The licence is the company’s face to banks and counterparties — a PDF scan without chops is a weak original.
The business licence (营业执照) shows name, Unified Social Credit Code, type, legal representative, registered capital, scope, address and term. Electronic licences exist; many banks still want the paper original or a defined e-licence. Changes (name, LR, address, capital, scope) issue a replacement. Lost licences are a police/SAMR process. This page is the document. Scope, address, USCC and chops are related pages. The national formation guide stays the long piece.
4 questions before you choose the route.
This page identifies the right question and evidence. It does not determine the legal outcome on a reader’s facts.
Do you hold the original?
Who custodied it?
OriginalDoes it match SAMR public search?
Stale paper.
MatchWhich fields are about to change?
Replacement filing.
ChangeElectronic vs paper for this bank?
Ask them.
FormWorking rule: Map the regulated role before marketing or launch in China.
The signal ledger.
These facts move the question beyond a label and into a product, money-flow and control analysis.
Bring a compact evidence docket—not a pitch deck.
Give a compliance team or counsel the operating facts that reveal the perimeter.
Questions people ask before they build.
Short answers for orientation. The right result can change with the service model and current rules.
Is the electronic licence enough?
For some government and platform uses, yes. Banks and counterparties still often want paper or their own e-verify.
Where is the long formation guide?
Primary authorities
Reviewed sources support orientation, not a fact-specific assessment.