Prepare and check the instance and access information - ICP Filing

If the instance that hosts your website is deployed in the Mainland China, you must apply for an Internet Content Provider (ICP) filing before you launch your website. During the process of an ICP filing application, Alibaba Cloud verifies the instance and access information. This topic describes how to check the instance and access information before you apply for an ICP filing if your website is hosted on an Alibaba Cloud instance or a service from Alibaba Cloud Marketplace that is deployed in the Mainland China.

Check the following items to ensure that your instance and access information meet the requirements for applying for an ICP filing:

Check item 1: Check the access information
Check item 2: Check other Alibaba Cloud services
Check item 3: Check changes in access information

Check the access information

During the application review process, information about the service provider, access method, instance location, and website IP address is verified.

If you host your website on a self-managed server or in a data center, you must contact the Internet service provider (ISP), such as China Telecom and China Unicom, to apply for an ICP filing.

If you host your website on an Alibaba Cloud instance, you can apply for an ICP filing in the Alibaba Cloud ICP Filing system. Make sure that the following conditions are met before you apply for an ICP filing:

Instance region
The instance is deployed in an Alibaba Cloud region in the Mainland China.
Note
- To obtain the detailed endpoint of the instance, contact the after-sales team of Alibaba Cloud by using the Intelligent online service.
- If the instance based on which you want to apply for an ICP filing is not an Alibaba Cloud instance, contact your service provider for the application.
Instance service type
The instance is of the specified service type and meets the requirement on the subscription duration. For more information, see Supported instance service types and the maximum number of service identification numbers allowed.
Warning After you purchase an Alibaba Cloud instance that is deployed in the Mainland China, you must pay attention to the expiration date and renew the instance at your earliest convenience. Otherwise, your website cannot be accessed and may be identified as a website whose ICP filing is invalid after the instance expires. If you do not resolve this issue at the earliest opportunity, the ICP filing will be canceled, and your business will be affected.
Number of service identification numbers available for websites
The number of service identification numbers that can be applied for per supported instance varies based on its service type. Make sure that the instance you purchased has sufficient unused service identification numbers for your websites. For more information, see Supported instance service types and the maximum number of service identification numbers allowed.
Note
- If you use the same Alibaba Cloud account to purchase the instance and apply for an ICP filing, you can select the instance during the ICP filing application without the need to apply for a service identification number. You can directly select the instance or apply for a service identification number for an ICP filing application. No matter which method you choose, the maximum number of service identification numbers that are supported by an instance is fixed.
- The Alibaba Cloud account that you use to purchase an instance may be different from the account that you use to apply for an ICP filing. We recommend that you log on to the Alibaba Cloud Management Console and apply for a service identification number by using the account that is used to purchase the instance. For more information, see Apply for service identification numbers for free.
- To apply for an ICP filing, you must apply for a service identification number first. If a service identification number is already in use for a website, you cannot use it to apply for an ICP filing for another website. Even if you deregister the website or remove Alibaba Cloud from the service provider list, the service identification number is still considered used. You cannot use it to apply for an ICP filing for another website.

Table 1. Supported instance service types and the maximum number of service identification numbers allowed
Instance service type	Requirement for purchase	URL for purchase	Number of service identification numbers allowed
Elastic Compute Service (ECS)	The instance is deployed in an Alibaba Cloud region in the Mainland China. The subscription duration is at least three months. The duration extended by a renewal order is counted. A public bandwidth plan is purchased. Note You cannot use a pay-as-you-go instance to apply for service identification numbers.	ECS	Up to five per instance
Cloud Web Hosting	The instance is deployed in an Alibaba Cloud region in the Mainland China. The subscription duration is at least three months. The duration extended by a renewal order is counted.	Cloud Web Hosting	Up to five per instance
Simple Application Server	The instance is deployed in an Alibaba Cloud region in the Mainland China. The subscription duration is at least three months. The duration extended by a renewal order is counted. A server instance or a plan that includes a server instance is purchased.	Simple Application Server	Up to five per instance
ENS	The instance is deployed in an Alibaba Cloud region in the Mainland China. The subscription duration is at least three months. The duration extended by a renewal order is counted.	ENS	Up to five per instance
LinkedMall	The order amount is at least CNY 100. The subscription duration is at least three months.	LinkedMall	Up to two per mall

Check other Alibaba Cloud services

If your website uses Alibaba Cloud services such as Object Storage Service (OSS), Alibaba Cloud CDN, Web Application Firewall (WAF), and Anti-DDoS Pro, you must determine whether to add Alibaba Cloud to the ICP filing information as a service provider based on your business scenario.


Service	Scenario	Requirement
OSS	To associate a custom domain name with an OSS endpoint, you must apply for an ICP filing for this domain name. For more information, see Map custom domain names.	You must obtain an ICP number for the domain name from the MIIT. You are not required to add Alibaba Cloud to the ICP filing information as a service provider.
CDN	You must apply for an ICP filing for each website that is hosted on an instance deployed in the Chinese mainland to use Alibaba Cloud CDN.Mainland China	You may use Alibaba Cloud CDN for content delivery acceleration in the Chinese mainland or all over the world. You must obtain an ICP number for the domain name from the MIIT. You are not required to add Alibaba Cloud to the ICP filing information as a service provider.Mainland China
WAF	You must apply for an ICP filing for each website that is hosted on an instance deployed in the Chinese mainland to use WAF.Mainland China	You must obtain an ICP number for the domain name from the MIIT. You are not required to add Alibaba Cloud to the ICP filing information as a service provider.
Anti-DDoS Pro	You must apply for an ICP filing for each website that is hosted on an instance deployed in the Mainland China to use Anti-DDoS Pro.

Check changes in access information

If the service provider or the instance IP address changes, perform the following operations as instructed:

You may have obtained an ICP filing by using Alibaba Cloud. To host your website on another Alibaba Cloud instance, perform the following operations based on the specific scenario:
- If your website does not require a commercial ICP license, you must modify only the resolution record of the domain name and direct the domain name to the new instance. You do not need to apply for a new ICP filing.
- If the province where you obtained a commercial ICP license requires that the submitted IP address be the same as the actual IP address, you must modify the submitted IP address in the Alibaba Cloud ICP Filing system. Contact the local authority to check whether you are required to modify the IP address when you apply for a Public Security Bureau (PSB) filing or a commercial ICP license.
Note If you have obtained an ICP filing through Alibaba Cloud and need to change the service provider, you must add the new service provider to the ICP filing information. For more information, consult the new service provider.
If you have obtained an ICP filing for your website through another service provider and need to change the service provider or direct a subdomain to Alibaba Cloud, you must add Alibaba Cloud to the ICP filing information as a service provider.
Note To check whether an ICP filing is issued for your website, log on to the MIIT ICP Filing Management System, click the ICP Filing tab, enter the website domain name in the search box, and then click Search.