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

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

If the name, business scope, website name, or website content of the organization involves the content that requires a pre-approval, you must apply for a pre-approval. Otherwise, the ICP filing application 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 must 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 describes the industries that require pre-approvals and the authorities that issue pre-approvals. You can apply for a pre-approval based on actual conditions. To apply for a pre-approval, you must log on to the Alibaba Cloud ICP Filing system, enter the ICP filing information, select the desired pre-approval type, enter the pre-approval number, and then upload the relevant pre-approval documents.

Note If the entered pre-approval information or the uploaded pre-approval documents are invalid, you can modify them based on actual conditions.

If the ICP filing application has not been submitted for the preliminary review, you can log on to the Alibaba Cloud ICP Filing System from a PC and modify the information as required on the Modify Website Information page.
If the ICP filing application has been submitted for the preliminary review, you must wait for the Alibaba Cloud reviewer to review the application. During the preliminary review, if the reviewer discovers that your pre-approval information is invalid, your ICP filing application is rejected. In this case, you can log on to the Alibaba Cloud ICP Filing System from a PC and modify the information as required on the Modify Website Information page.


Industry	Authority	Certification for pre-approval	Remarks
News	Office of the cyberspace affairs commission of a province, an autonomous region, or a municipality	Internet News Information Service License	N/A
Publishing	Publicity department of the provincial committee of CPC and provincial administration of press, publication, radio, film, and television of a province, an autonomous region, or a municipality	Internet Publishing License	N/A
Medicine and medical devices	Provincial food and drug administration (pre-approvals for pesticide or chemical production enterprises)	Provide one of the following pre-approval documents based on the review result: Qualification Certificate for Medicine Trading Services Certification for chemical medicine issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology Pharmaceutical Trade License (supported by some provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities, and cities) Medical Device Trading Permit (supported by some provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities, and cities) Note The authorities in some provinces, autonomous regions, or municipalities, such as Beijing and Shandong, do not accept the Pharmaceutical Trade License or Medical Device Trading Permit as a pre-approval document during the ICP filing application process. You may refer to the review result for detailed information.	N/A
Culture	Provincial department of culture and tourism	Internet Culture Business Certificate	N/A
Broadcasts, films, and TV programs	Publicity department of the provincial committee of CPC and provincial administration of press, publication, radio, film, and television of a province, an autonomous region, or a municipality	License for Publication of Audio-Visual Programs through Information Network	Regulatory authorities require pre-approvals.
Education	Provincial education department	N/A	The pre-approval has been abolished in China.
Healthcare	Provincial department of public health	N/A	The pre-approval has been abolished in China.
Online taxi hailing	Transport commission of the region where the company is registered	Online Taxi Hailing Business Certificate	N/A
Electronic bulletin	Provincial communications administration	N/A	The pre-approval has been abolished in China.
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	N/A	N/A
Games	All provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities except for Sichuan and Hubei: Press Bureau of Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee and the provincial administration of press, publication, radio, film, and television Sichuan and Hubei: Sichuan: provincial administration of press, publication, radio, film, and television Hubei: provincial administration of press and publication	N/A	N/A
Religion	Ethnic and religious affairs commission at the provincial level, municipal level, or district level	Documented approval of religious information and practices by the ethnic and religious affairs commission	Pre-approvals are required only in Guangdong.

News

Information services of Internet news include the publishing of news information over the Internet, supply of electronic bulletin services on current affairs and politics, and broadcast of communication information on current affairs and politics. News information includes relevant reports and comments on public affairs such as politics, economy, military affairs, diplomacy, and public emergencies. The information service of Internet news can be classified into the following three types:

1. Service providers of Internet news information established by news entities to publish news that is not published and broadcast by the said entities, provide electronic bulletin services on current affairs and politics, and broadcast communication information on current affairs and politics

2. Service providers of Internet news information established by non-news entities to reprint news information, provide electronic bulletin services on current affairs and politics, and broadcast communication information on current affairs and politics

3. Service providers of Internet news information established by news entities to publish news information which is published or broadcast by the said news entities

Publishing

Internet publishing refers to the online broadcast of content by the service providers. Specifically, the service providers choose and edit the content produced by themselves or by others and publish or spread the content over the Internet to the users for browsing, reading, use, or downloading. The content comes from different aspects such as books, newspapers, periodicals, audio-visual products, electronic publications, content that is released to the public on other media, and edited content on literature, arts, natural sciences, social sciences, and engineering technology.

All business activities that involve the following content must apply for the Internet Publishing License from relevant authorities: 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.

Medicine and medical devices

Based on the Measures for the Administration of Medicine Information Service over the Internet, Internet information services of medicine refer to activities conducted on the Internet to provide users with medicines and medical devices.

Culture

Based on the Interim Provisions on the Administration of Internet Culture, online cultural content refers to cultural goods and services that are created, transmitted, and circulated on the Internet. Examples of online cultural content are online music and cartoons.

Broadcasts, films, and TV programs

This type of online content refers to audio-visual programs that consist of movable pictures or sounds that can be continuously listened to, such as the content on video and live streaming websites. Such content is shot and recorded by using audio-visual recording equipment such as video cameras and recorders.

Education

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

Healthcare

Internet information services of healthcare refer to the supply 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 refer to taxi hailing operations on a technology-powered business platform that arranges for on-demand taxi rides online. An Online Taxi Hailing Business Certificate is required for any enterprises that provide online taxi hailing services or related activities.

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 at the Management Level to Be Canceled or Delegated to Lower Level, Article 7 abolished 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 terms include 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 terms are for reference only. For more information, check the review result of the ICP filing application.

Note Alibaba Cloud verifies the websites that involve the preceding financial terms on an irregular basis. ICP numbers of websites that violate the regulations are canceled.

For reference, you can consult the following authorities to obtain pre-approvals for financial business:

For Internet payment business, consult the People's Bank of China.
For online lending business, such as P2P lending and online small 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 on 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.

For reference, you can perform related operations in the following special circumstances:

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

Games

A game must receive a pre-approval before it can be launched and charge any fees. In Sichuan Province, the pre-approval is issued by the provincial administration of press, publication, radio, film, and television. In Hubei Province, the pre-approval is issued by the provincial administration of press and publication. In other provinces, the pre-approval must be issued by the Press Bureau of Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee or the provincial administration of press, publication, radio, film, and television.

Religion

For an ICP filing for online religious information and practices, Guangdong is the only province that requires documented approvals granted by the ethnic and religious affairs commission at the provincial level, municipal level, or district level.

Provide remarks or submit statements

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


Material	Description	How to provide
Remarks	You must include the name of the authority, landline number with the area code, and confirmation result in the remarks.	Log on to the Alibaba Cloud ICP Filing System, enter the ICP filing information in theEnter Website Information step, and then enter the remarks in the Remarks field below Pre-approval Type.
Statements	The statements do not have a fixed format but you must include the following information: Name and landline number with the area code of the authority Detailed introduction to the website Letter of commitment that assures that your website does not involve content that requires a pre-approval, your company does not need to apply for a pre-approval, and your company must bear all consequences for any violation Signature of the legal representative with the date and the official seal of your company	During the preliminary review, if the reviewer requires the statements, the reviewer informs you of an email address in the review comments or sends 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 relevant authority, you must apply for a pre-approval.
If your website name or website content involves the content that requires a pre-approval, you must apply for a pre-approval. Otherwise, you must modify the website name or website content.