Yes. Customs recordal in China runs on a right registered with CNIPA, so you need the registration in hand first, and a pending application cannot be recorded. The recordal carries no official fee, applies to exports as well as imports, and lasts as long as the registration behind it. Most exporters skip it.
What customs recordal is, in one paragraph
China Customs runs a register of intellectual property rights alongside the trademark register. When you record a right there, the General Administration of Customs and local customs offices get your right, your goods and your contact details on file. From then on, customs officers watching imports and exports can identify a shipment under your mark and detain it instead of letting it through.
This is a border measure, not a court case and not an investigation. Nobody at customs decides who is right. Their job is to hold a suspicious consignment, notify you and the consignor, and then get out of the way while you decide what to do with it. That limited role is exactly what makes it useful to a brand that manufactures here, because the alternative is watching the container leave.
What you can record, and what you cannot
| Right | Can it be recorded? | What you need in hand |
|---|---|---|
| Chinese trademark registration | Yes | Registration certificate, registration number, classes, goods list, applicant details, power of attorney |
| Chinese design patent | Yes | Grant certificate and patent number |
| Trademark application still pending at CNIPA | No | Nothing to record. An application is not yet a right |
| US, EU, UK or other foreign registration | No | Nothing to record. The right has to exist in China |
| Copyright in artwork or packaging | Available in principle | Evidence of the work, ownership and, in practice, a voluntary registration record |
The third and fourth rows are where most exporters lose time. A brand planning to record at customs assumes the filing is enough, or assumes the overseas certificate will do. Neither is true. The sequence is locked: file in China, wait for grant, record. Because CNIPA examination takes about four months and registration is typically complete about eight months after filing, the recordal realistically lands in the second year of a brand’s China presence if nobody planned for it.
Why an exporter needs it more than a retailer does
Companies that sell in China run shops, offices and, in most cases, local staff. Their remedy when something goes wrong is a complaint and a lawyer. Exporters have the opposite profile. Everything happens outside their view: the goods are made in a factory they visit occasionally, packed by people they do not employ, and shipped from a port they may never have seen.
Two consequences follow, and both are handled by the same instrument.
- Unauthorised shipments leave under your name. Overrun units, goods made for a competitor, or a shipment arranged by a factory that has quietly registered your mark. With your registration recorded, those consignments become detentions with a notice attached instead of sales you never hear about.
- Your own shipments can be detained by someone else’s recordal. If a third party holds a mark close to yours and has recorded it, your container is the one sitting at the port. The only thing that changes the position is holding a registration here and, where it is useful, a recordal of your own.
The second point is the one that surprises exporters, and it is why we put recordal in the same conversation as the filing itself, as we do in the export manufacturing guide. Customs is a two-way instrument, and the party that records first gets the benefit of it. For the wider list of what a missing registration costs, see what happens without a China trademark.
What recordal does not do
Four limits are worth stating before you decide how much to rely on it.
- It is not automatic interception. Customs officers cannot examine every container, and a recordal does not mean an infringing shipment will be found. It improves your odds and gives officers something to act on. It is not a filter.
- It does not decide anything. Customs detains and notifies. Whether the goods are released, destroyed or become a civil claim depends on what you do next, including the guarantee you may have to provide to keep the goods held.
- It only covers the classes and goods you recorded. A recordal built on a Class 25 registration does not protect a Class 18 shipment. If you make in several classes, the recordal has to cover them.
- It expires with the right. A Chinese trademark is valid for ten years. Renew the registration or the recordal has nothing to sit on, which is one more reason to keep the renewal date visible.
How the application runs
| Step | Who | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Confirm the right is granted | Us | We check the certificate, the classes and the goods list against what you want protected |
| Prepare and file the recordal | Us | Application through the customs intellectual property recordal system, with registration details, applicant information and the power of attorney |
| Recordal takes effect | Customs | The right appears in the customs system and officers can see it at the port |
| Detention and notice | Customs | A suspicious consignment is held and both sides are notified. The right holder has a short window, measured in working days, to confirm it wants the goods held and to put up the required guarantee |
| Next step | You | Release, settlement, or a civil claim. This is where the recordal ends and a case begins |
| Keep it current | Us | If the applicant name, address or the registration changes, the record has to be updated. Address changes are US$199 from us |
Our fee for filing a recordal is US$199. The official fee is nil, so the number you see is the whole cost. Compare it with what a detained shipment costs in lost margin and delayed delivery, and it is usually the cheapest line in a brand’s China budget.
Worked example
A footwear brand, details changed, illustration intact.
| When | What happens |
|---|---|
| Month 0 | Brand files in Class 25 in its own name, after a free search with us. No booth, no listing, no launch yet |
| Month 8 | Registration issues. Customs recordal is filed the same month, US$199, no official fee |
| Month 14 | A consignment of 400 pairs leaves Ningbo under the brand name, invoiced to a buyer the brand has never dealt with |
| Month 14, week 2 | Customs detains the shipment and notifies the brand. The brand confirms it wants the goods held and provides the guarantee |
| Month 14, week 3 | The exporter is traced to an overrun run at the original factory. The units are not released to the third party |
| Month 15 | The brand changes supplier clauses on overruns and keeps the recordal in place. The next four shipments clear without incident |
Nothing about that sequence required a court. It required a registration, a recordal, and a brand that was reachable when customs called.
Quick answers
Can I record at customs before my trademark is registered?
No. The recordal is built on a granted right. You can file the application and plan the recordal around the expected grant date, but the record cannot be filed while the application is pending.
Does recordal cost anything with customs?
There is no official fee. Our filing fee is US$199. Anything beyond that comes from the enforcement you choose to pursue after a detention.
Can I use my foreign registration?
No. Customs acts on rights registered or granted in China. Your overseas certificate is evidence in other contexts, not a recordable right here.
Will customs stop every counterfeit shipment under my name?
No. Customs examines a small fraction of consignments. A recordal gives officers the information to act on and makes detention possible. It does not guarantee interception, and we will not tell you otherwise.
How long does the recordal last?
For the life of the underlying right, so up to ten years for a trademark, renewable along with the registration.
Do I need a customs recordal if I already have the trademark?
You need the trademark either way. The recordal is what puts it in front of the officers at the port, which is the difference between a right you hold and a shipment that is stopped. Most exporters who file with us add it once the certificate issues.
Sources
General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China and its intellectual property recordal system; the Regulations on Customs Protection of Intellectual Property Rights, which set out recordal, detention and the notice procedure; CNIPA for registration status and terms. General information, not legal advice. Whether a particular shipment can be detained, and what follows, depends on the facts and rests with the customs authority and the courts.
Record the right once the certificate arrives
If your Chinese registration has issued, send us the certificate number and we will file the recordal, US$199 with no official fee. If you have not filed yet, we can plan the filing and the recordal on one timeline so the gap between them is weeks rather than a year. The mechanics are in the customs recordal guide, the wider toolkit is in enforcement options, and the quote request starts at contact.
