This topic describes the terms related to Internet Content Provider (ICP) filing.

Term Description
ICP filing The People's Republic of China mandates an ICP filing system for non-commercial Internet information services and an ICP licensing system for commercial Internet information services. A website that has not obtained an official ICP filing or a commercial ICP license is prohibited from providing non-commercial or commercial Internet information services. Therefore, all websites that provide services to Mainland China must first obtain an ICP filing.
ICP number After your application for an ICP filing is approved, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) assigns an entity ICP number to the ICP filing entity and a website ICP number to the website.
service identification number

To apply for a service identification number, you must purchase an Alibaba Cloud instance, a product from Alibaba Cloud Marketplace for website building, or an IoT bandwidth plan first.

service provider A service provider provides website hosting services and helps you apply for an ICP filing.
entity An entity refers to the individual, enterprise, or organization that applies for an ICP filing.
initial ICP filing If you have never obtained an ICP filing for the entity or domain name of your website, you must obtain the initial ICP filing by using the Alibaba Cloud ICP Filing system before you provide web services.
add Alibaba Cloud to the ICP filing information as a service provider You may have obtained an ICP filing for your website through another service provider and want to host your website on Alibaba Cloud. In this case, you must add Alibaba Cloud to the ICP filing information as a service provider.
ICP filing application for new websites
ICP filing applications for new websites involve the following scenarios:
  • The entity has obtained an ICP filing through another service provider. Now, the entity purchases an Alibaba Cloud instance and wants to apply for an ICP filing for a new domain name. In this case, the entity must obtain a new ICP filing through Alibaba Cloud.
  • The entity has obtained an ICP filing through Alibaba Cloud and wants to host a new website on Alibaba Cloud. In this case, the entity must apply for an ICP filing for the new website in the Alibaba Cloud ICP Filing system.
modify the ICP filing information You may have obtained an ICP filing through Alibaba Cloud and the ICP filing entity or website information changes. In this case, you must modify the entity information or website information in the Alibaba Cloud ICP Filing system to keep your information updated.
claim the ICP filing information You may have obtained an ICP filing by using the HiChina ICP Filing system before June 1, 2010, and you have not added other service providers to the ICP filing information or imported the ICP filing information to your Alibaba Cloud account. In this case, you are required to claim the ICP filing information.
remove Alibaba Cloud from the service provider list You can dissociate the ICP filing information of a website from the Alibaba Cloud ICP Filing system. Alibaba Cloud is no longer your service provider after you remove it from the service provider list. Your domain name cannot be resolved to Alibaba Cloud instances in Mainland China and becomes inaccessible. However, the ICP filing still exists.
cancel an ICP filing If you no longer need to use an entity or a website with an ICP filing, you can cancel the ICP filing.