General licensing information for U.S. exporters. This information is taken from "A Basic Guide to Exporting" provided by the U.S. Commercial Service to assist U.S. companies in exporting.
Last Published: 10/20/2016
Do I Need a License?

This is one of the most frequently asked questions we receive at the U.S. network of U.S. Commercial Service offices. The answer is usually “no” because 95 percent of all items exported from the United States to a foreign buyer don’t require an export license, even though the items are subject to U.S. government export control laws and regulations. These laws and regulations determine whether you can sell your product to an international buyer, which countries you can export it to, and to which buyers you can sell. However, just because your product is among the 95 percent that don’t require a license doesn’t mean that you can sell it anywhere and to anyone.