BIS Affiliates Rule returns November 10, 2026: Entity List 50% ownership screens
BIS stayed the Affiliates Rule for one year. Absent a further change, the 50% ownership screen and most-restrictive-owner rule return on November 10, 2026. What exporters and brokers need ready before that date.
The BIS Affiliates Rule is coming back. On November 12, 2025, BIS published a one-year suspension of the September 30, 2025 interim final rule that expands Entity List restrictions to majority-owned affiliates. The stay runs through November 9, 2026. Absent a further change, the Affiliates Rule is reimposed on November 10, 2026, indefinitely.
If your export, reexport, or transfer (in-country) compliance still treats the Entity List as a name-match problem, that posture expires on November 9. Starting November 10, ownership math is part of the license determination.
On November 10, 2026, the Affiliates Rule returns to the EAR unless BIS changes course again.
Timeline in two phases
FR Doc. 2025-19846 (90 FR 50857) stays the Affiliates Rule amendments to 15 CFR parts 732, 734, 736, 744, and 748 that BIS published at 90 FR 47201 on September 30, 2025.
- Phase 1 (Nov. 10, 2025 through Nov. 9, 2026): Affiliates Rule changes are stayed. BIS continues to evaluate national security and foreign policy interests tied to non-listed foreign affiliates.
- Phase 2 (effective Nov. 10, 2026, indefinitely): Those same Affiliates Rule license requirements and related provisions are added back into the EAR.
Reimposition: Nov. 10, 2026 (indefinite unless further changed)
Underlying IFR: 90 FR 47201 (Sept. 30, 2025) · Stay: 90 FR 50857 (Nov. 12, 2025)
What the 50% Affiliates Rule does
Under the Affiliates Rule, any entity that is at least 50 percent owned, directly or indirectly, individually or in the aggregate, by one or more entities on the Entity List, or by unlisted entities that are already subject to license requirements or other restrictions based on their ownership, is itself automatically subject to Entity List restrictions.
That replaces the older "legally distinct" approach, under which a separately incorporated foreign affiliate of a listed entity generally escaped Entity List restrictions unless BIS listed that affiliate by name. BIS adopted the 50% standard to close diversion routes that used new companies to evade listing, and to align more closely with longstanding OFAC 50% ownership practice.
Practical consequence: the Consolidated Screening List is no longer an exhaustive roster of parties subject to Entity List-style license requirements once the rule is live. Name screening alone misses majority-owned affiliates that never appear on the published list.
Most-restrictive-owner rule
When an unlisted entity is owned 50 percent or more by multiple owners that carry different EAR restrictions (Entity List, MEU List, and/or certain SDN designations under § 744.8(a)(1)), BIS applies the most restrictive license requirements, license-exception eligibility, and license-review policy applicable to any of those owners.
If only one of several Entity List owners would qualify for a narrow license exception, that exception does not clear the affiliate. The affiliate inherits the hardest applicable owner restrictions.
The IFR adds Red Flag 29: if you cannot determine ownership percentage for a foreign entity owned by one or more listed parties, you must resolve the Red Flag, obtain a BIS license, or identify an available license exception before proceeding. Significant minority ownership or other control ties to listed parties are also treated as diversion Red Flags requiring extra diligence.
What to have ready before November 10, 2026
- Map counterparties beyond legal name: parent, subsidiaries, and aggregate ownership by Entity List parties.
- Extend screening workflows past CSL exact-match to 50% ownership analysis (many OFAC vendors already support this pattern).
- When owners differ, apply the most-restrictive-owner rule before deciding license-exception availability.
- Treat unresolved ownership as a stop-ship Red Flag, not a "proceed and document later" choice.
- Train brokers, forwarders, and AES filers that an unlisted affiliate can still carry Entity List restrictions after November 10.
Questions on the Affiliates Rule go to the End-User Review Committee: (202) 482-5991, ERC@bis.doc.gov.
Related AES change (do not conflate)
Separately, CSMS #69647661 sets AES Commodity Response Code 802 (BIS license tolerance exceeded) from Verify to Fatal on September 25, 2026. That is an AES filing severity change for BIS license value tolerance, not the Affiliates Rule itself. Keep it on the export-ops calendar, but do not treat it as a substitute for ownership screening.
- Affiliates Rule suspension: November 10, 2025 through November 9, 2026.
- Reimposition: November 10, 2026, indefinitely unless BIS changes course.
- 50% ownership (direct or indirect, individual or aggregate) by Entity List parties, or by ownership-restricted unlisted entities, triggers automatic Entity List restrictions.
- When owners differ, apply the most-restrictive-owner rule for license requirements, exceptions, and review policy.
- ERC contact: (202) 482-5991, ERC@bis.doc.gov.
- Separate CSMS #69647661: AES response 802 becomes Fatal on September 25, 2026; do not conflate it with the Affiliates Rule.
- One Year Suspension of Expansion of End-User Controls for Affiliates of Certain Listed Entities (FR Doc. 2025-19846, 90 FR 50857) · Federal Register / Bureau of Industry and Security
- One Year Suspension… Affiliates (govinfo HTML) · U.S. Government Publishing Office
- Expansion of End-User Controls to Cover Affiliates of Certain Listed Entities (FR Doc. 2025-19001, 90 FR 47201) · Federal Register / Bureau of Industry and Security
- CSMS #69647661 - Update to AESTIR Appendix A – Commodity Filing Response Message 802 · U.S. Customs and Border Protection
This article is for general information and is not legal or tax advice. Drawback eligibility depends on your specific facts, and final refunds are determined by CBP at liquidation. Consult a licensed customs broker or attorney for your situation.