An export licence is required under the EAR when the item's classification, its destination, the parties receiving it or its end use trigger a requirement and no licence exception covers it. Most U.S. exports do not need a licence. To find out whether yours does, answer four questions in order: what is the item, where is it going, who will receive it and what will it be used for. Answer all four and you have a licence determination you can defend.
What is the item?
Start with jurisdiction. Is the item subject to the ITAR or the EAR? The USML and the CCL are the sources here, and our guide to ITAR vs EAR covers that decision. If the item is subject to the EAR, find its ECCN, or confirm that it is EAR99. The classification gives you the reasons for control that the rest of the test uses. See how to find the ECCN for your product.
Where is it going?
For an item with an ECCN, read its reasons for control against the destination on the Commerce Country Chart in Supplement No. 1 to Part 738. An X means a licence is required. Our page on how to use the Country Chart goes through it column by column.
Then check embargoes and sanctions. Part 746 imposes broader restrictions on certain countries and regions, often covering EAR99 items too, and OFAC programmes may prohibit the transaction altogether.
Who will receive it?
Screen the purchaser, intermediate consignees, ultimate consignee and end user against the Entity List (Supplement No. 4 to Part 744), the Denied Persons List, the Unverified List, the Military End-User List and the OFAC lists. A listed party can require a licence, and some listings make the export impossible. Our guides to the restricted party lists and to sanctions screening show how to run the checks.
What will it be used for?
Part 744 requires a licence for exports that you know are for prohibited end uses, whatever the classification. These include nuclear, chemical or biological weapons, missiles, and certain military end uses and military-intelligence end uses in listed countries. "Know" includes reason to know, so red flags you ignore count. Your sources are the customer's statements, any red flags and end-use certificates.
Watch for these red flags:
- the customer is reluctant to say where or how the item will be used;
- the item does not fit the customer's business;
- unusual routing, payment or packaging requests;
- the customer declines installation, training or a warranty that would normally be wanted;
- the delivery address is a freight forwarder with no clear end user.
A red flag does not automatically mean a licence is required, but you must resolve it before shipping. Our list of red flags in export transactions has more examples.
Is there a licence exception?
If the Country Chart produced an X, check whether a licence exception in Part 740 applies. That includes list-based exceptions such as LVS, GBS, TSR and STA, and others such as TMP, ENC and GOV. Check the general restrictions in § 740.2 first. Exceptions do not overcome most party and end-use prohibitions. The overview of licence exceptions explains which one to try.
When is an export licence required? The four outcomes
| Outcome | What it means | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| NLR (no licence required) | None of the four questions triggered a requirement. | Ship and record the determination. |
| Licence exception | A requirement exists, but an exception covers it. | Record the exception code. |
| Licence required | A requirement exists and no exception covers it. | Apply through SNAP-R before exporting. |
| Prohibited | Some parties and destinations make the export effectively impossible. | Do not ship. |
You cannot ship while an application is pending. How long a licence takes varies with the item, the destination and interagency review, so plan for weeks. The steps are in our guide on how to apply for a BIS export licence.
Worked example
An EAR99 industrial pump is going to a distributor in Brazil, the parties screen clear and the end use is civil water treatment. There is no Country Chart requirement (the pump is EAR99), no embargo, no listed party and no prohibited end use, so the result is NLR. If the same pump goes to a party on the Entity List, a licence is required under the entry's terms, whatever the classification.
Recording the determination
Record the answers to all four questions, the exception used (if any), the date and the regulation version. Export filings in AES carry the licence, the exception or NLR.
The licence test in ECCN.help
ECCN.help covers the first three questions directly. The rule-based ECCN.help Classification Workflow classifies the item, the licence check reads it against the Country Chart and lists exceptions, and screening checks parties against OFAC lists. For the codes the licence check reads, see reasons for control explained.
ECCN.help provides research and assistance, not legal advice. Verify every result against the regulation.