The Export Administration Regulations (EAR) are the US Department of Commerce rules that control exports, reexports and in-country transfers of most commercial and dual-use items. An Export Control Classification Number (ECCN) is a five-character code from the Commerce Control List (CCL) that identifies an item the EAR controls and the reasons it is controlled. EAR99 is the designation for items that are subject to the EAR but are not listed on the CCL. Whether a shipment needs a license depends on that classification together with the destination, the end user and the end use.
This guide is for readers meeting these terms for the first time. It answers three questions in order: does the EAR apply to my item, does the item have an ECCN or is it EAR99, and is a license required for this export? For the harder question of when an EAR99 conclusion is defensible, see the companion article on when to classify an item as EAR99.
Does the EAR apply to my item?
Under 15 CFR 734.3(a), items subject to the EAR include all items in the United States (including those in a foreign trade zone or moving through the country), all US-origin items wherever they are, certain foreign-made items that incorporate controlled US-origin content above the de minimis levels, and certain foreign-produced direct products of specified US technology or software.
Some items are outside the EAR. The most important exclusion for most exporters is defense articles on the US Munitions List, which the State Department controls under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). ITAR and EAR are separate regimes, and an item subject to the ITAR is not subject to the EAR, so the jurisdiction question comes first. Published information and certain other technology and software are also excluded under Part 734.
If you are unsure, 15 CFR 734.6 explains that you may ask BIS for an advisory opinion or a classification, and that you may ask the State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls for a formal jurisdiction determination.
How an ECCN is built
The CCL is Supplement No. 1 to Part 774 of the EAR. Under 15 CFR 738.2, every ECCN has the same structure. The first character is a digit for the category, the second is a letter for the product group, and the last three digits identify the entry. Those three digits also indicate the main reason for control: 000–099 for national security, 100–199 for missile technology, 200–299 for nuclear nonproliferation, 300–399 for chemical and biological weapons, and the 900 range for controls such as anti-terrorism. The “600 series” covers munitions items, many of them moved from the US Munitions List to the CCL.
| First character: category | Second character: product group |
| 0 Nuclear materials, facilities and equipment, and miscellaneous | A Equipment, assemblies and components |
| 1 Materials, chemicals, microorganisms and toxins | B Test, inspection and production equipment |
| 2 Materials processing | C Materials |
| 3 Electronics | D Software |
| 4 Computers | E Technology |
| 5 Telecommunications and information security | |
| 6 Lasers and sensors | |
| 7 Navigation and avionics | |
| 8 Marine | |
| 9 Aerospace and propulsion |
So 2B991 is a Category 2 (materials processing) entry in product group B (production equipment) with an anti-terrorism-type control. Reading the code tells you where to look; it does not tell you whether your product meets the entry. That needs the full technical specification compared against the entry’s parameters, notes and defined terms (words in quotation marks are defined in Part 772).
What EAR99 means
Items subject to the EAR that are not listed on the CCL are designated EAR99 (15 CFR 734.3(c)). EAR99 is therefore not an ECCN. It is the result you reach after confirming that the EAR applies and that no CCL entry describes the item.
EAR99 does not mean “no license ever”. An EAR99 item can still need a license if it goes to an embargoed destination, to a party on the Entity List or another restricted list, or to a prohibited end use such as weapons of mass destruction. The EAR99 article on this site sets out those prohibitions and the red flags that suggest an EAR99 call is wrong.
Is a license required?
Part 732 of the EAR sets out the order of questions. In outline:
- Confirm the item is subject to the EAR.
- Classify it: find the ECCN, or conclude EAR99. Supplement No. 4 to Part 774 gives the order of review.
- For an ECCN, read its reasons for control and check them against the Commerce Country Chart (Supplement No. 1 to Part 738) for the destination. An “X” in the relevant column means a license is required unless a license exception in Part 740 applies.
- Whatever the classification, check the parties against restricted party lists, check the end use, and check whether the destination is embargoed (Parts 744 and 746).
- If nothing requires a license, the export goes as “No License Required” (NLR). Otherwise, apply for a license or use an eligible license exception.
The exporter is responsible for the classification and the license decision. Under 15 CFR 732.3(b) you may classify items yourself, and you also have a right to ask BIS for the classification, which BIS must provide. That request goes through SNAP-R under 15 CFR 748.3.
The Export Control Determination tool
We built the “Export Control Determination” tool to walk users through these questions step by step: where the EAR applies, whether an item has an ECCN or is EAR99, and whether a license is needed. The tool is now at ECCN.help.
It has two workflows:
- The export control decision tree, for classification and licensing. It asks three questions in turn:
- Is the item subject to the EAR?
- Does it have an ECCN, or is it EAR99?
- Is a license required for this export? Here the tool works through the General Prohibitions and License Exceptions and ends with either “Submit an application for license” or “No License Required” (NLR).
- The EAR determination workflow, for the threshold question of whether an item or activity is subject to the EAR at all. It works through these criteria:
- involvement in specific controlled activities;
- exemptions from other US Government agency jurisdiction;
- public availability of technology or software;
- the item’s origin and location (in or outside the US);
- whether foreign-produced items incorporate controlled US-origin content.
The second workflow ends with one of two results: “SUBJECT TO THE EAR” or “NOT SUBJECT TO THE EAR”.
The tool covers the same ground as this guide: identifying a candidate ECCN, deciding whether the EAR applies, spotting when an item is EAR99 and what that means, and deciding whether a license is required. It does not replace your own review. Any answer depends on the technical data you enter, and the classification is still the exporter’s responsibility. Keep a record of the specifications and reasoning behind each result, as you would for an audit-proof HS classification file.
Common beginner mistakes
Three errors are common among beginners. The first is classifying from a product name or a supplier’s marketing sheet instead of the technical specification. The second is treating EAR99 as a license-free label and skipping party and end-use screening. The third is mixing up the two classification systems: an HS or HTS code decides customs duty, an ECCN decides export licensing, and one does not give you the other. The article on common trade compliance mistakes covers related errors on the customs side.
This guide is general information. For a specific product, classify against the current text of the EAR on eCFR, or ask BIS for a classification.