by a mainland-registered entity. A Hong Kong company can own the mainland entity, but the filing itself stays mainland-side.

How many domains can one ICP filing cover?

Multiple domains, but each must be added to the filing record. Adding a domain post-filing requires a supplementary submission and typically 5-15 business days.

What is the PSB sub-filing 30-day clock?

After your ICP filing is approved by MIIT, you have 30 days to register the site with the local PSB (Public Security Bureau) at the cyber-security level. Missing this window can void the ICP filing.

Does my domain have to match my registered entity name?

Not literally, but the domain must be registered to the same entity that holds the ICP filing. Domain WHOIS will be checked against the filing entity. A brand-name domain registered to a different entity than the ICP filer will fail.

What does this cost?

The quoted-pricing tile on the parent service page lists current per-filing fees. We update these annually and stamp the last-reviewed date on every page.

What documents do you need from us?

The exact document checklist varies by filing. Each guide includes a printable PDF checklist you can pre-flight before contacting us.

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