The Commerce Control List (CCL) divides everything it controls under the EAR into ten categories, numbered 0 to 9. The CCL category is the first digit of every ECCN: the "5" in 5A992 or the "3" in 3A001 (see ECCN number structure). Choosing the right category is the first real step of any classification.
What are the ten CCL categories?
Below is each category with the kinds of items it covers and some example ECCNs. The full text is in Supplement No. 1 to Part 774 of the EAR.
Category 0: nuclear materials, facilities and equipment, and miscellaneous items
Nuclear-related equipment and materials under Commerce jurisdiction, plus a range of "miscellaneous" items. Category 0 also holds many 600 series entries for military items moved from the U.S. Munitions List, for example 0A606 (ground vehicles and components), and firearms-related entries such as 0A501.
Category 1: special materials and related equipment, chemicals, microorganisms and toxins
Composite materials, specialised metals and alloys, chemicals (including chemical weapons precursors, 1C350), biological agents and toxins (1C351), and related equipment. Many entries here carry chemical and biological weapons (CB) controls.
Category 2: materials processing
Machine tools, bearings (2A001, 2A991), industrial robots, isostatic presses, vacuum pumps, valves and equipment for producing controlled materials. Several nuclear nonproliferation (NP) entries sit here, such as 2B230.
Category 3: electronics
Electronic components (3A001, which includes integrated circuits and microwave components), advanced computing chips (3A090), general-purpose electronics and test equipment (3A991, 3A992), semiconductor manufacturing equipment (3B001) and electronic materials (3C). Electronics is one of the busiest categories for classification.
Category 4: computers
Digital computers and related equipment (4A003), computers containing advanced computing chips (4A090), commercial computers not elsewhere controlled (4A994), and the related software and technology (4D001, 4E001).
Category 5: telecommunications (Part 1) and information security (Part 2)
Category 5 is the one split into two parts. Part 1 covers telecommunications equipment (5A001, 5A991), test equipment (5B) and related software and technology. Part 2 covers information security: encryption items (5A002, 5D002), mass-market encryption (5A992, 5D992) and cryptographic technology (5E002).
Category 5 Part 2 has its own logic, including the Cryptography Note. See encryption export controls: 5A002, 5D002 and 5A992.
Category 6: sensors and lasers
Acoustic systems, optical detectors and focal plane arrays (6A002), cameras including thermal imagers (6A003), optics (6A004), lasers (6A005), magnetometers, gravity meters and radar (6A008). Catch-all entries such as 6A993 take cameras below the thresholds.
Category 7: navigation and avionics
Accelerometers (7A001), gyros (7A002), inertial navigation systems (7A003), satellite navigation receivers and avionics, with 7A994 for other navigation and avionics equipment. Missile technology (MT) controls are common here (7A103).
Category 8: marine
Submersible vehicles and systems (8A001), marine equipment (8A002), and catch-all marine items such as underwater cameras and small submersibles (8A992).
Category 9: aerospace and propulsion
Gas turbine engines (9A001), spacecraft and related items (9A515), unmanned aerial vehicles (9A012), civil aircraft and parts (9A991), and 600 series military aircraft items (9A610).
How to choose the ECCN category
Choose by what the item does. The industry it is sold into does not decide the category: a sensor sold to the automotive industry is still a sensor (Category 6), and a component that is a navigation device (Category 7) stays in Category 7 even if it ships inside a marine system.
When more than one category could apply, review each. The item will be classified under one ECCN, but you need to rule the others out. Within the category, the product group (A–E) narrows the search further; see CCL product groups A–E. The full method is in how to find the ECCN for your product.
As a first pointer, start with the category that matches the question below.
| Question about the item | Start with |
|---|---|
| Is it a chemical, material or microorganism? | Category 1 |
| Does it make, shape or process materials? | Category 2 |
| Is it an electronic component, instrument or chip? | Category 3 |
| Is it a computer or server? | Category 4 |
| Does it transmit data or encrypt? | Category 5, Part 1 or Part 2 |
| Does it sense, image or emit light? | Category 6 |
| Is it used for navigation, or to fly an aircraft? | Category 7 (and 9 for the aircraft) |
When one product touches several categories
The same product family often reaches into more than one category:
- A satellite navigation receiver is Category 7, but its encryption module may raise Category 5 Part 2 questions, and a space-qualified version may be 9x515.
- A thermal camera is Category 6, and the focal plane array inside it is a Category 6 detector (6A002) in its own right when exported separately.
- An AI training server is Category 4 (4A090) because of the Category 3 chips it contains (3A090).
- Software for any of these follows the category of the item it serves: 4D for computers, 5D for telecommunications and encryption, 6D for sensors.
Categories and reasons for control
Some reasons for control cluster in particular categories. Chemical and biological weapons controls (CB) are found in Categories 1 and 2, nuclear nonproliferation (NP) in Categories 0, 1, 2 and 3, missile technology (MT) in Categories 7 and 9, and encryption items (EI) in Category 5 Part 2. National security (NS) and anti-terrorism (AT) controls appear in almost every category.
The licence requirement follows from the reasons for control on the entry. The category alone does not decide it. See the Commerce Country Chart.
Where to read the CCL categories
Each category of the CCL is published as its own part of Supplement No. 1 to Part 774 on the eCFR, and BIS publishes a PDF of each. The alphabetical index to the CCL points from commodity names to candidate entries across all categories, which helps you see which categories to review. See ECCN lookup.
Categories in ECCN.help
The ECCN.help Classification Workflow asks for the category first, with the likely ones suggested from your description, then the product group, and then offers candidate entries. If no category fits, "None of these describes the product" widens the search to every area.
ECCN.help provides research and assistance, not legal advice. Verify every result against the regulation.