The Entity List is found in Supplement No. 4 to Part 744 of the Export Administration Regulations.  To ensure that you are relying on the official version of the regulations, please visit the Code of Federal Regulations: eCFR :: Supplement No. 4 to Part 744, Title 15 -- Entity List.  

General Description

The Export Administration Regulations (EAR) contain a list of 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 in Supplement No. 4 to Part 744 of the EAR. On an individual basis, the persons on the Entity List are subject to licensing requirements and policies supplemental to those found elsewhere in the EAR.

License Requirements Imposed by the Entity List

The Entity List specifies the license requirements that it imposes on each listed person. Those license requirements are independent of, and in addition to, license requirements imposed elsewhere in the EAR. For example, if you want to export, reexport or transfer (in-country) an EAR99 item to a listed entity and the license requirements for that person as specified in the “License Requirement” column of the Entity List state “all items subject to the EAR,” you would have to obtain a license before exporting, reexporting or transferring (in-country) the item, even if the EAR99 item could otherwise be sent to the country of destination without a license provided the proposed end-use does not trigger another license requirement under Part 744 of the EAR.

Note also that provisions of the EAR other than the Commerce Control List (Supplement No. 1 to Part 774 of the EAR) (CCL) and the Entity List impose license requirements on exports, reexports and transfers (in-country) of items subject to the EAR. See, for example, the end-use requirements in Part 744 or the embargo and special destination requirements in Part 746, and note that if any of these parts impose a license requirement, you would have to obtain a license prior to the export, reexport or transfer (in-country) of the item.

License Application Review Policy

BIS evaluates license applications to any listed entity according to the policy stated in the “License Review Policy” column of the Entity List. If there is more than one license requirement for a particular transaction (e.g., if the export transaction contains both persons included on the Entity List and an item that requires a license based on reason for control and destination, as determined by the classification of the item on the CCL and the Country Chart), you should submit only one license application, which BIS will evaluate according to all applicable licensing policies. For such license applications, the applicant should indicate the involvement of a person listed on the Entity List. If any applicable policy requires denial, BIS will deny the application, even if another policy provides for approval. For example, if your proposed transaction requires a license based on the item’s reason for control and your proposed consignee is on the Entity List, BIS will evaluate your application on the basis of the CCL licensing policy in Part 742 of the EAR and the policy for the consignee stated on the Entity List. If either policy requires denial, BIS will deny your application.

License Exceptions and the Entity List

As stated in Section 744.11(a), license exceptions may not be used unless authorized in an entry on the Entity List.

Background and Purpose of the Entity List

BIS first published the Entity List in February 1997 as part of its efforts to inform the public of entities who have engaged in activities that could result in an increased risk of the diversion of exported, reexported and 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.