NTE 2025/21: F680 approval for classified and unclassified itar material
Published 21 July 2025
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/notice-to-exporters-202521-f680-approval-for-classified-and-unclassified-itar-material/nte-202521-f680-approval-for-classified-and-unclassified-itar-material
Introduction
In August 2024 the Department for Business and Trade published the Open general licence (AUKUS nations). One of the conditions to use the licence is that a UK business applies to join the AUKUS Authorised User List or Community.
Membership of the AUKUS Authorised User Community grants certain privileges by the Government of the United States in relation to its ITAR Regulations.
F680 requirement
It has always been a requirement, and one that remains, that UK businesses apply for approval under the F680 process to release classified ITAR material (and any other internationally classified material) to foreign entities which would be released as part of the proposal. From August 2024 that F680 approval requirement was extended to unclassified ITAR material. This new requirement was introduced to provide a comparable process to the US deemed exports rule.
The F680 including the ITAR F680 on LITE and SPIRE
F680 applications for approval to release UK OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE and above material and material which is ITAR CLASSIFIED should be made on LITE. F680 applications which are only for approval to release only material which is ITAR UNCLASSIFIED should be made on SPIRE for the time being.
UNCLASSIFIED ITAR F680 Approvals on SPIRE
The SPIRE application will need to include:
- a description of the overall programme of work
- the ITAR approval reference(s)
- the scope of those ITAR approvals
- the USML categories lifted from those ITAR approvals
- the destination countries that you are directly sending the ITAR material to
- the legal entities, including their address, in those destination countries that you are directly sending the ITAR material to
For ease, this information can be collated into a spreadsheet or document that is uploaded as an annex to the application, noting the text limit of free text boxes and the 20 destination or entity limit in SPIRE.
For further information about F680 including ITAR approvals, please see F680 policy and guidance.