Free tool · Factory or Trader
USCC decoder
Every Chinese company has an 18-character Unified Social Credit Code (USCC). The code itself tells you who registered it, what kind of entity it is and where, and its last character proves it was typed correctly.
What the 18 characters mean
Character 1 is the registering authority (9 is the market regulator, which registers every company) and character 2 the entity type (1 is a company, 2 an individual business). Characters 3 to 8 are the administrative division of the office that registered it.
Characters 9 to 17 are the organization code, and character 18 is a check character computed from the first 17 under the national standard GB 32100-2015. A code that fails the check was mistyped or invented.
Ask every new supplier for its USCC and match it against the name on the contract, the invoice and the bank account. A supplier that starts 92 is an individual business, not a company. A valid code proves the format; a report shows what the company behind it really does.
Get the full verdict on your supplier
A Factory or Trader report reads the supplier's own VAT invoices, permits, staff and court records, then tells you factory, trader or combined, and which factory is likely behind it.
Also free: Business scope checker