A business licence alone rarely lets you open. Most trades need operating permits on top of it — and each has its own fee, timeline, validity period and preconditions. Pick your industry and this shows you the full list, the earliest date you can realistically open, and what you keep paying once you are trading.
These answers decide which permits apply — and which ones you cannot get yet.
Pre-selected for your industry. Uncheck anything that does not apply, or add the optional ones.
| Permit | Fee | Time | Validity | Status |
|---|
Renewals are spread across their validity period, so the annual figure is lower than the headline fee.
Layout only — these are drawings, not real documents. They show where the important fields sit.
Almost always. The business licence lets the company exist; operating permits let it do a specific trade — serve food, import goods, run a website, sell medical devices or dispatch staff. Which ones apply depends on the industry and the premises.
No. A food business permit requires a real trading premises that can be inspected. The same applies to production licences and labour dispatch. A virtual address is fine for some activities, but not for these.
Five years. You apply to renew between ninety and fifteen working days before it expires, and the renewed permit runs another five years from the decision.
No — foreign trade operator registration was abolished on 30 December 2022 when the Foreign Trade Law was amended. You still register with customs as a consignee or consignor of import and export goods, which is valid indefinitely but requires an annual customs report.
We work with legal, licensing and accounting partners who handle these filings in your city. Send them your industry and premises and they will come back with a sequence and a quote you can plan against.
Ask a licensing partnerPolicy checked 2026-09-28 · agency fees indicative · preliminary estimate; confirm with the issuing authority and your licensing partner. CNGateway does not provide legal or tax advice.