What Is ITAR Certification and Accreditation?

ITAR violations can result in severe penalties, from civil and criminal fines to jail time and debarments. On February 27th, 2023, the U.S. State Department and 3D Systems Corporation concluded a $20M settlement for ITAR and AECA. Before that, Airbus agreed to a record $4 billion settlement for bribery related to aircraft contracts that compromised the U.S. defense industry, with $233M being penalties for ITAR violations. Although ITAR compliance presents a considerable challenge, ignorance is no excuse for non-compliance. To help advance U.S. National Security objectives and avoid hefty fines and other penalties, organizations handling ITAR-controlled items must ensure their employees are adequately trained on the regulation and its best practices. So, What's ITAR certification and accreditation? 

What is ITAR Certification?

This is usually confused with ITAR Compliance. However, unlike standards like ISO/IEC 27001 or frameworks like the CMMC, ITAR doesn’t have a certification. The DDTC has NOT published any requirements towards “ITAR Certification and accreditation.” This means that NO certification body can provide an organization with an “ITAR Seal of Approval .” However, some solicitations from DoD primes and larger subcontractors may require an ITAR certificate or accreditation. What this means is that the prime wants some assurance that you understand your obligations under this set of Regulations. For instance, they want to know whether you have mechanisms to ensure proper safeguards are in place to protect technical information (digital or physical) provided to or generated by you at rest or during transmission. A compliance certificate instils confidence in the prime contractor that you understand your obligations under ITAR. If your company is looking for an ITAR compliance certificate and accreditation, Cleared Systems provides a certificate after a successful completion of ITAR training to prove your employees and organization is ITAR compliance certified. The ITAR Compliance Program Guidelines introduced controls contained in the AECA and ITAR and the DDTC’s expectations of an effective ITAR Compliance Program. One of such expectations is ensuring that the staff are adequately trained on ITAR regulations, requirements, and best practices. While the DDTC doesn’t offer ITAR certification, companies must undergo ITAR Compliance training. Export compliance experts like Cleared Systems offer training that results in ITAR Certification and Accreditation at the company level. The ITAR Guidelines propose a four-tiered training program based on an employee’s responsibilities. In response to this suggestion, we have carefully curated ITAR compliance courses on the following tiers:

• Fourth Tier: Export Compliance Team
• Third Tier: Positions with Export Functions
• Second Tier: Senior Management
• First Tier: General ITAR Training for All Employees

This is with cognizance that all the personnel in your organization need a perfect understanding of the ITAR requirements, regulations, and best practices. Anyone who goes through our ITAR compliance courses receives a certificate that they can show to the prime that they understand the regulation, their responsibilities, and their obligations to handling ITAR technical data. External service providers or internal experts can conduct the tiered training. If an organization elects to have an internal expert train its employees, the expert must have subject matter expertise in DDTC guidelines, ITAR, and industry best practices. The internal trainers will need a higher level of external training to maintain such a level of expertise. Therefore, some organizations rely on external service providers in their ITAR training.

The DDTC Recommendations On Effective ITAR Training Program

ITAR training is one of the 8 critical elements of an effective ITAR Compliance Program outlined in the ITAR Guidelines. The Guidelines require that an organization ensure its employees get ITAR training based on their function. Therefore, organizations dealing with ITAR-controlled items should adopt an ITAR training program that is:

Tailored

A tailored ITAR compliance training program is designed to reflect what type of ITAR items an organization deals with, its relationship with affiliates, subsidiaries, or parent companies, and the nature of the organization’s customers and business partners. It also reflects the responsibilities and duties of the personnel being trained and the geographic location in which the organization operates. This helps the organization to identify and address its specific compliance risks.

Adequately Resourced With Experienced Compliance Instructors

The training program should be adequately resourced with knowledgeable and experienced ITAR or export compliance instructors to ensure that the employees get appropriate frequency and level of training.

Dynamic And Up-To-Date

To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often. Thus, the training program should be regularly reviewed to reflect the changes within the organization and those within the ITAR and the DDTC guidance. Any significant updates must be shared with the personnel between training sessions.

ITAR Training is Key

Your ITAR compliance program should be robust, flexible, and living. Whenever situations change, so should your plan. While a crucial step towards compliance, registration alone is not enough. ITAR compliance is much more than submitting the proper forms and paying a yearly fee to the DDTC. Part of ensuring compliance is having a robust ITAR Compliance Program (ICP), and training is an element of a good ICP. To a varying degree, everyone within an organization must be aware of trade compliance. Whether how to draft a DSP-5 license or simply recognizing the difference between a Foreign Person and a U.S. Person’s I.D. badge, ITAR compliance is every employee’s responsibility. A robust compliance program entails annual training refreshers, remedial training whenever you discover gaps in compliance and new employee orientation.

Let Us Be Your Partner In ITAR Compliance Training

Whether you’re looking to train your new hires or offer a refresher ITAR training to seasoned employees and export compliance officers, trust us at Cleared Systems. We’ll provide comprehensive and engaging ITAR training tailored to your organization’s needs. Our seasoned instructors clearly explain ITAR regulations, walk through case studies and scenarios, and ensure all personnel understand their roles and responsibilities regarding export compliance. With both online and in-person training options, we make it easy to equip your team with the knowledge they need to remain compliant and avoid costly penalties.