Asia • ISO CN
Verify China companies via API
The China company data and registry API. Know Your Customer Limited verifies China companies live from the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System, returning company data, controlling parties, shareholders and beneficial owners, and registry documents, with AML screening and ongoing monitoring. Free sandbox available.
What the API returns for China
When you create a KYB case for a company in China, Know Your Customer Limited retrieves data live from the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System. A single integration returns the company record, the controlling parties and individuals, the shareholders and beneficial owners, and the registry documents, with AML screening on the entity and its associated individuals built into the same case.
China data and document availability
What the API makes available for China companies:
| Category | Available |
|---|---|
| Company data | Entity Name, Entity Type, Entity Status, Registration Number, Address, Registration Date, Previous Names, Activity Type, Registered Capital |
| Controlling entities & individuals | Name, Role |
| Shareholders & beneficial owners | Name, Share count, Role |
| Documents | Retrieved by default: Registry Report Available on demand: None beyond the default set |
AML, sanctions, and PEP screening on the entity and its associated individuals, and ongoing live monitoring with change alerts, are available for China as part of the same case.
How to verify a company in China via API
The following example shows the complete flow: authenticate, search the China registry, create a KYB case, and retrieve company data and the ownership org-chart. All calls go to the sandbox base URL for testing.
The sandbox at https://api.knowyourcustomer.dev is free. Request access to get your client credentials.
# 1. Authenticate (OAuth2 client credentials)
curl -X POST https://api.knowyourcustomer.dev/connect/token \
-d "grant_type=client_credentials" \
-d "client_id=YOUR_CLIENT_ID" \
-d "client_secret=YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET" \
-d "scope=PublicApi"
# 2. Search the China registry
curl -X POST https://api.knowyourcustomer.dev/v2/Companies/search \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"name":"Tencent Holdings Limited","codeiso31662":"CN"}'
# 3. Create a KYB case
curl -X POST https://api.knowyourcustomer.dev/v2/Companies \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"rawname":"Tencent Holdings Limited","codeiso31662":"CN"}'
# 4. Retrieve company data and status
curl https://api.knowyourcustomer.dev/v2/Companies/CASE_ID \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN"
# 5. Get the beneficial ownership org-chart
curl https://api.knowyourcustomer.dev/v2/Companies/CASE_ID/org-chart \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN"
Replace YOUR_CLIENT_ID and YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET with your sandbox credentials, and CASE_ID with the caseCommonId returned in step 3.
Frequently asked questions about the China KYB API
What company data can I verify in China?
For a company in China, the API returns the company record read live from the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System: the entity name, type, status, registration number, address, and registration date, along with the controlling parties, the shareholders and beneficial owners, and the available registry documents. See the table above for the full China availability.
Does the API return beneficial ownership (UBO) data for China companies?
The API resolves the controlling parties, shareholders, and beneficial owners for China companies and exposes them as a recursive ownership org-chart (GET /v2/Companies/{caseCommonId}/org-chart), tracing control through holding companies to the individual beneficial owners. The depth available depends on what the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System discloses. See the UBO API.
Can I retrieve official registry documents for China companies?
Yes. The default document set for China includes Registry Report, retrieved by default. List and download them with the documents endpoint (GET /v2/Companies/{caseCommonId}/documents).
Is there a free sandbox for testing China company verification?
Yes. The Know Your Customer sandbox at https://api.knowyourcustomer.dev is a free, full-fidelity test environment. Request free sandbox access to start testing.
Is this a KYB or a KYC API?
Both. It is a business verification (KYB) API for corporate KYC: you verify companies from official China registry data, resolve controlling parties and beneficial owners, and screen for AML. When you need to check the people behind a company, the same company data API covers identity verification (IDV). One integration, one China company data and registry API.
The Know Your Customer Limited API covers 147 jurisdictions worldwide, including China. One integration, one set of credentials, one response schema across all markets. Browse all covered jurisdictions.
Related coverage: Australia • Hong Kong • India • Indonesia • Malaysia • Philippines.
Ready to verify China companies?
The sandbox is free and available immediately. Integrate once, cover 147 jurisdictions.