The following process represents a typical life cycle of an HPC license application. This is meant as guidance only and not as a comprehensive description. For more complete information on license processing and HPC policy guidance, please refer to sections 740.7, 748.8, 750.4 and Supplement 2 to Part 748 of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR).

Submission and Referral

Upon submission, a license application is assigned to a BIS licensing officer (LO). From the date of receipt into the database, the LO has nine days to analyze the information provided and either refer the license application (with a case analysis) to the other agencies for review, place the application on hold without action (HWA) or return the license to the applicant without action (RWA).

If the license application is complete, the LO will refer the application for review to other agencies.

If the license application is missing information, the LO will call the applicant and request additional information. When an LO calls the applicant with a request for information, the application will be placed on HWA for 10 calendar days while the LO is waiting for the information. If the applicant does not provide this information after 10 days or does not inform BIS of the extenuating circumstances preventing the timely submission of the requested information, the application will be RWA'd.

Interagency Review

Reviewing agencies have 30 calendar days to review an application from the day it is referred by the LO, per Executive Order 12981.

If an agency determines that additional information is necessary to make a decision, it will provide an information request to BIS and the application will be placed on HWA for 10 days. If the applicant does not provide the additional information, an agency can request that the application be RWA'd or rejected.

If the application contains complete information, the agencies, including BIS, will either recommend ‘approve with conditions' or ‘reject' (only a small number of HPC license applications have been rejected.).

Sign-off Processing

Once all interagency positions are received, the LO checks the positions to determine whether the interagency group is in agreement on the disposition of the license application. The LO will attempt to resolve any disagreement among the interagency positions. If agreement cannot be reached within five days, the application will be escalated to the Operating Committee for resolution.

If the agencies agree on the disposition of the license application and the safeguard requirements, the LO will inform the applicant of the safeguard requirements to be applied to the license. The license application will then be placed on HWA until the signed SSP is provided by the end-user.

For most Computer Tier III license applications, a "Standard" SSP will be applied. The exporter may obtain the end-user certified Standard SSP (if the exporter believes the end-user will qualify for the Standard SSP) during the initial processing of the license. This will substantially expedite the issuance of the license application. If an agency later requests additional requirements, a separate end-user certified addendum also must be forwarded to BIS.

After 30 days, if BIS has not received the SSP and the applicant has not provided BIS with a valid reason for the delay, the license application may be RWA'd. If the applicant remains in contact with the LO and provides valid information regarding the delay in procuring the SSP and the Division Director concurs, BIS will keep the license application on HWA, pending receipt of the information.

Once a properly signed/certified SSP is returned to BIS and the other necessary support documents are provided, the LO will complete the application and forward it to the Division Director for final management review. An export license will be issued to the applicant once the Division Director approves issuance of the license.