How do I know if I need an export license?

Determine your item’s ECCN, identify its reasons for control, and cross-reference them against the destination on the Commerce Country Chart. A required-license result there — or a restricted party or prohibited end use — means you need a license unless a license exception applies.

What is the Commerce Country Chart?

A table in the EAR that you cross-reference with your item’s ECCN reasons for control and the destination country. An “X” at the intersection of a reason and a country indicates that a license is required for that reason for exports to that country.

What is a license exception?

An authorization in the EAR that lets you export an otherwise license-required item without applying for an individual license, provided your transaction meets all of the exception’s specific conditions. You cite the exception on your export documentation.

How do I apply for an export license?

Through BIS’s electronic system (SNAP-R), submitting the item and ECCN, the parties, destination, end use, and supporting documents such as an end-use statement. BIS reviews and may approve, condition, return, or deny the application. A wrong license call is among the most serious mistakes an exporter can make. Reidel Law Firm advises exporters on license determinations, exceptions, and BIS applications on flat-fee terms. Get an export compliance memo.

How to Export With an Export License (EAR)

Most exports don’t need a license — but knowing which ones do, and getting the license when required, is where exporters get into trouble. Under the EAR, the license question is answered by combining four things: your item’s ECCN, the destination country, the end user, and the end use. You determine the license requirement by checking the ECCN’s reasons for control against the Commerce Country Chart<