License Exception STA: Eligible Items, Filing, and Penalties

License Exception STA, short for Strategic Trade Authorization, lets U.S. exporters ship many controlled items to trusted allied countries without applying to the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) for an individual export license. It is codified at 15 CFR § 740.20 and covers exports, re-exports, and in-country transfers of items that would otherwise need a license under Part 742 of the Export Administration Regulations.¹ Using it correctly is a matter of four things: the item qualifies, the destination qualifies, the paperwork with your foreign consignee is in place before shipment, and your AES filing matches what you actually sent.

Which Countries and Items Qualify

STA runs on two tracks. Paragraph (c)(1) of the regulation authorizes a broad range of items to countries in Country Group A:5. Paragraph (c)(2) authorizes a narrower set of items to countries in Country Group A:6.¹ Both groups currently list 39 nations, including NATO allies, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and India.² The country lists overlap heavily; what differs between the two tracks is the scope of items you can send.

Every item on the Commerce Control List (CCL) carries an Export Control Classification Number (ECCN). Before relying on STA, confirm two things about your ECCN. First, that the ECCN falls within a category eligible under paragraph (c)(1) or (c)(2). Second, that no specific note or paragraph inside the ECCN entry itself disqualifies the item. Many ECCN entries contain STA-specific carve-outs that override the general eligibility rules, and missing one turns a routine shipment into an unauthorized export.

Items That Never Qualify

Some reasons for control disqualify an item from STA regardless of destination. STA is unavailable for items controlled for:

Encryption Items (EI)
Short Supply (SS)
Surreptitious Listening (SL)
Chemical Weapons (CW)

Missile Technology (MT) controls are also generally disqualifying, with a narrow exception for certain unmanned aerial vehicles and unmanned airships under ECCNs 9A012 and 9A120 that fall below defined payload and range thresholds.¹

On top of the reasons for control, the regulation excludes long lists of specific ECCNs. Certain firearms and related items in ECCNs 0A501 through 0A509 are ineligible, as are select biological agents and toxins in the 1C351 family and advanced navigation technology under 7E004 (with a narrow carve-out for 7E004.a.7). Category 9 has its own restrictions: 9B001, for example, cannot use STA to a Country Group A:6 destination, and specific engine-component software and production technology in 9D and 9E entries are excluded outright.³ Never assume your item qualifies based on its broad category alone. Read the ECCN entry, then cross-check the exclusion paragraphs in § 740.20(b)(2).

The Prior Consignee Statement

Nothing ships until you have a signed written statement from your foreign consignee. This Prior Consignee Statement, required under 15 CFR § 740.20(d)(2), is not optional paperwork. Without it, the entire authorization is invalid. The statement must contain six commitments from the consignee:

Acknowledgment that the items, described generally with their ECCNs, will be shipped under License Exception STA.
Confirmation that you have provided each item’s ECCN.
Understanding that items received under STA cannot later be re-exported under License Exception APR (paragraphs (a) or (b) of 15 CFR § 740.16).
Agreement to obtain a Prior Consignee Statement from any downstream recipient before re-exporting or transferring the items under STA.
Agreement not to export, re-export, or transfer the items to any destination, end-use, or end-user prohibited by the EAR.
Agreement to provide copies of the statement and all relevant transaction records to the U.S. government on request.

A single consignee statement can cover multiple shipments between the same parties as long as the party names, item descriptions, and ECCNs remain accurate.¹ That saves time on recurring transactions, but the statement must be updated whenever the item mix or classification changes.

Extra Rules for 600-Series and 9×515 Items

Items with military applications face additional conditions. The 600-series ECCNs cover defense articles that moved from the U.S. Munitions List to the CCL during export control reform. The 9×515 ECCNs cover spacecraft and related technology. Both categories can move under STA in certain situations, but the rules differ.

For 600-series items, STA imposes what BIS calls a “completing the chain” requirement. However many times a 600-series item changes hands or gets incorporated into a larger assembly, it must ultimately reach an eligible end user, such as a Country Group A:5 government military or the U.S. government. Every intermediate transfer must stay within the scope of the original STA authorization.¹ The consignee statement for 600-series transactions carries additional acknowledgments about end-user eligibility.

Items classified under 9×515 ECCNs are not subject to the completing-the-chain requirement, giving downstream parties more flexibility. All other STA conditions still apply, including the Prior Consignee Statement and shipment notification. Not every 9×515 item is automatically STA-eligible. If your item falls under certain spacecraft ECCNs (9A515.a.1 through .a.4, 9A515.g, or technology ECCNs 9E515.b, .d, .e, or .f) and is not already listed as eligible, you can request STA authorization for that specific end item through the BIS SNAP-R system.¹

How to File the Shipment

Once the consignee statement is in hand, file Electronic Export Information (EEI) through the Automated Export System (AES).⁴ For STA shipments, use license type code C59 and enter “STA” in the license number field.⁵ Report the correct ECCN for each item. EAR99 is not a valid ECCN for STA filings, because EAR99 items do not need a license exception in the first place.

Separately from the AES filing, you must notify the consignee in writing with each shipment that the items are being sent under License Exception STA. The notice must identify which items in the shipment are covered, or state that the entire shipment is covered. Email works. So does a fax or a paper letter.¹ Discrepancies between the physical shipment, the AES filing, and the consignee notification invite scrutiny from the Office of Export Enforcement.

Re-Exports and the APR Trap

STA follows the item downstream. If your foreign consignee wants to re-export or transfer the items to another party, they can rely on STA too, but they have to follow the same procedure you did: furnish the ECCN, obtain a Prior Consignee Statement, and provide written notification with each shipment.¹

One restriction is easy to miss. Items exported or re-exported under STA cannot later move under License Exception APR (paragraphs (a) or (b) of 15 CFR § 740.16). Your consignee cannot pivot to a different license exception to reach a broader set of destinations. The items either stay within the STA framework or require an individual license.

Deemed Exports of Technology and Source Code

STA is not limited to physical shipments. It also authorizes the release of controlled software source code and technology to foreign nationals inside a single country, which the EAR treats as a “deemed export” or “deemed re-export.” This matters whenever a U.S. company shares controlled technical data with a foreign-national employee or contractor.

For in-country releases, the standard consignee-statement and shipment-notification requirements do not apply. Instead, the party making the release must notify the recipient in writing that the EAR limit further disclosure, or secure an agreement in which the recipient accepts equivalent restrictions. The notification can live in a standalone document, a contract clause, or a nondisclosure agreement. If that document has an expiration date, it must state explicitly that the disclosure restrictions do not expire.¹ Both parties keep a copy.

Recordkeeping

You must maintain a log or equivalent record identifying each shipment made under STA and linking it to the associated consignee statement. For intangible (electronic) exports, a log is not required for the consignee statement itself, but you still need to confirm a statement was in place before the transaction.¹

Retain records for five years. Under 15 CFR § 762.6, the clock runs from the latest of the export date, any known re-export or transfer, or the termination of the transaction by any other means.⁶ That “latest of” language matters. If your consignee re-exports the item three years after your original shipment, your retention period resets from the date of that re-export.

Penalties for Getting It Wrong

Shipping under STA without a valid consignee statement, filing incorrect AES data, or ignoring the re-export restrictions can all trigger enforcement action. As of January 2025, the maximum administrative penalty is $374,474 per violation, or twice the value of the transaction, whichever is greater. The amount is adjusted annually for inflation.⁷ Criminal violations under the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 carry up to 20 years of imprisonment and fines up to $1 million per violation. BIS does not need to prove intent to impose administrative penalties. Keep consignee statements, shipment logs, and AES filings audit-ready at all times.

1
eCFR. 15 CFR 740.20 – License Exception Strategic Trade Authorization (STA)
2
eCFR. Supplement No. 1 to Part 740, Title 15 – Country Groups
3
eCFR. 15 CFR 740.20 – License Exception Strategic Trade Authorization (STA)
4
eCFR. 15 CFR 758.1 – The Electronic Export Information (EEI) Filing to the Automated Export System (AES)
5
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. AESTIR Part III, Appendix F: License and License Exemption Type Codes and Reporting Guidelines
6
eCFR. 15 CFR 762.6 – Period of Retention
7
Bureau of Industry and Security. Penalties