Under the ITAR, a company that manufactures or exports defense articles, or furnishes defense services, must register with the State Department's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) under 22 CFR Part 122. Manufacturers in the United States must register even if they never export, and brokers have their own registration under Part 129. Registration does not authorise any export on its own, but without it no licence application can be made.
Who must register under the ITAR?
- Manufacturers of defense articles in the United States, even if they never export (22 CFR Part 122).
- Exporters of defense articles and technical data.
- Providers of defense services, meaning technical assistance to foreign persons related to defense articles.
- Brokers of defense articles and services, under Part 129, with their own registration.
"Manufacturing" includes making defense articles or parts of them, even to a customer's design. Occasional or one-off manufacturing can still trigger the requirement.
Who is usually exempt
A few narrow exemptions are listed in § 122.1(b), for example officers and employees of the U.S. government acting in an official capacity, and persons whose only activity is fabricating articles for experimental or scientific purposes. Read the exemption before relying on it. Assuming one applies without reading it is a common mistake.
Registration follows jurisdiction
A company whose products are all subject to the EAR, including 600 series items, does not need ITAR registration for them. A single USML product changes that. So an ECCN classification for some products is no reason to skip registration if any product is on the USML. The starting point is a jurisdiction review of the whole portfolio, recorded item by item, using ITAR vs. EAR and defense articles vs. dual-use items. Where a product's status is genuinely unclear, a commodity jurisdiction request settles it.
How to register with DDTC
- Submit a Statement of Registration (DS-2032) through DDTC's online system (DECCS).
- Give an accurate description of the company's ITAR activities, with company details, ownership and control (including any foreign ownership), senior officers and board members, and subsidiaries and affiliates.
- Certify eligibility, for example that the company and its senior officers are not debarred or indicted for export violations.
- Pay the registration fee, set by tier according to activity.
A U.S. subsidiary of a foreign company registers too if it manufactures or exports defense articles, and its foreign ownership must be disclosed. Subsidiaries and affiliates can be listed under the parent's registration, as Part 122 allows, but each must be identified.
Keeping registration current
Registration is renewed annually, before the expiry date. Material changes (a change of name, ownership or senior officers, or a merger or acquisition) must be notified to DDTC within the time limits in Part 122. Changes that bring foreign ownership or control require notice in advance. Keep records of the registration and every change.
Mergers, acquisitions and divestitures involving registrants have their own notification requirements, so include ITAR registration in due diligence for any deal involving a company that manufactures or exports defense articles. DDTC also expects a compliance programme proportionate to the registrant's activities; the export compliance programme best practices describe what one contains.
If the company stops its ITAR activities, registration can lapse or be terminated, but records must still be kept for the required period.
Common ITAR registration mistakes
- Manufacturers who never export assume they need not register.
- Engineering firms provide defense services without recognising them as such.
- Notifications are missed after acquisitions.
- An ECCN for some products is treated as a reason not to register while another product is on the USML.
What registration allows
Once registered, a company can apply for licences (DSP-5 for permanent exports of unclassified items, and others), enter technical assistance agreements for defense services, and use ITAR exemptions where available. Registration is not a licence: each export still needs its own authorisation. Technical data needs its own care, covered in technical data under the ITAR.
ITAR registration and ECCN.help
ECCN.help does not handle ITAR registration. Its scope check helps with the portfolio review: every classification in the ECCN.help Classification Workflow starts by asking whether the item is described on the USML (see the 21 USML categories), and records the answer.
ECCN.help provides research and assistance, not legal advice. Verify every result against the regulation.