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 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, business scope, website name, or website content of the organization is related to the industries that require pre-approvals, 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 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 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 corresponding pre-approval documents.

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

If the ICP filing application has not been submitted for 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 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 incorrect, your ICP filing application will be 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 page.


Industry	Authority	Certification for pre-approval	Remarks
News	The State Council Information Office or the information office of the people's government of a province, an autonomous region, or a municipality	Internet News Information Service License	N/A
Publishing	The State Administration of Press Publication, Radio, Film, and Television	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 results: Qualification Certificate for Medicine Trading Services Certification for chemical medicine issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology Medicine Business Certificate (supported by some provinces and cities) Medical Device Trading Permit (supported by some provinces and cities) Note The authorities in some provinces such as Beijing and Shandong do not accept the Medicine Business Certificate or Medical Device Trading Permit as a pre-approval document during the ICP filing application process. These documents are only supported by some provinces and cities. You may refer to the review results for detailed information.	N/A
Culture	Provincial department of culture	Internet Culture Business Certificate	N/A
Broadcasts, films, and TV programs	The State Administration of Press Publication, Radio, Film, and Television	License for Publication of Audio-Visual Programs through Information Network	Currently, regulatory authorities require pre-approvals. Otherwise, the ICP filing application may fail.
Education	Provincial education department	N/A	The pre-approval has been abolished in all provinces except for Zhejiang, Qinghai, and Xizang.
Healthcare	Provincial department of public health	N/A	The pre-approval has been abolished in all provinces except for Hebei and Xizang.
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.
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 except for Sichuan and Hubei: Press Bureau of Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee Sichuan and Hubei: provincial administration of press and publication	N/A	N/A
IVF services	Provincial health and family planning commission	Human-assisted Reproductive Technology Approval Certificate	N/A

News

Internet news information services include the publishing of news information over the 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 services may be classified into the following three types:

1. Internet news information service providers established by news entities to publish the news that has not been published and broadcast 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. 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. Internet news information service providers established by news entities to publish the news information which has been published or broadcast 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 over the Internet to the users for browsing, reading, use, or downloading. 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.

Medicine 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 over 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 over the Internet. These products include music, cartoons, and other cultural products.

Broadcasts, films, and TV 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 training.

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: According to 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 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 of the ICP filing application.

Note Alibaba Cloud will verify the preceding websites on an irregular basis. ICP numbers 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 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.

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 application 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 issued by the 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.

IVF services

The IVF services refer to publicizing, operating, and promoting IVF products or services over the Internet.

Provide remarks or submit statements

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


Material	Description	How to provide
Remarks	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 filing information in the Enter Website Information step and enter the remarks in the Remarks field below Pre-approval Type.
Statements	The statements do not have a fixed format but must contain the following information: Name and landline number with the area code of the authority Detailed introduction to the website Letter of commitment assuring that the website does not involve content which requires a pre-approval and the company does not need to apply for a pre-approval and that you shall bear all consequences if there is any violation 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.