Contrary to popular belief, there is no official “certification” in the same way that there are ISO certifications. However, there are industry-accepted standards that are applicable and a certain expectation by the US State Department for companies that register in accordance with the ITAR Section 122.
The ITAR has a requirement for any company that manufactures and/or exports defense articles to register with them. Defense Articles may include any hardware, technical data, and/or services related to an item that has been manufactured or modified for a military application. Exports can occur with shipments overseas or by even providing technical data to a Foreign Person in the US.
We are also very familiar with the DoD and prime defense contractors flowing down the requirement for “ITAR Certification” to their US suppliers as a way of ensuring compliance within their supply chain.
As a general statement, the process includes the following:
- Registration with the US State Department in accordance with ¶ 122 of the ITAR
- Establish an “Empowered Official” at your company to help ensure compliance with the ITAR regulations
- Train your Empowered Official and core employees on the ITAR
- Establish policies/procedures related to ITAR compliance to help educate and prevent unauthorized exports of ITAR defense articles (data/hardware/services)
- Obtain necessary export licenses/agreements to cover any exports of defense articles
There are other items including recordkeeping, disclosure, audits, etc. that the State Department outlines in their “Compliance Program Guidelines”
The services we provide to companies include support with the registration process as well as providing the training to employees and compliance officers, developing the procedures, drafting necessary export licenses, and other services to ensure that the elements expected by the State Department are aptly addressed.
