Form DSP-83, the Nontransfer and Use Certificate, is a State Department form that U.S. exporters must file when shipping significant military equipment or classified defense articles abroad. It binds three parties — the U.S. applicant, the foreign consignee, and the foreign end-user — to a written pledge that the items will stay in the approved country and will not be re-exported, resold, or transferred without prior written approval from the Department of State. You upload the signed form as a supporting attachment to your export license application in the Defense Export Control and Compliance System (DECCS), and the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) will not issue the license until the completed DSP-83 is on file.1eCFR. 22 CFR 123.10 – Nontransfer and Use Assurances
When You Need a DSP-83
Under 22 CFR 123.10, a DSP-83 is mandatory whenever you export significant military equipment designated on the United States Munitions List, or classified articles and classified technical data under a license or other authorization.2eCFR. 22 CFR 123.10 – Nontransfer and Use Assurances Classified items trigger the requirement whether or not they also qualify as significant military equipment. Narrow exemptions exist under 22 CFR 126.5 and 126.7, but even under those exemptions the DSP-83 requirement still applies to significant military equipment.3eCFR. 22 CFR 126.5
DDTC can also require a DSP-83 for any other defense article, technical data, or defense service at its discretion.1eCFR. 22 CFR 123.10 – Nontransfer and Use Assurances If DDTC asks for one, treat the request as mandatory. Your license will not move forward without it.
Where to Get the Current Form
The current version of Form DSP-83 (Version 2.2) is a downloadable PDF on the DDTC public portal, under Licenses, Agreements, and Other Authorizations.4Directorate of Defense Trade Controls. Licenses, Agreements, and Other Authorizations Download it, print it, and circulate it to the foreign parties for wet-ink signatures before scanning and uploading. Submitting an outdated version is a routine cause of returns without action.
How to Complete the Form
Three parties must execute the form: the U.S. applicant (the exporter), the foreign consignee, and the foreign end-user.2eCFR. 22 CFR 123.10 – Nontransfer and Use Assurances The consignee is the entity that first receives the items abroad; the end-user is the party that will actually use them. They can be the same organization, but often are not, particularly when a distributor or integrator sits in between.
Party Information and Item Description
Enter each party’s full legal name, physical address, and country. Abbreviated or vague entity names slow vetting and can trigger a return. List the quantity, description, and value of the articles or technical data exactly as they appear on your license application and any underlying purchase order.5Directorate of Defense Trade Controls. Guidelines for Permanent Export, Temporary Export, and Temporary Import Mismatches between the DSP-83 and the companion license application are one of the easiest ways to get a package kicked back.
Signatures
The foreign consignee and the foreign end-user sign in separate sections. Each signer must be an official authorized to bind the organization, and each signature must be in ink with the signer’s printed name, title, and date.
Item 8 is the foreign government certification block. A foreign government official’s signature is required in Item 8 when the foreign government itself is the end-user.5Directorate of Defense Trade Controls. Guidelines for Permanent Export, Temporary Export, and Temporary Import When the end-user is a non-governmental entity, DDTC may still require the destination country’s government to execute the certificate as a condition of issuing the license.1eCFR. 22 CFR 123.10 – Nontransfer and Use Assurances DDTC will tell you if that applies. Build the added time into your schedule if the destination country processes government approvals slowly.
Item 9 is the U.S. applicant’s certification. When you sign Item 9, you certify that no corrections, additions, or alterations were made to the form after the foreign parties signed. Sign last, always. Signing before your foreign parties finish and then allowing any change turns your Item 9 certification false on its face.
Submitting Through DECCS
Filing is electronic through DECCS, which requires a registered account.6DDTC. DECCS User Enrollment Landing Page Scan the fully executed original and upload it as a supporting attachment to your primary license application, most commonly a DSP-5 for permanent exports of unclassified defense articles. DDTC’s DSP-5 guidelines require an electronic copy of the fully executed DSP-83, including the applicant certification, at the time you submit the application.7Directorate of Defense Trade Controls. Guidelines for Completion of a Form DSP-5 Application/License for Permanent Export of Unclassified Defense Articles and Related Unclassified Technical Data
Keep the wet-ink original in your compliance files. DDTC can request it at any time, regardless of whether the application is approved, denied, or returned without action.7Directorate of Defense Trade Controls. Guidelines for Completion of a Form DSP-5 Application/License for Permanent Export of Unclassified Defense Articles and Related Unclassified Technical Data
How Long Review Takes
DDTC publishes average processing times on its public portal. Historical averages have generally run 38 to 45 calendar days from the date the applicant signs the case to final action.8DDTC Public Portal. License Processing Times Those figures cover all case types except commodity jurisdiction determinations and electronic rejections. Your timeline will vary with the sensitivity of the items, the countries involved, and any request for additional documentation. Cases needing a foreign government signature in Item 8, or involving end-users in countries under enhanced scrutiny, typically take longer.
What the DSP-83 Commits You to After Approval
Signing the form creates ongoing obligations, not just a one-time filing hurdle. The foreign consignee and end-user pledge that they will not re-export, resell, or otherwise transfer the items outside the approved destination country, or to any person not named in the authorization, without prior written approval from the Department of State.2eCFR. 22 CFR 123.10 – Nontransfer and Use Assurances
If a foreign party later needs to transfer the items to a new end-user or send them to a different country, the U.S. exporter or the foreign party must return to DDTC and apply for authorization. Re-export and retransfer requests go through the same DECCS portal used for initial applications, with their own supporting documentation.4Directorate of Defense Trade Controls. Licenses, Agreements, and Other Authorizations Unauthorized transfers are among the most serious ITAR violations.
Recordkeeping
Under 22 CFR 122.5, you must keep the original signed DSP-83 and all related export documentation for at least five years from the expiration of the license, or from the date of the transaction if no expiration applies.9eCFR. 22 CFR 122.5 – Maintenance of Records by Registrants DDTC leadership can prescribe a longer or shorter retention period in individual cases. The obligation covers the license application, purchase orders, shipping records, and correspondence with foreign parties, not just the certificate itself.
Penalties
Willfully violating the Arms Export Control Act, including making untrue statements or omitting material facts on a license application or required report, carries a criminal fine of up to $1,000,000 per violation and up to 20 years in prison.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 22 USC 2778 – Control of Arms Exports and Imports Falsifying information on a DSP-83 falls squarely inside that provision. A materially false statement on any federal document is separately a federal crime under 18 U.S.C. § 1001, punishable by up to five years.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1001 – Statements or Entries Generally
Civil penalties do not require willfulness. The statutory ceiling is the greater of $1,200,000 or twice the value of the underlying transaction per violation.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 22 USC 2778 – Control of Arms Exports and Imports The dollar cap is adjusted annually for inflation; the FY 2025 adjusted figure was $1,271,078 per violation.12Federal Register. Department of State 2025 Civil Monetary Penalties Inflationary Adjustment For high-value defense transactions, twice the transaction value can dwarf the fixed cap. DDTC can also debar a company from future defense exports.
Most exporters never face prosecution. What they do face routinely is administrative pain from sloppy filings. Mismatched item descriptions, missing signatures, or an outdated form version get the package returned without action and reset your processing clock. Against contract delivery dates, a preventable return often costs more than any fine.