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Before buying, reselling, shipping, or hosting AI servers, check the equipment, every transaction party, the destination and onward route, the actual end user, and the intended use. A server’s commercial availability—or an EAR99 classification—does not by itself mean the transaction is unrestricted. This guide covers U.S. Export Administration Regulations (EAR) checks; other jurisdictions may impose separate requirements. The applicable rules and screening lists can change, so confirm them again before the transaction.

What should you check before buying or reselling an AI server?

Work through these checks in order and keep a record of the facts and decisions. A classification or a clean screening result is only one part of the analysis: restrictions can depend on the combination of the item, destination, parties, end use, and any later transfer.

1. Classify the server and relevant components

Ask the manufacturer or supplier for classification support for the complete server and relevant components, including accelerators. Record the applicable Export Control Classification Number (ECCN), or whether the item is classified as EAR99, and verify the information against the current Commerce Control List. Do not assume that a retail product is uncontrolled, or that EAR99 means no restrictions apply.

BIS’s May 13, 2025 advanced-computing guidance identifies servers containing advanced-computing integrated circuits as potentially controlled commodities and gives examples classified as 5A992.z. That example is not a classification for every AI server: verify the actual configuration and classification. If the classification is uncertain, Trade.gov describes requesting a commodity-classification determination from BIS.

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2. Map every party and address in the transaction

Write down the seller or exporter, purchaser, applicant, intermediaries, freight forwarders, intermediate and ultimate consignees, installation site, and actual end user. Identify the role of each party rather than treating the invoice customer as the whole transaction.

Screen relevant parties and addresses against the current Consolidated Screening List (CSL) and the underlying applicable lists. The CSL consolidates lists maintained by Commerce, State, and Treasury. BIS identifies the Denied Persons, Entity, Unverified, and Military End-User lists among its restricted-party lists. Restrictions can apply because a listed party is involved in the transaction, even if that party is not the final end user.

3. Establish ownership and headquarters

Obtain the customer’s ownership structure, ultimate parent, and headquarters locations. BIS’s advanced-computing guidance flags missing or incomplete headquarters and ultimate-parent information and calls for scrutiny of ownership connections to Country Group D:5 destinations, including China, or Macau.

An overseas incorporation, purchaser, or delivery address does not settle where the company is headquartered or who ultimately owns it. Trade.gov describes controls affecting certain advanced-computing items destined to PRC-headquartered companies worldwide, so assess the relevant headquarters facts under the current rules rather than relying on the shipment address alone.

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4. Identify the real end user and intended use

Ask what the customer will do with each system: operate it, hold it in inventory, resell it, transfer it, or provide infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS). Where the customer is an intermediary, identify the next customer and actual end user to the extent known. Compare the declared business and proposed use with the server quantity and capability.

For hosted compute, establish who will access the systems and whether the service will support AI-model training for or on behalf of parties headquartered in D:5 destinations or Macau. BIS explains that certain advanced-computing transfers and U.S.-person support connected with such training may be subject to catch-all controls when the specified knowledge of a restricted WMD or military-intelligence end use or end user exists. Treat that as a fact-specific EAR analysis, not as a blanket prohibition on every hosted service.

5. Check destination, onward movement, end-use rules, and authorization

Determine the initial destination and any planned reexport or in-country transfer. Apply the current EAR to the item classification, route, parties, end user, and use to establish whether a license, license exception, or other authorization is required and available. Listed-party restrictions and end-use controls can matter even when the item classification or destination alone would not require a license. BIS notes that end-use controls can apply to EAR99 items; Trade.gov describes additional controls relating to military, military-intelligence, WMD, and advanced-computing or supercomputing activity.

Do not treat these checks as separate boxes whose answers can be considered in isolation. A seemingly ordinary destination or item classification does not resolve a concern about a listed party, restricted use, ownership, or onward transfer.

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What are red flags for AI-server or chip diversion?

BIS’s May 13, 2025 guidance gives a non-exhaustive set of warning signs. A red flag is a reason to investigate and resolve the facts; it is not, by itself, proof that a violation occurred.

  • A new customer appears suddenly or orders rise sharply without a credible explanation.
  • A residential address or small business location is inconsistent with the number or capability of servers ordered.
  • The customer has little online presence, or information found online conflicts with its stated business.
  • The delivery or installation location is unknown, or the end-user address appears to be only a virtual office or shipping storefront.
  • The customer will not or cannot identify its headquarters or ultimate parent’s location.
  • A consignee appears unrelated to the transaction, such as a mail center or freight forwarder, without a satisfactory explanation.
  • The customer shares an address or co-location with a screened party.
  • A proposed data center cannot substantiate that it has the power, cooling, or space needed to operate the servers.
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What should resellers document and verify?

Collect transaction-specific information

BIS recommends gathering enough information to understand who is buying, where the equipment will go, and how it will be used. Maintain a file with:

  • Customer identity, address, business, website, and role in the transaction; for a new customer, business-license information.
  • The intended activity, known downstream customer, and actual end user where known.
  • Delivery and installation addresses, plus customer and end-user headquarters and parent-company locations.
  • An item list with the relevant ECCNs.
  • Written customer certification to comply with the EAR and to flow down applicable requirements to later reexports or in-country transfers.

A certification supports diligence; it does not replace screening, classification, or an independent assessment of inconsistent facts.

Confirm the installation site can host the equipment

For a data-center installation, obtain written confirmation that the end user is authorized to operate at the location and that the facility can support the relevant server type. BIS describes site visits or independent certified auditors as best practices. Its guidance says facilities able to operate servers containing advanced ICs at or above 10 megawatts merit additional scrutiny in the context it describes. That is a diligence trigger in the guidance, not a universal licensing cutoff.

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What should you do when a fact or authorization is unresolved?

Pause the transaction if classification, screening, destination, ownership, end use, customer statements, or the required authorization remains unresolved. Refer the issue to qualified export-control personnel before shipment, transfer, installation, or provision of hosted access. BIS states that parties may not proceed when they know a violation has occurred, is about to occur, or is intended, and warns: “Exporters, reexporters, and transferors also may not self-blind to avoid license requirements.”

Trade.gov describes options to ask BIS for a commodity-classification determination or a written advisory opinion. For an actual transaction, verify the current EAR provisions and lists against the complete facts with qualified export-control personnel; a classification or advisory response does not eliminate the need to assess other parties, destinations, uses, and transfers.

When comparing server configurations or delivery models, what changes?

Do not assume two configurations or commercial arrangements are legally equivalent. Compare the facts that can affect the analysis:

  • ECCN and technical parameters of the server and relevant components.
  • Initial destination and planned onward route.
  • Customer and ultimate-parent headquarters.
  • Identified end user and intended use.
  • Restricted-party status of each transaction party.
  • Whether a license exception or other authorization is available for the specific facts.
  • Whether shipment, resale, transfer, or hosted access changes who can use the computing capacity.

Recheck the current rules and screening lists immediately before an affected transaction because both can change.

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