For those new to exporting we suggest attending our two-day program, “Complying with U.S. Export Controls.” It moves at a slower pace than the one-day “Essentials of Export Controls” seminar and allows time for more hands-on exercises to solidify the knowledge presented in the minds of the attendees.

If you are an experienced exporter, our “Essentials of U.S. Export Controls” is an excellent option as a refresher course. You may also be interested in attending one of our special topic courses. These courses are either one-day or one half-day in duration. Some of the special topics include license exceptions, technology controls, and deemed exports. A description of all courses offered by BIS is available on our website and can be accessed by clicking here.

Dress code is business casual.

Generally, seminars are opened for registration six weeks before the date they are scheduled to be held. This also depends upon how quickly our cosponsors are able to finalize all details of the seminar, such as location and cost. If you would like to be notified when a seminar opens for registration, we suggest you sign up for our seminar email notification service, which can be accessed from the following web link: https://www.bis.doc.gov/forms/emailnotification.htm.

Once a seminar is open for registration, you should click on the link for “Additional Information”. There will be a link for registration on that page. Details about the seminar, such as its time, location, accommodations, the seminar fee, and what that fee covers, will also be found on the “Additional Information” page.

It depends upon when you need to cancel. A cancellation period is listed on the “Additional Information” page. If you need to cancel your attendance after the cancellation period listed, you will not be able to obtain a refund but you will be allowed to send a substitute from your company to attend in your place.

No, our seminars will not cover ITAR regulations, as they fall under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of State. Therefore, BIS seminars will primarily cover the Export Administration Regulations. However, some BIS seminars do include segments on Bureau of Census and Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) regulations.

You should contact your local U.S. Export Assistance Center and ask them to host a BIS seminar for your area. Let them know which BIS seminar you are interested in attending. They can then use that information to gauge interest in your area for that type of seminar.

The primary difference between these two seminars is time, as the “Complying” is a two-day seminar and the “Essentials” is a one-day seminar. Both seminars cover the same subjects, but the two-day seminar allows more time for each topic. The “Complying” seminar introduces a case study about a fictional company new to exporting that attendees follow throughout the seminar. Many two-day seminars include additional speakers from the Bureau of Census and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). The one-day “Essentials” seminar is very fast-paced, as it has to cover a lot of material in a shorter period of time.

You do not need to bring anything with you. All materials will be provided to you at the seminar.

You may register for our seminar email notification service at the following website: https://www.bis.doc.gov/forms/emailnotification.htm.

BIS seminars are designed to help exporters navigate the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). Topics include what is subject to the EAR, general prohibitions, export control classification numbers (ECCNs), license exceptions, license applications, Simplified Network Application Process Redesign (SNAP-R - the online application submission program), export enforcement, export clearance, and recordkeeping. Some seminars include presentations by the Bureau of Census and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

Our instructors are experienced export policy specialists and enforcement personnel from BIS in Washington, D.C., the Western Regional Office in California, and from BIS's field offices, as well as representatives from other U.S. government agencies as appropriate.

Our programs are certified by the State Bar of California for CLE credit. Many State Bars will accept credits from programs certified by other State Bars. Thus, if you are an attorney in another state, you may be able to accrue CLE credits by submitting the attendance form to your own State.

No. A shipment to Puerto Rico is not defined as an export or reexport under the Export Administration Regulations (EAR), so no license is required (NLR). However, the exporter is required to fill out a Shipper's Export Declaration (SED) issued by the Bureau of the Census. If the shipment is going through Puerto Rico and the final destination is a foreign country, the exporter must follow the required procedures for obtaining an Export Control Classification Number (ECCN) in order to ascertain whether a license is required for the shipment. The same rules apply for shipments to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands or any territory, dependency, or possession of the United States. See EAR, Section 734.2(b)(8).

The Department of Commerce Trade Information Center can assist you with obtaining this information. The Center can be reached on 1-800-USA-Trade (872-8723).

The Bureau of Export Administration cannot provide you with a Schedule B Number. Information on Schedule B Numbers can be furnished by the Bureau of Census at 301-763-3047 or you can obtain this information on the Census Web site. Schedule B Numbers are different from ECCNs.

Many common software products have encryption capability, subjecting them to special export controls. Internet software, office software, and many financial software products, among others, have encryption capability. Contact the manufacturer of the software product to find out if it has encryption capability. You can also contact the Information Technology Controls Division within the Bureau of Export Administration at 202-482-0707 or visit our Encryption page.

The "official" version of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) appears in the Code of Federal Regulations, a U.S. Government publication. All changes to the EAR are published in the Federal Register and these published changes represent the final "official" revision of the EAR, on which you should rely in making your export determinations. There are unofficial versions of the EAR that may be more convenient for you to use. The EAR are online at the GPO web site. Also, BIS announces significant regulatory revisions on its main web site. In addition, for your convenience, BIS contracts with the Government Printing Office to print a loose leaf version of the EAR. This version may be purchased as an annual subscription, including a base manual updated by quarterly bulletins that include the most recent quarter's Federal Register changes. There are also other vendors that sell versions of the EAR.

When exporting commodities out of the United States (or releasing technology or source code to a foreign national in the United States), you need to classify the item to determine if an export license is required from any U.S. Government agency. If an item is on the Commerce Control List, you need to know the ECCN to determine whether an export license is required.

You must enter the correct ECCN on the SED or AES record for licensed and license exception shipments, and for "no license required" (NLR) shipments of items on the Commerce Control List having a reason for control other than anti-terrorism (AT). The only exception to this requirement is the return of unwanted foreign origin items, meeting the provisions of License Exception TMP, under §740.9(b)(3) of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). See § 15 CFR 758.1(g) (as amended July 10, 2000).

As an exporter, you are required to comply with the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). You are not required to implement an EMS. An EMS can help you comply with the EAR, however, and we urge exporters to have one, or some other system to ensure compliance.

We have developed EMS Guidelines to assist exporters with complying with the EAR by offering different management tools and internal controls that can be implemented at key steps in the order processing flow. The EMS addresses the greater emphasis on end-use and end-user concerns that have been in the EAR since the adoption of the Enhanced Proliferation Control Initiative in the early 1990s. Our controls have moved beyond just focusing on whether your product is controlled to a certain country. Now, you must be concerned about whether your product could end up in the hands of a proliferator or proliferation activity (see part 744 of the EAR). An EMS helps you lay out many of the EAR requirements to ensure that you stay in compliance with the EAR.

We emphasize that EMS procedures should be in writing, but we consider uploading your procedures to an Intranet to be a great way to communicate faster to larger numbers of employees. You do need to be sure that you instruct employees to use the procedures and that someone keeps the procedures up-to-date.

You should contact our Export Seminar Staff at (202) 482-6031 or our Western Regional Office at (949) 660-0144. They offer various seminars for beginners, as well as intermediate and advanced exporters on export controls. Seminars are held in locations all over the country. An Export Seminar Staff member will be able to send you an upcoming schedule, as well as provide you with information on what each seminar covers. You might want to enroll in one of the half-day workshops on the Export Management System (EMS). The EMS workshop will help you set up an internal control system within your company and provide suggestions on how to best ensure compliance with the Export Administration Regulations (EAR).