How to apply for a trade sanctions licence
Find out which body is responsible for licensing your activity, and send your application to the correct team.
There are three licensing teams in the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) responsible for administering licences on behalf of the Secretary of State to carry out activity prohibited under UK trade sanctions. Which body you need to send your application to is dependent on the activity you want to carry out. The guidance below sets out how trade sanctions licensing responsibilities are split between these teams.
You must obtain a licence prior to undertaking prohibited activity.
You may need to submit separate licence applications if the activity you want to carry out falls under the remit of more than one licensing body.
1. The Office of Trade Sanctions Implementation (OTSI)
From 27 April 2026, OTSI took on additional trade sanctions licensing responsibilities from the Export Control Joint Unit (ECJU). Its expanded remit now includes licensing for:
- export, transfer, and making available of goods and technology not subject to strategic export controls
- provision of services ancillary to a good or technology, where the good or technology the services relate to is not subject to strategic export controls
- provision of standalone services (services not related to a good or technology), including provision of professional and business services prohibited under the UK’s sanctions on Russia
2. The Export Control Joint Unit (ECJU)
The Export Control Joint Unit (ECJU) is responsible for licensing the export, transfer, and making available of goods, software and technology prohibited under the UK’s sanctions where those goods, software or technology are also subject to strategic export controls.
This means that exporters only have to apply to ECJU where their planned activity is prohibited by both strategic export controls and UK sanctions. Read our guidance for more information.
3. Import Controls and Sanctions team
The Import Controls and Sanctions team is responsible for administering licences for the import of goods and associated activities – for example, the provision of ancillary services – that are prohibited under UK import controls or sanctions.
For example, if you are:
- a trader looking to import controlled goods, such as firearms or ammunition
- a trader looking to import sanctioned goods, such as Russian wood or hydraulic brake fluid
This list of examples is not exhaustive.
Note that a trader must apply for an import licence before the goods are transported to the UK. A licence cannot be granted if an application is made for goods at the UK border or goods otherwise held in storage in the UK prior to making a customs declaration. It is a criminal offence to import sanctioned goods without the necessary licence.
Updates to this page
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OTSI is taking on additional trade sanctions licensing responsibilities from the Export Control Joint Unit (ECJU).
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'Import licence' section updated to advise when a licence cannot be granted.
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First published.