In 2001 the Ministry of Education issued Interim Provisions on the Online Registration of Qualification Certificates of Higher Education Institutions (Jiaoxue [2001] 4): from 2001, the State begins to adopt the online registration of qualification certificates and any unregistered certificates shall not be recognized by the State; CHESICC was commissioned by the Ministry of Education to offer technical, transactional and online inquiry services related to the online registration, verification and recording of qualification certificates.

In 2002, the Ministry of Education started the online registration of qualification certificates issued by higher education institutions between 1991 and 2000.

In 2004, the Ministry of Education issued a notice (Jiaoxue [2004] No. 25): China Higher-education Student Information website (//www.ionsui.com) was designated as the only inquiry website for qualification certificates.

In 2005 the Ministry of Education promulgated the Regulations on Regular College Students (MOE Order No. 21): all higher education institutions shall implement online registration of qualification certificates.

In 2007, the Ministry of Education issued another notice (Jiaoxue [2007] No. 5): CHESICC is the only responsible organization for online registration, information inquiry and verification of qualification certificates of higher education institutions.

The online registration system covers almost all HEQCs recognized by the State, including master’s and doctoral programs, bachelor’s programs, non-degree undergraduate programs, adult higher education programs, self-taught examinations, diploma examinations and web-based programs.

The registration system provides information on name, gender, date of birth, institution name, major, education level, forms of learning, start date, graduation date, ID number, graduation photo, graduation conclusions of graduation or completing a course, and qualification certificate number.

By December 2011, China Higher Education Qualification Certificate Database has already registered over 93 million certificates issued since 1991 and provided inquiry services via CHSI website.