How To Register WeChat Official Account For An Oversea Company

  • How-To

Since 2018, WeChat official account registration was open to many overseas countries and regions. The registered overseas WeChat official accounts are searchable and readable by all WeChat users in China and overseas. 

wechat official account is a useful social media tool for overseas companies to connect with their China customers and carry out digital marketing campaigns and in this post you will read everything you need to know about this account type and how to register it by using an oversea company's identity

WeChat, by Tencent and was launched in 2010, is the top Chinese social media platform in the sector of most-used China social media and most downloaded China social media mobile apps.

Before we jump into the step-by-step guide of how to register the account, let’s get some ideas about What is WeChat official account.

According to the latest report, WeChat has 1.16 billion monthly active users.  

WeChat is an All-in-One Chinese social media platform

We consider it a payment tool with other functions including microblogging, e-newsletter, website, blog, e-commerce, customer service, and many more.

Many overseas companies consider WeChat for business when preparing the go-to-China marketing strategy.

What Is A WeChat Official Account?

Itis a public account for an individual or a company to reach the audience, gather followers, engage with customers and followers with various content, and WeChat functions.

In short, “WeChat for business”.

For many China marketers, it is an important communication channel for branding and marketing campaigns (online and offline).

The account management platform offers statistics for an operator to optimize account performance.

WeChat also enables mini-programs inside the app (“app in app”). It allows more flexibility on rich content creation and E-commerce features. It is a good impression-to-conversion option.

#wechat mini-programs make impression-to-converstion possible without leaving the app. Says @LuibaoHK Click To Tweet

Many commercial banks and domestic logistics companies in China show another example to us. 

Their WeChat official accounts act more as a highly-automated customer service. Bank users can log-in mobile e-banking services to conduct different personal banking activities. Logistics users can track their parcels or letters easily.

How Many Types Of WeChat Official Account Are There?

There are two types of WeChat official account, Subscription Account and Service Account.

Subscription Account means to broadcast content to all of the account followers. It is more suitbale for media, government, organization, and individual publishers. Many self-media, influencers, and content-service-oriented companies use Subscription Account.

Service Account means to offer online services and manage users. It is more for businesses and organizations. A verified Service Account can activate WeChat pay and other advanced functions which will facilitate e-Commerce and more online business requirements.

wechat official service account is for companies and brands with more services for wechat users
wechat official subscription account is more for medias and content-oriented companies and it is not open to overseas company to apply

Which WeChat Official Account To Register For An Overseas Company?

Since 2018, many overseas countries and regions can apply to registration. The registered overseas WeChat official accounts are searchable and readable by all WeChat users in China and overseas.

However, there are limitations for an account by an overseas company.

  • Only Service Account is available for registration
  • The official account owned by an oversea company must complete the verification
  • WeChat Pay functions are not available. WeChat Pay includes WeChat wallet payment, WeChat mini-store, WeChat card, and other WeChat Pay functions.

In this case, many suggest an alternative option. 

Oversea companies can use a 3rd party’s company to apply a WeChat official account. Normally, the 3rd party company is a China-based agency or a business partner which is registered in China. They can apply to both account types. A new account doesn’t need to do verification immediately after the registration. Many key functions like WeChat Pay, however, will be available only after account verification.

We recognize the pros and cons of the two practices above.

The legal ownership of its social media account is critical to a company, but there are limitations.

Having a WeChat official account registered under another Chinese company ensures full functions of WeChat for business, but there is potential risk or problems when the business relationship changes.

WeChat provides Account Moving service.

It allows moving the majority of its WeChat official account data from one to the other. The original account content and the follower data will be moved automatically, but settings like WeChat Pay and WeChat Ads cannot be moved. After moving, the old account will be deleted.

How Much Does It Cost To Register A WeChat Official Account For An Oversea Company?

To register a WeChat official account is free. 

For all overseas companies, account verification is necessary before the account can be fully activated. 

A yearly verification fee costs USD 99.

Foreign companies can register a #wechat official account for free, but accounts must be verified with a cost of US$99 /yr. All official accounts are searchable and visible in China. Says @LuibaoHK Click To Tweet

Payment is in the last step of the WeChat verification process by WeChat pay or credit card payments.

The verification is completed by a 3rd party agency assigned by WeChat. Normally the reviewing process takes only one week. If there are extra requirements or communication regarding the verification, it will go through an in-platform message and email.

Sometimes, the agency will contact by a phone call directly.

Document Preparation Before Registering A WeChat Official Account

  1. An application letter which you can download during the WeChat verification process;
  2. Company Registration Certificate or Business License: Photo or scanned copy of the original, or the copy with the company seal on it after scanning;
  3. The latest 3 months’ mobile phone bills of the contact person. If they are not available, you can prepare the latest 3 months’ office telephone bills with the company seal or bank statements. The name of the contact person (or the company), phone number, or bank transaction records should be readable.
  4. Color scanned copy of the contact person’s ID card (or passport) on both sides;
  5. Other supporting materials (If your account name involves a trademark, please provide the Trademark Registration Certificate or Trademark Authorization)

Step-By-Step Guide Of Registering A WeChat Official Account

For our European clients, we have helped them to register WeChat official accounts (Service Account) with the oversea business identities.

Here is the simple step-by-step guide of how to register a WeChat official account.

Visit WeChat official accounts platform at on desktop and enter the Registration page by clicking “Register Now” on the upper-right corner.

1. Select “Service Account” On The Account Types Selection Page

2. Fill In The Details On The 4-Step Registration Form 

  • The email should not have been registered for any other WeChat official account
  • A 6-digital verification code will be generated and sent to your email address for email verification
  • An oversea company can only register a Service Account
  • Company name and registration information must be the same as the oversea company business registration documents. Once registration is done, both information will not be allowed to change
  • An administrator is a person who will run the WeChat official account. The mobile number and the personal identity document (eg. passport or driving license) is required. 
screenshot of registering a wechat official account by applying on the platform on desktop

3. Complete WeChat Verification

  • You can log-in via WeChat official accounts platform by email and password
  • WeChat verification page can be accessed from Settings under the left vertical menu or drop-down menu under your company account.
  • By clicking the “Enable” button, it will pop up a check-list of required documents for downloading.
  • Prepare the “Verification Letter” with the information matching with the company business registration document and administrator’s identity document. 
  • Fill in all details and complete the 5-step verification form including the verification fee payment.
to register a wechat official service account is free for overseas companies however account verification must be done before the account can be activated for normal usage

Until this point, you have settled the whole process of registering a WeChat official account.

To track the progress, you can log-in via the WeChat official account platform, or wait for an email update.

However, this is only the first step of WeChat for business.

Understanding well China social media as well as studying your targeted Chinese customer group will lead you to a better WeChat marketing strategy.