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Build customer screening into a documented U.S. Export Administration Regulations (EAR) compliance process—not as a one-time list check, but as one part of determining whether a transaction may proceed. Identify all relevant parties, check names and addresses, assess the item and transaction, investigate red flags, and pause for compliance review when facts remain unresolved. A screening result alone does not establish that a transaction is authorized.
What customer screening does—and does not—tell you
Screening helps identify parties and circumstances that may trigger restrictions or further review. It does not replace determining whether an item or service is subject to the EAR, classifying it, assessing the destination and transaction parties, or determining whether a license or other authorization is required. BIS describes screening as one element of an export compliance program, alongside jurisdiction, classification, licensing, recordkeeping, training, audits, and corrective action.
Restrictions can apply to EAR99 items as well as controlled items, and may apply when a restricted party is a party to the transaction—not only when that party is identified as the ultimate user. The significance of a list entry depends on its terms, the item, the party’s role, and the applicable EAR provision. Some address-based entries can also create license requirements for specified transaction roles.
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Set up a process your teams can apply consistently
Assign responsibility and define coverage
Give export-compliance decisions a clear owner and management support. Map where your organization has EAR-related exposure and tailor written procedures to your activities. A hardware reseller’s process may need to account for shipment, intermediaries, installation, and delivery locations; a cloud or data-center operator may need to understand who receives access, where relevant infrastructure is located, and the customer’s intended use.
Train employees whose roles put them in contact with transaction facts. That can include sales and account teams, order processing, logistics, technical support, cloud onboarding, and compliance staff. BIS’s export compliance program guidance recommends organization-specific procedures rather than a copied, one-size-fits-all checklist.
Make screening part of the authorization workflow
Define when checks happen, who reviews possible matches, who can pause a transaction, and who may approve proceeding after review. BIS describes screening as occurring throughout export authorization. A practical process should therefore make it possible to revisit a check when parties, addresses, destinations, or other material transaction details change.
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For high-volume exporters, BIS says screening software may be preferable. Whatever method you use, the procedure should explain how staff handle near-matches, address overlaps, unresolved questions, escalations, and records.
Gather transaction facts before clearing a customer
Before approving a transaction, collect enough information to assess the item or service, the parties involved, the stated end user, ultimate destination, and intended end use. The precise information needed depends on the transaction and applicable EAR requirements.
- Parties and roles: Identify the purchaser, consignee, intermediaries, end user, and any other relevant transaction parties. Do not assume the purchaser and end user are the same.
- Names and addresses: Record the relevant business names and physical addresses, including delivery, installation, or other locations that matter to the transaction.
- Item or service: Gather the product or service details needed for jurisdiction and classification review. A screening result cannot answer those questions.
- Destination and use: Ask where the item will go or where relevant infrastructure is located, who will use it, and for what purpose.
- Ownership and access, where relevant: Understand who owns or controls the customer and, for cloud services, who can access the capacity and where relevant users are headquartered.
For physical hardware, account for resellers, freight or delivery arrangements, and installation sites. For cloud services, clarify the customer’s intended use and the access and infrastructure arrangements relevant to the transaction; do not treat a customer’s account name as a complete picture of who may benefit from the service.
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Check names and addresses against relevant lists
The U.S. government’s Consolidated Screening List (CSL) is a tool for identifying parties appearing on consolidated Commerce, State, and Treasury screening lists. Use it as an aid within the wider compliance process, not as a transaction-clearance certificate. Check relevant parties rather than only the person described as the final user.
BIS strongly recommends screening both names and addresses. When a result is possible rather than clearly positive or negative, compare relevant context, such as the exact list entry, company name, address, officers, business activities, and contact information. Minor differences in spelling or formatting do not necessarily make an address meaningfully different; a near-match or co-location with a listed entity merits further diligence.
Resolve what the actual entry covers and whether it creates a license requirement for the item and transaction role at issue. Do not assume every name match has the same legal effect, or that no exact name match means the transaction has been cleared.
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Recognize red flags and investigate them
BIS’s Know Your Customer guidance in EAR Supplement No. 3 to Part 732 says that when red flags arise, a firm has a duty to check the suspicious circumstances and inquire about end use, end user, or ultimate destination. The guidance also says that, absent red flags or an express EAR requirement, exporters have no affirmative duty to inquire, verify, or otherwise go behind a customer’s representations. That distinction does not make red flags proof of wrongdoing: they are reasons to ask questions and assess the facts.
General transaction warning signs
BIS identifies circumstances such as these as potential red flags:
- The customer is reluctant to provide information about the item’s end use.
- The order is inconsistent with the buyer’s line of business, or the buyer has little business background.
- The customer proposes unusual cash payment for an expensive item that would ordinarily be financed.
- The customer appears unfamiliar with the product but is determined to buy it.
- The customer refuses routine installation or training.
- Delivery plans are vague or unusual.
Consider the circumstances together with the item, parties, destination, and stated use. A warning sign is not, by itself, a legal conclusion.
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Additional diligence for advanced-computing transactions
BIS’s AI Counter-Diversion Industry Guidance, dated May 13, 2025, identifies additional signals for covered advanced-computing integrated circuits and commodities such as servers containing those ICs. Its recommendations are sector-specific; they should not be recast as a universal checklist or as independently binding requirements for every cloud transaction.
- A customer was incorporated after October 2022.
- Ownership is opaque, or the ultimate parent is in a destination of concern.
- The installation address is unknown, or consignee and end-user details appear implausible.
- The address is close to a listed party.
- A data center cannot confirm it has the infrastructure needed to operate the equipment.
- An IaaS provider cannot affirm whether its service users are headquartered in the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
The guidance says data centers at or above 10 megawatts merit additional scrutiny because they may provide access to large quantities of advanced-computing capacity. This is a diligence indicator in BIS’s 2025 guidance, not a general licensing threshold.
Ask focused questions, then decide whether to pause
When a red flag or possible match needs clarification, ask questions tied to the concern rather than relying on a generic certification alone. Depending on the issue, seek details about the end user, end use, ownership, shipment route, destination, or delivery and installation location. Request supporting documents when appropriate, and compare the answers with other transaction facts.
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- Describe the concern: Record the specific fact that triggered review, such as an address overlap, unclear end use, or inconsistent delivery plan.
- Request clarification: Ask the customer or relevant transaction party for the information needed to resolve that concern.
- Assess the response: Compare representations and supporting documents with the parties, item, destination, and transaction details.
- Escalate unresolved issues: Pause the transaction and refer it to the designated export-compliance reviewer if the facts do not resolve the concern.
- Determine the disposition: Proceed, seek an authorization, or decline only after assessing the actual facts and applicable EAR requirements.
For relevant advanced-computing transactions, BIS recommends evaluating ownership, end user, and end use; notifying prospective customers about destination-sensitive license requirements; obtaining detailed end-user certifications covering transaction parties and intended use; and requesting written data-center attestations about authorized operation and infrastructure. BIS describes on-site visits or independent third-party audits as a best practice for checking those attestations.
Document the review and maintain the program
Keep a record that lets another reviewer understand what was checked and why the organization made its decision. Record the screening date and sources, parties and addresses checked, potential matches and how they were resolved, questions and replies, relevant classification and licensing analysis, approvals, and the reason for proceeding, pausing, or refusing. Protect customer information under your organization’s applicable records and security policies.
Review the program as regulations, business activities, and risk exposure change. BIS’s export compliance program guidance also addresses training, audits, suspected violations, corrective actions, and program maintenance. For live transactions, check the current EAR text, current list entries, and applicable country groups and sector guidance; a prior review does not settle a transaction whose material facts or governing requirements have changed.
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