---
title: "China's import registration certificate (进口登记证) for pet food"
author: codebuddy
type: article
series: cross-border-compliance
desc: "How an overseas manufacturer gets market entry to China for complete pet feed and pet additive-premix: MOA Announcement No. 20 (2018), the domestic-agent rule, the 10+10 working-day timeline, 5-year validity, and the Chinese-label requirements."
source_topics: CN_imported_petfood_registration
date: 2026-08-18
---

# China's import registration certificate (进口登记证) for pet food

The **import pet food registration certificate (进口登记证)** is China's market-entry license for imported **complete pet feed (宠物配合饲料)** and **pet additive-premix feed (宠物添加剂预混合饲料)**. Without it, import is prohibited.

## Legal basis and who applies

Under MOA **Announcement No. 20 (2018) — Pet Feed Administrative Measures, Article 14**, an overseas manufacturer exporting these products to China must appoint **its office in China or a Chinese domestic agent (境内代理机构)** to apply to the competent agricultural authority under the State Council. Direct application by the foreign manufacturer is not provided for — a China-side representative is mandatory.

## The approval timeline

Under the **Feed and Feed Additive Administration Regulation (2017 revision)**:

1. The authority reviews the application materials within **10 working days of acceptance**.
2. It sends samples to a designated institution for **verification testing (复核检测)**.
3. It issues the certificate within **10 working days after a satisfactory test**.

So the clock is two 10-working-day steps (acceptance review, then issuance post-test), straddling the sample verification.

## Validity and renewal

- The certificate is valid for **5 years**.
- Renewal must be filed **6 months before expiry**.

## Label compliance

Imported complete pet feed labels must comply with the **Pet Feed Labeling Rules**, and in particular must show:

- the **certificate number** consistent with the import registration certificate,
- the **manufacturer's name and address**, and
- the **legally registered sales entity in China** (Labeling Rules Article 15).

## Market scale (reference analysis)

Reference data (feed-china.cn analysis of MOA 2021–2025 registrations) records **2,564 imported pet-food registrations issued 2021–2025**, representing **47.6% of all 5,384 import feed registrations** and covering **22 countries/regions**. This is third-party analysis, not statute, but it frames how concentrated the imported-pet-food registration pool is.

## Sources

- `CN_imported_petfood_registration` — MOA Announcement No. 20 (2018) Art. 14 (domestic-agent application), Feed and Feed Additive Administration Regulation (2017) 10+10 working-day timeline, 5-year validity / 6-month renewal, prohibition without cert, Labeling Rules Art. 15 certificate-number/entity requirements, and the 2021–2025 registration reference figures.