Definition · Plain-language
Commerce Control List (CCL)
The Commerce Control List (CCL) is the master list, at Part 774 of the Export Administration Regulations, of dual-use items subject to Bureau of Industry and Security export controls — organised into ten categories and five product groups.
The step most authors miss
Doing CRediT right? Don’t stop at the statement.
A CRediT statement credits you inside one paper. The recognition CRediT was built for happens when those roles are tied to you, persistently. Sign in with your ORCID — free — and claim your CRediT contributions on casrai.org, the home of the standard. They become a verified, portable part of your identity, not a line that disappears into one PDF.
Free: claim your contributions, then export a journal-ready CRediT statement, schema.org structured data, JATS XML, CSV or BibTeX — and preview your public profile. A membership publishes that profile publicly and verifies the journals you serve.
What the CCL is
The Commerce Control List enumerates the dual-use goods, software and technology that are specifically controlled under the EAR. Each listed item is described by an Export Control Classification Number (ECCN) and an entry that sets out the item’s technical parameters and its reasons for control. The CCL is the reference an exporter consults to classify an item; items subject to the EAR but not described by any entry default to the catch-all designation EAR99.
Ten categories and five product groups
The list is structured on two axes. The ten categories (0–9) group items by field: 0 nuclear materials and equipment, 1 special materials and chemicals, 2 materials processing, 3 electronics, 4 computers, 5 telecommunications and information security, 6 sensors and lasers, 7 navigation and avionics, 8 marine, and 9 aerospace and propulsion. Within each category, five product groups (A systems and equipment, B test and production equipment, C materials, D software, E technology) further sort the entries.
Using the CCL with the Country Chart
Classifying an item against the CCL is only the first step. Each entry’s reasons for control are read against the Commerce Country Chart, which maps those reasons to destinations to show where a licence is required. Licence exceptions in EAR Part 740 may then permit an export that would otherwise need a licence. In research, this workflow — classify on the CCL, check the chart, consider exceptions — is typically run with an institutional export-control office.
Key facts
At a glance
- Definition: EAR list of dual-use items subject to BIS controls
- Location: EAR Part 774 (15 CFR Part 774)
- Categories: ten (0–9), by technical field
- Product groups: five (A–E)
- Each entry: an ECCN with stated reasons for control
- Default: unlisted EAR-subject items are designated EAR99
Common misconceptions
What people often get wrong
Often heard: The Commerce Control List and the US Munitions List are the same list.
Actually: The Commerce Control List (EAR, Commerce/BIS) covers dual-use items, while the US Munitions List (ITAR, State/DDTC) covers defence articles. They are separate lists maintained by different agencies.
Often heard: If an item appears on the CCL, exporting it always requires a licence.
Actually: Listing identifies the item and its reasons for control. Whether a licence is required depends on reading those reasons against the destination on the Commerce Country Chart and on whether a licence exception applies.
Often heard: Items not on the CCL are not regulated at all.
Actually: Items subject to the EAR but not described by a CCL entry are designated EAR99. They are still subject to the EAR and can require a licence based on destination, end user or end use.
Going deeper
