China Packaging Factory Audit Checklist: 25 Questions to Ask Before Ordering

Sourcing packaging from China carries real risk if you skip due diligence. A factory audit — even a remote document audit — surfaces capacity gaps, quality system weaknesses and compliance issues before they become your problem. Here are 25 questions BestPackFactory recommends asking any supplier.

Company and Legal Status

1. Show me your business licence. Is it current?
2. What is the registered capital? (Lower capital = higher insolvency risk.)
3. Do you manufacture in-house or subcontract to other factories?
4. How long have you been producing packaging specifically?
5. Can you provide three verifiable buyer references?

Certifications and Compliance

6. Are you FSC-certified? Show the certificate number (verify at info.fsc.org).
7. Do you hold ISO 9001:2015 quality management certification?
8. Are your food-contact materials compliant with GB 4806 (China), EU 10/2011 or FDA 21 CFR?
9. Can you produce a REACH compliance declaration for inks and adhesives?
10. Do you have experience with California Prop 65 compliance?

Production Capacity and Equipment

11. What is your monthly production capacity for this box type?
12. Do you own your own printing press? What type and how many colours?
13. Do you have in-house lamination, foil stamping and die-cutting?
14. What is your maximum sheet size?
15. Do you run three shifts or two?

Quality Control

16. Do you have an in-house QC lab? What tests do you run?
17. What is your AQL level for final inspection? (AQL 2.5 is standard for packaging.)
18. How do you handle colour consistency between print runs?
19. Who signs off on first samples before mass production?
20. What is your defect rate for the last six months?

Sample and Tooling Policy

21. Is the first sample free or charged?
22. Who owns the dieline and print tooling — factory or customer?
23. What is the sample lead time?

Commercial Terms

24. What are your payment terms? (50% deposit, 50% before shipment is standard.)
25. What Incoterm do you quote? (FOB Shenzhen is most common.)

BestPackFactory answers all 25 questions openly. Request our factory documentation package — includes FSC certificate, ISO certificate, factory profile and recent buyer references.