Guide · Supplier checks
How much does it cost to verify a supplier in China?
Last updated
Sinospect checks Chinese suppliers at the fixed fees below. A desk check is reported two business days after you send the company’s registered name. Send a supplier for checking →
What each check costs at Sinospect
Each check answers one question. The fee is fixed and published, so you know the cost before you send anything.
Desk check: company records
Fee: USD 190
Is this a registered company in good standing?
one company
Desk check with document review
Fee: USD 290
Do the quotation, certificates and bank details match that company’s records?
one company and the documents you send
Video verification
Fee: USD 349
Is there a working production line behind the quotation?
by live video
Site visit
Fee: USD 350 or USD 590
Can this factory make my order?
per day: a basic visit, or a capability audit
Pre-payment due diligence
Fee: USD 390 or USD 490
Do the payment instructions connect to the company I am contracting with?
one Mainland entity, or with a Hong Kong company
Two smaller checks have their own fee. A Hong Kong company check on its own is USD 190. When a supplier you already work with sends new bank details, a 48-hour check of the new account is USD 190.
What you receive for the fee
A check is worth its fee when it ends in a written record you can act on and show to a partner or a bank. This is what each one delivers, and when.
| Check | What it covers and what you receive | Fee | Turnaround |
|---|---|---|---|
| Desk check: company records | One company’s records: registry, licences, and court and enforcement records; a record of identity and standing for the supplier decision. | USD 190 for one company’s records. | Two business days after receipt of the registered name or Unified Social Credit Code. |
| Desk check with document review | The company’s records, plus our review of the quotation, certificates and bank details you send, read against the registry record. | USD 290 with the documents you send reviewed. | Two business days after receipt of the registered name or Unified Social Credit Code; a quotation, certificates or bank details sent later are added to the record on receipt. |
| Video verification or site visit | References, samples and manufacturing evidence: references contacted, the sample checked against the specification, and the production line, equipment in service and capacity seen by live video or on site. | USD 349 by video; on site, USD 350 a day for a basic visit or USD 590 a day for a capability audit. | Scheduled with the supplier; a site visit also depends on factory access and travel. |
| Pre-payment due diligence | Connections between the supplier, invoicing company, payment instructions and order negotiator; a report with recommendation and conditions. | USD 390 for one Mainland entity; USD 490 with a Hong Kong company. | Four business days after both payment and the last required document have been received. |
To see the finished document before you order one, open the pre-payment report sample (PDF).
What other firms publish
These are prices that other firms print on their own pages, read on 14 November 2026. They are not like for like: one firm’s day rate includes travel and another’s may not, and a verification report ranges from a register extract to a report researched by a person.
| Firm | Service, as the firm names it | Published price |
|---|---|---|
| Sofeast | Supplier legal records check | USD 99 per company |
| China Checkup | China Essential Verification (company verification report) | USD 129; shown as out of stock on the day it was read |
| Sofeast | Remote audits | From USD 229 for a small operation |
| Sofeast | Factory audits | From USD 279 per man-day; costs may vary for other locations |
| Asia Quality Focus | Supplier qualification audit | From USD 298, all-inclusive |
| V-Trust | Factory audit | USD 398 per man-day, all-inclusive, with no extra charge for travel |
On these pages a check of a company’s records costs USD 99 to 129, and a day of audit at the factory USD 279 to 398. Some large inspection firms show no price for a factory audit and quote on request: Intertek, Bureau Veritas and TÜV Rheinland.
What moves the price up or down
- How many companies are checked. Many Chinese suppliers quote from a factory and invoice from a second company, often in Hong Kong. Each company has its own register and its own record to read. At Sinospect a Hong Kong company adds USD 100 to a pre-payment check.
- How many of your documents are read. A check of the company’s records alone costs less than one that also reads your quotation, the certificates and the bank details against those records: USD 190 against USD 290.
- Whether someone goes to the factory. Records and documents are read from a desk. Seeing the production line takes a live video session or a visit, and a visit is priced by the day.
- How many days on site, and at which rate. A site visit is priced by the day: USD 350 a day for a basic visit, USD 590 a day for a capability audit. The number of days follows what you need seen.
- Where the factory is. Ask every firm whether travel, the report and a second visit are inside the day rate. A quotation that names the factory’s city settles it.
The lowest-cost check for a small first order
For a small first order, a desk check with document review (USD 290) answers the two questions that can be settled without anyone travelling: whether the company is registered and in good standing, and whether the quotation, certificates and bank details you were sent are consistent with its registry record.
It does not show whether the factory can make the goods. That takes a video verification (USD 349) or a site visit. If the money leaves before the goods are made, add a pre-payment check on the company you are asked to pay.
What you can check yourself
Mainland companies are listed in the national public register, GSXT. Ask the supplier for its business licence and look the company up by the Unified Social Credit Code printed on it. The register is in Chinese. Our guide to verifying a Chinese supplier shows what to read there.
A paid check adds three things: the court and enforcement records, a reading of your own quotation, certificates and bank details against the register, and a written record of what was found.
What a supplier check does not cover
A supplier check is about the company and the factory, on the dates the records were read or the site was seen. It is not a check of the goods you ordered. That is a pre-shipment inspection, made at the factory once the order is finished: USD 350 to 590 per inspector-day, all-in: travel within China and the report included. USD 350 covers quantity, packing, marking, visual and basic function checks; USD 590 an engineer, measurements and the function and operation checks on your test sheet; performance testing belongs to a factory acceptance test (FAT). The quotation states which applies before booking. Standard scope and rates. Work beyond your test sheet, or work that needs a specialist engineer, is quoted case by case before booking.
How Sinospect handles this
Send the supplier’s registered name or its Unified Social Credit Code, with the quotation and bank details if you have them. Our team reads the records at their source and sends you a written report with its findings. For a video verification or a site visit, we schedule the session with the supplier and report what was seen.
What each check covers is set out on the supplier qualification page.
Related services and resources
Service · Supplier qualification in China
What each check covers, what the report contains and how to start one.
OpenService · Pre-payment due diligence
The check for the moment before a deposit: the supplier, the invoicing company, the payment instructions and the person negotiating the order.
OpenResource · Before you pay a Chinese supplier
The six things to check yourself before an advance payment leaves your account.
OpenResource · How to verify a Chinese supplier
How to read a business licence and look the company up at the national register.
OpenResource · Inspection companies in China, by job
Which firm does which job, from supplier verification to pre-shipment inspection, and what to ask each for.
OpenResource · A supplier changed its bank details
What to do before you pay into a new account, and the 48-hour check for it.
OpenFrequently asked questions
How much does it cost to verify a supplier in China?
It depends on how deep the check goes. On the prices firms publish, Sinospect’s included, a check of a company’s records costs about USD 100 to 300 and an audit at the factory about USD 280 to 600 a day. At Sinospect a records check is USD 190, or USD 290 with your quotation, certificates and bank details reviewed. A live video verification is USD 349. A site visit is USD 350 a day for a basic visit or USD 590 a day for a capability audit. Pre-payment due diligence is USD 390 for one Mainland company, or USD 490 with a Hong Kong company.
Are supplier background checks in China worth paying for, and what should I get for the money?
A check is worth its fee when it ends in a written record you can act on. For USD 190 you should receive the company’s registry record, its licences and its court and enforcement records. For USD 290, also a review of your quotation, certificates and bank details against that record. A pre-payment check adds a recommendation and the conditions to put in the order. Set the fee against the deposit you are about to send.
What is the most cost-effective check for a small first order?
A desk check with document review, USD 290 at Sinospect. It shows whether the company is registered and in good standing, and whether the quotation, certificates and bank details you were sent are consistent with its registry record. It does not show whether the factory can make the goods; that takes a video verification (USD 349) or a site visit.
Can I check a Chinese supplier myself?
Partly. Mainland companies are listed in the national public register, GSXT, which is searched in Chinese by the registered name or the Unified Social Credit Code on the business licence. It shows the registered name, legal representative, business scope, registered capital and incorporation date. A paid check adds the court and enforcement records, a reading of your own documents against the register, and a written record of the findings.
How long does a supplier check take?
At Sinospect a desk check is reported two business days after we receive the company’s registered name or Unified Social Credit Code. Pre-payment due diligence takes four business days after payment and the last required document. A video verification or a site visit is scheduled with the supplier. A check of changed bank details takes 48 hours.
Why do prices differ so much between firms?
Because the same words cover different work. A verification report can be an automated extract from the register or a report researched by a person. An audit can be half a day or several days on site, with or without travel. Ask each firm for a written total that names the companies checked, the documents reviewed, the days on site and what the report contains.
Have a supplier to check?
Send the company’s registered name and what you have from it. We confirm which check fits your decision and its fee before any work starts.
Sources
Each price of another firm was read on that firm’s own page on 14 November 2026. Prices change; open the page before you rely on one.
Sofeastchecked on 14 November 2026
China Checkupchecked on 14 November 2026
Asia Quality Focuschecked on 14 November 2026
V-Trustchecked on 14 November 2026
Intertekchecked on 14 November 2026
Bureau Veritaschecked on 14 November 2026
TÜV Rheinlandchecked on 14 November 2026