The classification screen

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.

01

What address is on the licence?

Publicity system.

Address
02

Who is the legal representative?

Personal service options.

LR
03

Has the court already tried?

Door for announcement.

Attempts
04

Any agreed electronic service?

Contract clause.

E-service

Working rule: Domestic service on a Chinese company is generally to the registered domicile or to the legal representative / authorised receiver.

What changes the answer

The signal ledger.

These facts move the question beyond a label and into a product, money-flow and control analysis.

Signal
Ask the operating question
Why it changes the route
WeChat PDF
Sending the complaint on WeCom.
Not service.
Old office
Serving a park they left.
Licence address still matters.
Skip the court
Courier from Hong Kong.
Not PRC service.
Prepare before you escalate

Bring a compact evidence docket—not a pitch deck.

Give a compliance team or counsel the operating facts that reveal the perimeter.

01Licence/publicity printAddress and LR.
02Lease/on-site notesWhether anyone is there.
03Contract service clauseIf any.
Common confusions

Questions people ask before they build.

Short answers for orientation. The right result can change with the service model and current rules.

Can I serve the branch instead of the parent?

A branch is not the company. Serve the legal person unless the branch is the named defendant.

What if they refuse to take the papers?

The court records refusal. That can still complete service under the rules.

Primary authorities

Reviewed sources support orientation, not a fact-specific assessment.

PRC Civil Procedure Law (NPC)
Supreme People’s Court
Gov.cn
National laws database (NPC)