The latest policy changes in the China's app market pose new challenges for foreign app providers. To help you meet the relevant compliance requirements, we have prepared a comprehensive guide to app filing in China, enabling you to quickly adapt to the revised regulations.

What are the basic requirements for applying for app filing?

The basic requirements for applying for app filing are as follows:

1. Have a Chinese legal entity operating the app within mainland China. If you don't have a legal entity in mainland China and don't intend to establish a branch there, you can only apply for and release your app through cooperation with partners(e.g. AppFilingChina) in mainland China.

2. The backend servers of the app must be hosted within mainland China. This requires migrating the backend of your app to an account of a cloud service provider(such as Alibaba Cloud, Tencent Cloud, and other Chinese cloud service providers) within mainland China owned by your Chinese legal entity or partner .

3. A website corresponding to your app needs to be hosted within mainland China.

4. A domain name that complies with the requirements of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), which will be used to point to the website pages corresponding to your app and the app's backend servers. Please refer to this list of domain names.

What necessary information is required for applying for app filing?

In addition to meeting the above basic requirements, you must also provide additional information about each of your Apps as follows:

1. App name. The English and/or Chinese name of the application.

2. Operating license for special category apps. If your APP belongs to one of the following categories, you need to upload proof that the Chinese legal entity holds the license required to operate such apps:

• News
• Publishing
• Education
• Medical
• Pharmaceuticals and medical devices
• Bulletin board
• Culture
• Broadcasting, film, and television programs
• Ride-hailing
• Financial
• Off-campus training (high school and below)
• Religion
• Games

3. App type. Please select the type of your app from the following options: household services, food, leisure and entertainment, travel, transportation, automotive services, education, warehousing and express delivery services, medical services, government services, financial services, information transmission, software and IT services, wholesale and retail trade, security, industrial internet software, other.

4. App language.

5. App icon.

6. SDK declaration. You need to confirm which SDKs are used within the application. Currently, SDKs can only be declared from a limited list of Chinese SDK developers, so there is no need to declare international SDKs.

7. Platform type. You must select all platforms on which the application is provided: Android, iOS, BlackBerry, Harmony, Linux, other platforms.

8. Feature information for each platform. For example, for Android applications, you need to provide the application package name, signature MD5 value, and public key; for iOS applications, you need to provide the Bundle ID, signature SHA-1 value, and public key.

9. Basic information of the person in charge of the application: name, ID number, phone number, office phone, email, instant messaging account ID (such as WeChat ID), etc.

10. Filing information: Internet service provider name, website access method (dedicated line, hosting, virtual host, or other cloud access methods), website IP address, domain name, server location (must be in mainland China).

Where should I apply for app filing?

Once you have prepared all the above-mentioned content, you can submit the filing application through your internet access provider. If you are a foreign company without a branch in China, you should contact your domestic distribution partner(e.g. AppFilingChina) to submit the filing application through the partner.

How long does it take to process app filing?

Once you or your domestic partner in China submits the filing materials to the provincial communication administration, the filing is generally completed within 20 working days. After the filing is completed, you will receive a filing number.

What should I do after obtaining the app filing number?

After obtaining the ICP filing number, you should display the filing number prominently in the app. For example, you can place it in the "Settings" or "About" screen. The font and color should be easy to read, and the number should not be hidden or displayed in inconspicuous colors.

How can AppFilingChina help you?

We specialize in assisting international companies in launching apps in the Chinese app market and completing compliance requirements. If you need support for app publishing or filing, feel free to contact us for consultation.