Open general export licence: exports under the US-UK defence trade co-operation treaty
Licence for the export or transfer of military goods or technology under the US-UK Defence Trade Co-operation Treaty from the UK to the US.
Documents
Details
This open general export licence (OGEL) allows, subject to certain conditions, the export or transfer of military goods or technology under the US-UK Defence Trade Co-operation Treaty from the UK to the US.
This permission is with the limitation that the licence is only used by members of the ‘Approved Community’ and provided that the ultimate end-user of the goods or technology is the US or UK government.
What is the ‘Approved Community’ and how do you get onto the list
Organisations that comprise the UK ‘Approved Community’ are defined by Article 4(1) of the treaty.
To qualify for membership of the ‘Approved Community’, private companies must satisfy the UK and US due diligence approval process and meet specific security requirements. This includes adhering to the relevant provisions of the UK government’s Security Policy Framework (SPF). The process for applying for ‘Approved Community’ status is described on the MOD website in Industrial Security Notice 2012-01. Download Industrial Security Notices.
This guidance is issued in the context of the SPF published by the Cabinet Office. The Defence Trade Co-operation Treaty provisions in the SPF can only be accessed by non-Governmental entities in the DTCT (US-UK Defence Trade Co-operation Treaty) ‘Approved Community’ via the MOD Defence Equipment and Support Infrastructure Security website after formal registration, which is a mandated condition of ‘Approved Community’ membership. Details on how to access the website provisions will be provided during the registration process.
You should also refer to the guidance for UK ‘Approved Community’ companies issued by the MOD. This document concerns the procedures in 4 different scenarios when a UK ‘Approved Community’ facility wishes to either:
- re-transfer items to a ‘Non-Approved Community’ entity in the UK
- re-export items to a ‘Non-Approved Community’ entity overseas for return to a UK ‘Approved Community’ entity
- re-export to a ‘Non-Approved Community’ entity overseas for its end-use
- re-export by a MOD entity to a ‘Non-Approved Community’ entity overseas for its end-use
Reporting requirements
These OGELs are subject to reporting requirements under the open licence returns transparency initiative.
Revoked licences
The most recent revoked licence is available in the documents section.
You can find older revoked versions of the OGEL: exports under the US-UK defence trade co-operation treaty on the National Archives website.
Updates to this page
Last updated 1 March 2023 + show all updates
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The open general export licence has been updated to permit two additional export customer destinations.
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This licence has been amended to take into account changes to the list of defence-related products.
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This Open General Export Licence has been revised to take into account changes in legislation following the end of the transition period.
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This OGEL has been revised to take into account changes in legislation following the end of the transition period.
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Republished to clarify that an approved F1686 can be considered a written letter of approval from MOD.
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Licence updated and amended to reflect new contact details for the Export Control Joint Unit.
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Two entries: ML8.a.41 (explosive) and ML8.h (reactive materials) have been added to the list of non-permitted entries on this licence.
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Licence updated to reflect amendments to the Export Control Order 2008 that came into force on 13 July 2017.
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This licence has been republished to reflect amendments to the Export Control Order 2008.
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Amendments to rating code PL5001. Clause added referring to pre-visit questionnaires.
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Licence amended to reflect the new Government Security Classification System.
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Updated to reflect new reporting process in connection with the transparency initiative.
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First published.