Pre-approval - Before ICP Filing| Alibaba Cloud Documentation Center

If the content of your website contains information about the news, publishing, medicine, or medical device industries, you must obtain the corresponding pre-approval before you apply for an ICP filing. This topic describes industries that require pre-approvals and the authorities that issue pre-approvals. If your website needs to obtain a pre-approval, contact the corresponding local authority.

If the name of the organization, business scope, website name, or website content is related to the industries that require pre-approvals, you must apply for a pre-approval. Otherwise, the ICP filing may fail. For more information, see Industries and authorities. If the authority that you have consulted informs you that a pre-approval is not required, you need to provide remarks or submit statements as proof when you apply for an ICP filing. For more information, see Provide remarks or submit statements.

Industries and authorities

The following table lists the industries that require pre-approvals and the authorities that issue pre-approvals.


Industry	Authority	Certification of pre-approval	Remarks
News	The State Council Information Office or the information office of the people's government of the province, autonomous region, or municipality	Internet News Information Service License	None
Publishing	The State Administration of Press Publication, Radio, Film, and Television	Internet Publishing License	None
Medicines and medical devices	Provincial food and drug administration (pre-approvals for pesticide or chemical production enterprises)	Medicine Business Certificate Medical Device Trading Permit Qualification Certificate for Medicine Trading Services The certification for chemical medicines issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology	None
Culture	Provincial department of culture	Internet Culture Business Certificate	None
Broadcasts, films, and television programs	The State Administration of Press Publication, Radio, Film, and Television	License for Publication of Audio-Visual Programs through Information Network	None
Education	Provincial education department	None	The pre-approval has been abolished in all provinces except for Zhejiang, Qinghai, and Tibet.
Healthcare	Provincial department of public health	None	The pre-approval has been abolished in all provinces except for Hebei and Tibet.
Online taxi hailing	The transport commission of the region where the company is registered	Online Taxi Hailing Business Certificate	None
Electronic bulletin	Provincial communications administration	None	The pre-approval has been abolished nationwide.
Finance	The People's Bank of China Provincial finance offices and the China Banking Regulatory Commission China Insurance Regulatory Commission China Securities Regulatory Commission Asset Management Association of China	None	None
Games	Nationwide (except Sichuan and Hubei): Press Bureau of Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee Sichuan and Hubei: provincial administration of press and publication	None	None
Test-tube baby	Provincial health and family planning commission	Human-assisted Reproductive Technology Approval Certificate	None

News

Internet news information services include the publishing of news information through Internet, provision of electronic bulletin services on current affairs and politics, and transmission of communication information on current affairs and politics to the public. News information as mentioned in this topic refers to the news information on current affairs and politics, including the relevant reports and comments on politics, economy, military affairs, diplomacy, and other public affairs, as well as the relevant reports and comments on public emergencies. Internet news information service may be classified into the following three types:

1. The Internet news information service providers established by news entities to publish the news that has not been published and broadcasted by the said entities, to provide electronic bulletin services on current affairs and politics, and to transmit communication information of current affairs and politics to the public.

2. The Internet news information service providers established by non-news entities to reprint news information, to provide electronic bulletin services on current affairs and politics, and to transmit communication information of current affairs and politics to the public.

3. The Internet news information service providers established by news entities to publish the news information which has been published or broadcasted by the said news entities.

Publishing

Internet publishing refers to the online dissemination of content by the service providers. Specifically, the service providers select and edit the content produced by themselves or by others and publish or spread the content through the Internet to the users for view, read, use, or download. The content mainly includes the books, newspapers, periodicals, audio-visual products, electronic publications, and other content that has been officially published, the content that has been publicly released on other media, and edited content on literature, arts, natural sciences, social sciences, engineering technology, and other aspects.

All business activities involving online electronic reading, electronic publications, audio-visual products, Internet books, Internet newspapers, Internet magazines, mobile phone publications, academic publications, art publications, educational publications, and maps on the Internet and mobile networks must apply for the Internet Publishing License from relevant authorities.

Medicines and medical devices

According to the Measures for the Administration of Medicine Information Service over the Internet, Internet medicine information services refer to the provision of medicine, including medical appliances, and information through the Internet for Internet users.

Culture

According to the Interim Provisions on the Administration of Internet Culture, Internet cultural products mentioned in this topic refer to the cultural products produced, disseminated, and circulated through the Internet. These products include music, cartoons, and other cultural products.

Broadcasts, films, and television programs

Audio-visual programs that consist of movable pictures or sounds that can be continuously listened to. They are shot and recorded by using video cameras, recorders, and other audio-visual recording equipment, for example, video and live streaming websites.

Education

Pre-approvals of the education sector are applied to educational websites and online schools such as diploma services, distance education videos, and examination trainings.

Healthcare

Internet healthcare information services refer to the provision of medical and health information services to Internet users by launching a medical and health institution website, a disease-prevention and health knowledge website, or a disease-prevention and health channel on a comprehensive website.

Online taxi hailing

Online taxi hailing services, management, or businesses engaging in relevant activities must obtain an Online Taxi Hailing Business Certificate . Online taxi hailing services refer to business operations in which a service platform is constructed based on the Internet technologies. These businesses integrate information on supply and demand, use qualified vehicles and drivers, and provide non-cruising online taxi hailing services.

Electronic bulletin

Electronic bulletin services refer to the activities of providing Internet users with information publishing conditions in various interactive forms, including electronic bulletin boards, interactive whiteboards, electronic forums, online chat rooms, and message boards.

Note: Based on the Decision of the State Council on the Fifth Batch of Items Subject to Administrative Examination and Approval and to Be Canceled or Delegated to Lower Levels, Article 7 abolishes the pre-approval of electronic bulletin services.

Finance

If some financial terms appear in the name, business scope, website name, or website content of the organization, you must provide the required approval document issued by the financial department when you apply for an ICP filing for your website. The financial keywords involve the exchange, exchange center, finance, asset management, financial management, funds, fund management, investment management, wealth management, equity investment funds, online loans, online lending, P2P, equity crowdfunding, Internet insurance, and payment. Due to the different regulations of different provinces, the preceding financial keywords are for reference only. For more information, check the review result for your ICP filing.

Note Alibaba Cloud will verify the preceding websites on an irregular basis. ICP filings of websites that violate the regulations will be canceled.

Authorities that issue pre-approvals for financial businesses (for reference only):

For Internet payment business, consult the People's Bank of China.
For online lending business (P2P lending and online petty loan business), consult the provincial finance office and the China Banking Regulatory Commission.
For Internet insurance business, consult the China Insurance Regulatory Commission.
For Internet trust and Internet consumer finance business, consult the China Banking Regulatory Commission.
For equity crowdfunding, Internet funds, fund sales, financing, and financing guarantee business, consult the China Securities Regulatory Commission. If you need to apply for an ICP filing in Jiangsu province and your website contains information about financing or financing guarantee, you may consult the local economic and information commission.
For private equity funds, consult the Asset Management Association of China. If you apply for an ICP filing in Jiangsu province, you must submit approval documents as required by the financial regulator.

Special circumstances (for reference only):

To apply for an ICP filing for a website of charity funds or public funds, you need to submit documents such as a filing registration document verified by the civil affairs department and the letter of guarantee for non-engagement in financial business. If you want to apply for an ICP filing for such entities in Zhejiang province, you need to submit verification documents approved by the financial regulator. Entities without corresponding financial permits cannot apply for an ICP filing.
If the website content is not about finance, you need to change the name of the company or business scope. Otherwise, you cannot apply for an ICP filing for the website.

Games

A game product must obtain a pre-approval before it is officially launched and charged. In Sichuan and Hubei provinces, the pre-approval must be provided by the Administration of Press and Publication. In other provinces, the pre-approval must be provided by Press Bureau of Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee.

Test-tube baby

The test-tube baby services refer to publicizing, operating, and promoting test-tube baby products or services over the Internet.

Provide remarks or submit statements

For theindustries that require pre-approvals, if the authority informs you that the pre-approval is not required when you apply for a pre-approval, you can submit a normal ICP filing application for preliminary review. You need to provide remarks or submit statements based on the feedback of the reviewer. The following table describes the content and how to provide the materials.


Material	Description	How to provide
Remarks	The remarks must include the name of the authority, landline number with the area code, and confirmation result.	Log on to the Alibaba Cloud ICP Filing system, enter the ICP information in the Enter Website Information step and enter the remarks in the Remarks field below Pre-approval Type.
Statement	The statements do not have a fixed format but must contain the following information: The name and the landline number with the area code of the authority. The detailed introduction to the website. You must assure that the website does not involve content which requires a pre-approval and the company does not need to apply for a pre-approval. If there is any violation, all consequences will be borne by yourself. You need to provide the signature of the legal representative with the date of the day and the official seal of your organization.	During the preliminary review, if the reviewer requires the statements, the reviewer will inform you of an email address in the review comments section or send you an email. You can email the statements to the reviewer.

Note

If the remarks or statements are not accepted based on the regulations of the corresponding administration, you must apply for a pre-approval.
If the website name or website content involves the content which requires a pre-approval, you must apply for a pre-approval. Otherwise, you must modify the website name or website content.