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New Entity List Ownership Rule.

Posted onOctober 14, 2025

On 29^th September, 2025, the US Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) amended the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to address diversion concerns involving entities on the Entity List. The US Entity List (Supplement No. 4 to part 744 of the EAR) is a collection of names of certain foreign individuals, businesses, governments, and other legal persons, which are subject to specific US government licence requirements for the export, re-export, and transfer (in-country) of specified items.

Previously, the Entity List controlled only expressly listed entities. BIS states that the Entity List identifies those entities which it has reasonable cause to believe are involved (or have been involved) in activities which pose a risk to the United States.

This latest change is a significant tightening of Entity List controls, as any entity which is at least 50 percent owned by one or more entities on the Entity List will now itself be automatically subject to Entity List restrictions.

This change creates a further challenge for businesses, and for providers of screening software, as they now need to identify those entities which are at least 50 percent owned by one or more entities on the Entity List, and look to prevent any sale or supply of goods as defined in the EAR, unless authorised (licenced) by BIS.

That said, BIS has a general policy of denial when it comes to issuing export and re-export licences for entities listed on the Entity List. However, some entities are subject to less restrictive controls, so it is important to check the licencing policy and requirements carefully before proceeding with any sale or supply of items controlled by the EAR.

You can see when an item is controlled by the US Export Administration Regulations (EAR) here.

You can see all parts of the US Export Administration Regulations here, and the US Entity List (Supplement No. 4 to part 744 of the EAR) here.

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