Government Legal Registration & Business Scope Review
We review official business records directly from government corporate registries to verify registered capital, legal representatives, operational scope, and recorded legal disputes.
Supplier Due Diligence · On-Site Verification & Anti-Fraud
Factory Verification & Supplier Background Checks
Factory verification is a multi-layered due diligence process to evaluate whether an overseas supplier has the legal standing, operational infrastructure, machinery, and capacity to manufacture your goods. A thorough verification combines corporate registration checks, business-scope analysis, document and certification reviews, machinery assessments, sample validation, and physical on-site audits when appropriate.
Wiring deposits to unverified overseas bank accounts carries severe financial and operational exposure. Fraudulent storefronts, phantom factories, and unvetted subcontractors are pervasive across online B2B directories. Sourcing Lab USA coordinates structured factory verification and corporate vetting to protect your company’s capital and brand reputation.
Share your project briefDESIGNED AROUND THE PRODUCT
Multi-layered investigative verification for international suppliers.
A supplier’s professional website or online badge does not guarantee manufacturing capability or legal solvency. Many overseas entities rent temporary office spaces or represent third-party factories. We apply a multi-layered verification framework: reviewing official corporate registrations, cross-referencing legal scope and litigation records, coordinating physical on-site audits when appropriate, and evaluating actual production machinery.
Physical Premises & Production Asset Audit
We coordinate on-site visits to verify whether the supplier operates the facility, inspect the active factory floor, and catalog primary machinery and tooling.
Bank Account & Beneficiary Authentication
We cross-check bank accounts against registered corporate entities to prevent payment diversion fraud, confirming that payment beneficiary details match verified corporate accounts.
Capacity, Workforce & Subcontractor Screening
We review workforce scale, examine shift logs, and inspect raw material inventories to help verify that production will not be secretly outsourced to unvetted subcontractors.
A DOCUMENTED PROCESS
The 4-stage factory verification framework.
- 01
Desk Audit & Corporate Records Search
We pull official government corporate records, check tax status, operational licenses, unified social credit codes, and review any pending legal disputes. Desk-audit turnaround is confirmed when the engagement is scoped.
- 02
Physical On-Site Facility Inspection
An experienced industrial auditor inspects the physical factory, photographing production lines, warehouses, raw material inventories, worker headcount, and safety conditions.
- 03
Technical Capacity & Machinery Evaluation
We verify the make, age, and operational status of key machinery, testing equipment, calibration records, and internal quality control stations.
- 04
Comprehensive Verification Report & Risk Rating
You receive a detailed report with geotagged photographs, document translations, legal findings, capacity benchmarks, and an explicit Go / No-Go risk assessment.
- Desk audit turnaround
- 24 to 48 hours
- Official government corporate registry search, license check, and initial risk screening.
- On-site factory audit
- 3 to 5 business days
- Physical on-site inspection, photo documentation, and machine capacity verification.
- Risk rating report
- Delivered in 24 hours
- Photo-documented report with an executive summary, delivered on the timeline agreed for the engagement.
Turnaround times depend on factory location, willingness to cooperate with on-site inspection, and regional travel logistics.
Review the product specifications, sample requirements, quantities, product pricing and payment terms before approving your order. Delivery and import responsibilities are agreed for each project. See how product supply and order terms work. Use the supplier evidence matrix and quality checkpoint worksheet to prepare the questions for your order.
RELATED RESOURCES
Resources for your sourcing brief.
In-Depth Supplier Audits
Comprehensive quality management, manufacturing capacity, and social compliance audits.
Quality Control Inspections
Pre-shipment inspections and during-production quality control audits.
China Sourcing Services
End-to-end direct factory procurement and supply management.
Supplier Sourcing & Vetting
Strategic supplier identification, capacity screening, and negotiation.
QUESTIONS, ANSWERED
Questions about factory verification & due diligence.
How do you verify a Chinese manufacturer?
We verify Chinese manufacturers through a multi-layered framework: (1) corporate registration and business-scope review, (2) ownership and capital verification, (3) certification and document checks, (4) on-site factory and machinery audits when appropriate, and (5) sample validation and production inspection.
What is the risk of not conducting factory verification?
Unverified buyers risk wiring money to fraudulent shell companies, falling victim to payment diversion fraud, working with insolvent workshops that shut down mid-production, or discovering that their order has been outsourced to a low-grade subcontractor with zero quality control.
Can a trading company pass itself off as a direct factory?
Yes, this is very common. Intermediaries routinely use photos from real manufacturers, print marketing collateral with factory addresses, and stage showroom tours. Our multi-layered framework reviews business license registered scope, tax classifications, equipment ownership, and physical manufacturing activity to differentiate genuine production facilities from trading intermediaries.
What documents should a legitimate Chinese factory be able to provide?
A legitimate factory must provide a Unified Social Credit Business License (营业执照), foreign trade export registration, bank account registration certificate, ISO certifications (if claimed), and recent utility or tax bills demonstrating active operations.
Can you verify suppliers outside of China?
Yes. While our primary audit coordination is centered across key manufacturing clusters in China, we can also coordinate supplier verifications across other Asian and international manufacturing markets through qualified audit partners.
Start with your brief
Request a factory verification audit.
Enter the supplier’s name, website, and address. We will verify their credentials, check government corporate databases, and provide a full risk assessment.
- 01
We read the brief
We confirm what can be quoted and sampled for your product.
- 02
We reply by email
With the missing information we need, or the next step for the project.
- 03
You get concrete options
Supplier options, pricing, sampling, and production timing for your review.
Or contact us directly