Entity List

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) publishes the names of certain foreign persons – including businesses, research institutions, government and private organizations, individuals, and other types of legal persons - that are subject to specific license requirements for the export, reexport and/or transfer (in-country) of specified items. These persons comprise the Entity List, which is found at Supplement No. 4 to Part 744 of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). The persons on the Entity List are subject to individual licensing requirements and policies supplemental to those found elsewhere in the EAR.

BIS first published the Entity List in February 1997 as part of its efforts to inform the public of entities that have engaged in activities that could result in an increased risk of the diversion of exported, reexported or transferred (in-country) items to weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs. Since its initial publication, grounds for inclusion on the Entity List have expanded to activities sanctioned by the State Department and activities contrary to U.S. national security and/or foreign policy interests.

You should check the Entity List because exports, reexports, and/or transfers (in-country) to those persons named on the Entity List are subject to licensing requirements and policies in addition to those elsewhere in the EAR. Failure to adhere to EAR licensing requirements is a violation of the EAR and could result in criminal and/or civil penalties. BIS recommends that exporters screen the parties to transactions against the Entity List as a standard part of pre-transaction due diligence activities.

The Entity List is subject to ongoing review and revision. All changes to the Entity List are published in the Federal Register. You can subscribe to a BIS e-mail notification service that will alert you when EAR rules are published in the Federal Register, including rules implementing changes to the Entity List, by clicking here.

No, not all sections of Part 744 of the EAR (which defines the criteria for possible inclusion on the Entity List) require that a person’s alleged activity involve items subject to the EAR. Section 744.11, for example, requires that the person’s activities be contrary to U.S. national security and/or foreign policy interests but does not require that the activities involve items subject to the EAR.

You should call the Office of Exporter Services at 202-482-4811, or e-mail them a question via the website. Pursuant to the guidance in §748.3 of the EAR, you may also submit an advisory opinion request to the End-User Review Committee Chair at [email protected], or call the Committee Chair directly at 202-482-5991. Can a listed entity act as purchaser or freight forwarder to transport my shipment of items subject to the EAR to the ultimate consignee or end-user? A BIS license is required prior to such a transaction. As stated in § 744.11(a), a license is required for the export, reexport, or transfer (in-country) of items subject to the EAR when an entity on the Entity List is a party to the transaction as described in § 748.5(c)-(f). Parties to the transaction may include purchasers, intermediate consignees (such as forwarding agents), ultimate consignees, and end-users. Any application for such a license will be reviewed in accordance with the License Review Policy associated with the listed entity on the Entity List. This policy is, most commonly, a presumption of denial. BIS also recommends consulting the other export screening lists maintained by the U.S. Government to ensure that any listed entity performing an activity (e.g., services) not subject to the EAR does not violate sanctions or restrictions administered by other U.S. Government agencies.

Each entity on the Entity List is assigned a specific licensing requirement on the basis of the national security and/or foreign policy considerations associated with the entity’s designation on the Entity List. Within the Entity List, the information for each listed entity includes the license requirement, license review policy, and Federal Register citation(s). License requirements vary from “all items subject to the EAR,” which includes items on the CCL as well as EAR99 items, to all items on the CCL, or to all items on the CCL except for specified items.