Form BIS-711: Signatures, Validity, and Penalties

Form BIS-711, the Statement by Ultimate Consignee and Purchaser, is a support document that the Bureau of Industry and Security requires with certain export license applications for defense-related items on the Commerce Control List. On it, the foreign party receiving your goods makes binding commitments about how the items will be used, where they will stay, and that they will not be transferred elsewhere without BIS authorization. Get it wrong and your license application stalls; skip it when it is required and you face penalties that can dwarf the value of the shipment.

When You Need Form BIS-711

The trigger is narrower than many exporters assume. Under 15 CFR § 748.11, a Statement by Ultimate Consignee and Purchaser is required only when your license application covers “600 Series Major Defense Equipment” that requires a license under the Commerce Control List.1eCFR. 15 CFR 748.11 – Statement by Ultimate Consignee and Purchaser These are defense articles that moved from State Department jurisdiction to Commerce Department control, classified under ECCNs in the “xY6zz” format, and include items like military vehicles, military electronics, and certain firearms components.

China-Bound Shipments

Exports to the People’s Republic of China follow a different path. License applications for PRC destinations generally require a separate PRC End-User Statement under 15 CFR § 748.10, not Form BIS-711. There is one exception: replacement parts and components valued at $75,000 or less, exported to service previously exported commodities, can use a BIS-711 in place of the PRC End-User Statement.1eCFR. 15 CFR 748.11 – Statement by Ultimate Consignee and Purchaser

Transactions That Skip Support Documents Entirely

Several categories of transactions require no BIS-711 and no other support document under 15 CFR § 748.9(c):

  • The ultimate consignee or purchaser is a U.S. government agency or a foreign government agency other than the PRC government.
  • The application is filed by or on behalf of a relief agency registered with the Advisory Committee on Voluntary Foreign Aid at USAID.
  • The items are being exported for temporary exhibit, demonstration, or testing.
  • The commodities are controlled for short supply reasons under Part 754 of the EAR.
  • The application covers software or technology rather than physical commodities.
  • The application involves encryption commodities controlled under ECCN 5A002, 5A004, or 5B002.

There is also a shortcut when the applicant filing the license is itself the ultimate consignee. In that case, the required statements can go in Block 24 of the license application, and no separate form is needed. This does not work when the applicant and consignee are technically separate entities, even parent and subsidiary.2eCFR. 15 CFR 748.9 – Support Documents for License Applications

What Goes on the Form

The official BIS-711 is available from the BIS website.3Bureau of Industry and Security. BIS Forms It has seven blocks:

  • Block 1 — Ultimate Consignee. Full legal name and address of the party abroad who will actually receive the items. A bank, freight forwarder, or other intermediary cannot be listed here.
  • Block 2 — Disposition or Use. How the ultimate consignee plans to use or dispose of the items: use by the consignee, resale to a customer, or reexport to another country.
  • Block 3 — Nature of Business. The consignee’s type of business and the nature and duration of the business relationship with the U.S. exporter.
  • Block 4 — Additional Information. Any other parties involved in the transaction or material facts that don’t fit elsewhere.
  • Block 5 — Assistance in Preparing the Statement. Names of anyone outside the consignee’s or purchaser’s organization who helped prepare the form.
  • Block 6 — Ultimate Consignee Signature. The consignee’s authorized official signs and dates.
  • Block 7 — Purchaser Signature. If the purchaser is a different entity from the ultimate consignee, the purchaser’s authorized official signs here.

Above the signature blocks sits a certification. By signing, both parties certify that the facts are true, that they will send a supplemental statement if any facts change after signing, and that they will not reexport, resell, or otherwise transfer the items to an unapproved country or person without BIS authorization.4eCFR. Supplement No. 3 to Part 748 – Statement by Ultimate Consignee and Purchaser

Who Signs, and in Which Block

Three terms overlap in practice but mean different things in the regulations. The ultimate consignee is the principal party abroad who receives the items. The end-user is the person who ultimately uses them. The purchaser is whoever ordered and paid. In many transactions all three are the same company. In a deal where a trading company in Germany buys electronics on behalf of a manufacturer in Poland, the German company is the purchaser and the Polish manufacturer is both the ultimate consignee and the end-user.5Bureau of Industry and Security. Part 748 – Applications (Classification, Advisory, and License) and Documentation

When purchaser and ultimate consignee are different entities, both sign: the consignee in Block 6, the purchaser in Block 7. If you are unsure who fits where, disclose all parties and their roles in Block 4 or in Block 24 of the license application.

The person signing must be a senior official whose authority to bind the organization comes from their actual position, such as a senior manager, director, or officer. The regulation prohibits delegating signature authority to an agent, employee, or other person whose authority is not inherent in their role with the consignee or purchaser.1eCFR. 15 CFR 748.11 – Statement by Ultimate Consignee and Purchaser Block 6 accepts either a digital or an ink signature; Block 7 requires ink.4eCFR. Supplement No. 3 to Part 748 – Statement by Ultimate Consignee and Purchaser The signer’s official title must appear on the form. Every detail must match the corresponding information on the export license application; discrepancies trigger questions from BIS and delay processing.

How Long a Signed Statement Stays Valid

A single signed BIS-711 can support more than one license application, which saves time on ongoing business with the same foreign party. Two clocks run:

  • The first license application supported by the statement must be submitted within one year of the signature date.
  • Any additional license applications using the same statement must be submitted within four years of that signature date.

After four years, you need a fresh statement. If facts change before then, such as a new address or a different intended end-use, the consignee or purchaser must promptly send a new statement rather than amending the existing one.1eCFR. 15 CFR 748.11 – Statement by Ultimate Consignee and Purchaser

Correcting Errors on a Signed Form

Once a BIS-711 is signed, no corrections, additions, or alterations are permitted on the document. If you discover a typo, a wrong address, or any other error after signing, the only remedy is to prepare, sign, and forward an entirely new statement. The same rule applies when facts change after the form has been sent to the exporter: the foreign party must issue a replacement.1eCFR. 15 CFR 748.11 – Statement by Ultimate Consignee and Purchaser

Review every field before the foreign party signs. Getting a new signature from someone overseas can add days or weeks to your timeline, and the license application cannot move forward with a defective statement attached.

Recordkeeping

Under 15 CFR § 762.6, you must retain the signed BIS-711 and all other records related to the transaction for five years. The clock starts from the latest of several trigger points: the date of export, the date of any known reexport or transfer of the items, or the date the transaction otherwise terminates.6eCFR. 15 CFR 762.6 – Period of Retention

BIS conducts audits and end-use checks to confirm that items exported under the license are still at the approved destination and being used as described. If BIS requests a record and you cannot produce it, you face potential enforcement action. There is no grace period for missing documents.

Penalties for Non-Compliance

Failing to obtain a BIS-711 when required, submitting a fraudulent one, or violating recordkeeping rules all fall under the enforcement framework of the Export Control Reform Act. Consequences scale with intent.

Civil Penalties

The maximum civil penalty per violation is adjusted annually for inflation. As of 2024, the ceiling was $364,992 per violation, or twice the value of the underlying transaction, whichever is greater.7eCFR. Supplement No. 1 to Part 766 – Guidance on Charging and Penalty Determinations in Settlement of Administrative Enforcement Cases The Department of Commerce publishes updated figures each year. Beyond fines, BIS can revoke your export privileges entirely through a denial order.

Criminal Penalties

Willful violations carry criminal consequences. An individual who knowingly circumvents export documentation requirements faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $1,000,000. Organizations face the same fine ceiling. Criminal referrals go to the Department of Justice, and a criminal case does not prevent BIS from also pursuing civil penalties and administrative sanctions on the same conduct.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 4819 – Penalties

An inadvertent violation still carries the maximum civil penalty. Intent only determines whether the case also becomes criminal. “I didn’t know I needed the form” is not a defense that reduces civil liability.