Copper(II) chloride is prepared commercially by the action of chlorination of copper. Copper at red heat (300-400°C) combines directly with chlorine gas, giving (molten) copper(II) chloride. The reaction is very exothermic.
A solution of copper(II) chloride is commercially produced by adding chlorine gas to a circulating mixture of hydrochloric acid and copper. From this solution, the dihydrate can be produced by evaporation.
Although copper metal itself cannot be oxidized by hydrochloric acid, copper-containing bases such as the hydroxide, oxide, or copper(II) carbonate can react to form  in an acid-base reaction which can subsequently be heated above  to produce the anhydrous derivative.
Once prepared, a solution of  may be purified by crystallization. A standard method takes the solution mixed in hot dilute hydrochloric acid, and causes the crystals to form by cooling in a calcium chloride () ice bath.
There are indirect and rarely used means of using copper ions in solution to form copper(II) chloride. Electrolysis of aqueous sodium chloride with copper electrodes produces (among other things) a blue-green foam that can be collected and converted to the hydrate. While this is not usually done due to the emission of toxic chlorine gas, and the prevalence of the more general chloralkali process, the electrolysis will convert the copper metal to copper ions in solution forming the compound. Indeed, any solution of copper ions can be mixed with hydrochloric acid and made into a copper chloride by removing any other ions.