Company registration in Yiwu — the real cost, step by step
A registered office is mandatory before anything else can start. Here is what each part costs and what happens in what order.
One thing to do before anything else: the certification chain in Iran — official translation, then judiciary certification, then the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, then the Chinese embassy stamp — is needed twice. Once for your passport, for the company registration, and again for your education certificate, for the invitation letter. It is the same chain, weeks apart, and it is the slowest part of the whole project. Put both documents through it in the same trip, before you have even chosen an office. Clients who certify only the passport and discover the degree later lose a month for no reason at all.
Registering a company in Yiwu begins with leasing a physical office. Chinese company law requires a real registered address, and the lease has to be issued in the applicant's name before the registration application can be submitted. This is the single largest line in your first-year budget, and it is the one most agents leave out of their quoted price.
One difference between the two routes is worth knowing before you choose: if you are in Yiwu yourself, we go with you to the registration bureau, you sign there, and registration usually completes in about seven working days — provided the office lease is ready. Done remotely the registration steps are the same, but the passport certification chain in Iran and getting the original translation to Yiwu add weeks to it, and that part is outside our control.
We offer three offices, mostly in the same building, at three price levels so you can choose by budget: 15,000, 16,000 or 22,000 CNY of annual rent. Each also carries a 3,000 CNY annual building charge and a 3,000 CNY deposit. The deposit is held by the landlord, not by us — if you decide not to renew at the end of the term, the landlord returns it to you.
Once the office is leased, you choose a company name and we submit it for official verification. After the name is approved, we submit the registration documents to the Yiwu company registration system. An officer then visits the office in person; this happens five working days after submission.
After the officer approves, the forms are issued to us as PDFs. We upload them to your account on our portal with instructions; you print them and sign by hand. Upload the signed scan to the portal first, so we can check the signatures are right before anything travels. You then send the **original signed forms** to our office in Yiwu, by post or with a traveller — the registration department requires the wet-ink originals and a scan does not substitute for them. Once the originals arrive we deliver them, and if nothing is queried the company certificate is issued in about two working days, with the company seals the day after.
What is included
- Company name check and reservation
- Business licence from the Yiwu authorities
- Tax registration and initial compliance setup
- Official company seals and registration documents
- All government fees, Chinese translation and the fapiao
- A portal account where you can follow every step
The registration process
- 1
Office lease
Choose one of three offices and sign the lease in your name.
- 2
Name approval
We file your chosen company name for official approval. This is done online and takes under half an hour — do not build any waiting time into your plan for it.
- 3
Officer visit
Five working days after submission, an officer inspects the office.
- 4
Licence and seals
Two working days for the certificate, one more for the seals.
- 5
Import & export licence
For trading companies only, and only once the licence exists. It takes about 10 working days and can run in parallel with the invitation letter, so it delays nothing.
Service prices
| Service | Price (CNY) | Unit |
|---|---|---|
| Company registration | 4,500 | per company |
| Bookkeeping and tax filing | 3,600 | per year |
| Work invitation letter | 3,500 | per letter |
| Import and export licence | 1,500 | per company |
| Shareholder change | 2,000 | each |
| Annual inspection and report | 1,800 | per year |
| Company address change | 1,500 | each |
| Trademark registration | 500 | per trademark |
| Company RMB bank account | free | per account |
| Company USD bank account | free | per account |
All prices are in CNY and already include government fees, translation in China, the fapiao and our commission — there is nothing extra to pay on top. For information purposes only; not a contract or an offer. (last reviewed 2026-08-26)
Frequently asked questions
Can I register a company without coming to China?
Yes. Your passport page is translated in your home country, certified by the judiciary and the ministry of foreign affairs, stamped by the Chinese embassy, and the original translation is sent to our Yiwu office by post or with a traveller.
Why do I need to rent an office before registering?
A registered physical address is a legal requirement for incorporation in China, and an officer physically inspects it before the licence is issued. A virtual address will not pass that inspection.
Is the deposit refundable?
Yes. The 3,000 CNY deposit is held by the landlord. If you choose not to renew the lease at the end of the term, the landlord returns it to you directly.
Does the business licence need renewing?
Not in practice — a Yiwu business licence is typically issued with a validity of around thirty-five years. What you do need every year is the annual inspection and the accounting filing.
Is a scan of the signed forms enough?
No. You upload the scan so we can check it, but the original signed forms must reach our office in Yiwu by post or with a traveller. The registration department requires wet-ink paper.
What do I need to be careful about when signing?
Sign with a black rollerball or fineliner, not a ballpoint, and keep the signature inside the marked box. You also need to be filmed while signing: first hold your passport open beside your face so its details are readable on camera, then sign, with the recording running unbroken to the end. The scan and the video are uploaded together in your portal, where every step is written out in full.
Do I need a Chinese partner to register?
No. The company can be registered entirely in your name, with no Chinese partner.
How many people can be registered in one company?
A minimum of one and a maximum of four. An invitation letter can be obtained for all four, and their spouses and children under 18 can come with them.
How does payment work?
Work does not begin before payment, but it is not all due at once. The first payment covers company registration and the first year of accounting. After the business licence is issued and before the invitation letter process starts, you pay for the invitation letter.
How much faster is it if I come to Yiwu myself?
Registration in person usually takes about seven working days, provided the office lease is ready. Done remotely the same steps take weeks longer, because the passport translation must go through the Iranian certification chain and the original has to reach Yiwu.
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