How to Export Goods: A Step-by-Step Guide

To export goods from the United States, you classify the product, confirm whether it needs an export license, screen the destination and the parties, file the required export information, and arrange compliant shipping and payment. The selling and shipping are the easy part. The compliance steps are where exporters get into trouble, and they apply whether you ship one pallet or a container a week.

The Five Steps to Exporting Goods

Every compliant export shipment runs through the same sequence, regardless of what you sell. The order matters: classification drives the license question, and the license question drives almost everything downstream.

Step 1: Classify Your Product

Classification answers two separate questions, and you need both. The Schedule B number is a 10-digit statistical code, maintained by the U.S. Census Bureau, that identifies your product for export reporting. The export control classification tells you whether the item is controlled for national-security or foreign-policy reasons.

Most commercial goods fall under EAR99, the catch-all category for items that are subject to the Export Administration Regulations but not listed on the Commerce Control List. Items that are listed carry an Export Control Classification Number (ECCN) — a five-character code that signals tighter control. If your product has a military or defense application, it may instead fall under the State Department’s ITAR rather than the EAR, which is a different regime entirely.

Step 2: Check Whether You Need a License

A license requirement depends on the combination of what you ship, where it is going, and who will receive it. An EAR99 item to an ordinary commercial buyer in an allied country usually needs no license. The same item can require one if it is destined for a restricted end user, a prohibited end use, or an embargoed country.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) administers licensing for dual-use goods; the State Department’s DDTC licenses defense articles; and Treasury’s OFAC controls trade with sanctioned destinations. When in doubt, the conservative move is to confirm the licensing posture before you commit to a shipment date, not after.

Step 3: Screen the Destination and the Parties

Even a license-free product cannot ship to a blocked party. Before you book freight, run the consignee, the end user, and any intermediaries against the U.S. government restricted-party lists — most are aggregated in the Consolidated Screening List published by the International Trade Administration.

A match on Treasury’s Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) List is a hard stop: the transaction is blocked. A match on the BIS Entity List means you need a license that will likely be denied. Screening is not a one-time task — re-screen when parties change, and keep the records.

Step 4: Prepare Documents and File the EEI

Exports run on paperwork, and the core set is consistent across commodities.

• Commercial invoice — the value, terms, and description of the goods.
• Packing list — contents, weights, and dimensions.
• Bill of lading or air waybill — the carrier’s contract and receipt.
• Certificate of origin — where the goods were made, when a buyer or trade agreement requires it.

You must also file Electronic Export Information (EEI) through the Automated Export System when the value of goods under a single Schedule B number exceeds $2,500, or whenever the shipment requires an export license — regardless of value. That threshold comes from the Foreign Trade Regulations (15 CFR Part 30), and the filing is how the government captures export statistics and enforces controls.

Step 5: Ship, Set Terms, and Get Paid

The commercial side still needs discipline. Incoterms 2020, published by the International Chamber of Commerce, define exactly where your responsibility for cost and risk ends and the buyer’s begins — choosing EXW versus DDP changes who handles export clearance, freight, and insurance. Spell the term out in the contract; do not assume.

On payment, exporters reduce non-payment risk with letters of credit, documentary collections, or export credit insurance. For smaller exporters, the Export-Import Bank (EXIM) offers export credit insurance and working-capital guarantees, and the Small Business Administration backs export working-capital loans — tools worth a look before you extend open-account terms to a new foreign buyer.

Common Export Compliance Mistakes

The recurring errors are predictable: assuming “commercial” means “uncontrolled,” skipping party screening because the product seems harmless, missing the EEI filing on a shipment just over the threshold, and treating the Incoterm as a shipping detail rather than a legal allocation of risk. Each is avoidable with a written routine that runs the same five steps every time. Exporters new to the process should start with the fundamentals in Exporting 101.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a license to export? Often not — most commercial goods are EAR99 and ship license-free to ordinary buyers. But the destination, the end use, and the party can all trigger a license, so you check the combination, not just the product.

What is a Schedule B number? A 10-digit code from the U.S. Census Bureau that classifies your product for export reporting. It is related to, but distinct from, the HTS code used for imports.

When do I have to file EEI? When the value of goods under one Schedule B number tops $2,500, or whenever an export license is required for the shipment, whatever its value.

What is the difference between Schedule B and an ECCN? Schedule B is a statistical code for reporting; an ECCN is a control code that tells you whether an item needs a license. A product has both.

Not sure whether your product needs a license? Reidel Law Firm prepares flat-fee Import/Export Compliance Memos that classify your item, check the destination and parties, and map the filings you owe — with direct access to the trade attorney handling your matter. Get a flat-fee compliance memo →