Establishing an efficient and fair credit repair system for business entities has become a focal point in China’s broader effort to strengthen its social credit system, enhance the national unified market, and improve the business environment.
In response to directives from central authorities, significant regulatory developments in 2025 culminated in the release of the Credit Repair Management Measures (《信用修复管理办法》, National Development and Reform Commission Order No. 36), which will take effect on April 1, 2026. This policy represents a major evolution in how credit repair is structured and accessed by operating entities, including companies and other credit subjects.
From Unified Credit Vision to Operational Mechanism
China’s push to strengthen its social credit infrastructure has been articulated at the highest levels of policy planning. The Opinion on Building a Unified Social Credit System (中共中央办公厅 国务院办公厅关于健全社会信用体系的意见) underscores the need for a credit regime that supports fair competition, a unified market, and high-quality growth.
Following this, the General Office of the State Council issued the Implementation Plan for Further Improving the Credit Repair System (国办发〔2025〕22号) on June 22, 2025, which laid out comprehensive enhancements to credit restoration processes, including public disclosure standards, unified platforms, and streamlined procedures.
These policy foundations set the stage for the NDRC’s Credit Repair Management Measures, a legally binding regulation designed to move from pilot efforts and fragmented practices toward a nationally consistent credit repair framework.
Overview and Purpose
The Credit Repair Management Measures mark a formal transition from prior trial guidelines to a statutory system for rehabilitating credit status. The Measures apply to all credit subjects whose negative records are maintained in public credit databases, including the national “Credit China” platform and local credit repositories. The regulation recognizes credit repair as a legal right, provided that the subject meets specified conditions after rectifying past misconduct and fulfilling obligations.
The overarching goal is to ensure that credit repair is unified, standardized, collaborative, and efficient, thereby safeguarding the legitimate rights of credit subjects and supporting broader economic governance objectives, such as fair market access and effective risk management.
Unified Application Channel and Process Clarity
Prior to the Measures, credit repair applications could be submitted through disparate channels including the “Credit China” website, local credit systems, or industry-specific platforms, creating confusion and inefficiency. The Measures rectify this by designating the “Credit China” website as the principal entry point for all credit repair requests, simplifying the process and centralizing procedural flow.
The regulation also clarifies that when a sector or industry has yet to implement its own electronic repair system, the “Credit China” platform will serve as a gateway, with the underlying authority processing the application directly after receipt. This structure streamlines interaction for applicants and enhances compatibility between systems.
Classification of Dishonesty Information
A major advancement under the new framework is the adoption of a three-tier dishonesty classification system: minor, general, and serious dishonesty. Each category corresponds to different public disclosure durations and eligibility criteria for repair. This proportional approach reflects the “over-punishment matched to offense severity” principle and mitigates blanket treatment of all negative information.
Under the classification scheme, minor infractions may not be publicly disclosed unless necessary and are eligible for repair once statutory obligations are met. General and serious categories entail longer disclosure periods but allow repair upon correction of past violations and completion of relevant obligations. This nuanced structure improves fairness and reduces needless drag on business reputation and operating freedom.
Standardized Repair Conditions and Synchronization
The Measures formalize the basic conditions for repair: the credit subject must have rectified the underlying cause of the dishonesty and performed associated legal responsibilities. Upon successful review, the public display, sharing, and use of the negative credit information must cease, and any ancillary punitive measures must be simultaneously lifted.
One critical improvement is the requirement for timely synchronization of repair outcomes across all national and local credit platforms, as well as third-party credit service providers. This ensures that once an entity’s credit is repaired, the change is reflected consistently across the credit ecosystem, preventing fragmented or outdated public records.
Supervision, Compliance, and Legal Safeguards
To protect the integrity of the system, the Measures introduce enforcement provisions that penalize submission of false materials and false credit commitments. Entities found to have manipulated or misrepresented information face extended disclosure periods and potential legal consequences. This balances ease of access to repair mechanisms with necessary safeguards against abuse.
The regulation also emphasizes that credit repair services must be provided without charge, precluding unauthorized fees and ensuring equitable access to the mechanism.
Relation to Other Credit System Initiatives
While the Measures primarily address the operational mechanics of credit repair, broader initiatives are concurrently enhancing credit governance. For example, recent central bank policy introductions, such as China’s one-off personal credit repair initiative for small overdue debts, illustrate analogous efforts to refine credit rehabilitation beyond corporate subjects. Although the central bank policy focuses on individual credit records, the overarching theme of facilitating rehabilitation within regulated frameworks signals a systemic shift toward balanced credit discipline and rehabilitation across the economy.
Administrative and Local Implementation Trends
In addition to national regulations, local authorities are rolling out region-specific measures and enhancements to support credit repair access. Provinces such as Heilongjiang have introduced supporting measures that align with the national reform agenda, aiming to assist credit entities in navigating the credit repair pathways and improving operational efficiency in local credit systems.
What This Means for Business
- Clearer Pathways to Credit Rehabilitation For enterprises and other credit subjects, the new Measures offer greater clarity, predictability, and accessibility for credit repair. The centralization of application through the “Credit China” website and standardized procedures reduce confusion and lower transactional costs for repair processes.
- Reduced Reputation Drag from Past Infractions The classification system makes it easier for businesses to understand when and how credit repair can be pursued, particularly for minor and general dishonesty information. This creates a more equitable environment for companies seeking to correct past compliance lapses and reposition themselves competitively.
- Improved Integration with Market Access and Financing Timely removal of negative credit records, synchronized across public platforms, can mitigate reputation risk, support smoother access to financing, market entry and procurement processes, and enhance confidence from trading partners, investors, and regulators.
- Heightened Compliance Discipline While the system facilitates repair, it also strengthens compliance expectations by imposing clear legal responsibilities for false applications and requiring remedial actions before repair eligibility. Businesses will need to integrate compliance and credit management more closely into their operational governance.
- Enhanced Confidence in the Unified Market By advancing a cohesive credit repair framework, China is reinforcing key market infrastructure that underpins fair competition and trust between economic participants. This improves the predictability and fairness of regulatory interactions, which is central to long-term business strategy and planning.
Sources
- 《信用修复管理办法》 (Credit Repair Management Measures), National Development and Reform Commission Order No. 36, promulgated November 19, 2025, effective April 1, 2026.
- 信用修复管理办法 (Credit Repair Management Measures), National Development and Reform Commission, Nov 19, 2025. https://www.ndrc.gov.cn/xxgk/zcfb/fzggwl/202511/t20251126_1401911.html
- 国家发展改革委解读及实施方案背景，《关于进一步完善信用修复制度的实施方案》, June 22, 2025. https://www.chinalawtranslate.com/en/21925-2/