--- title: "What Is ITAR Compliance? Buyer's Guide | TEK Precision" url: https://tekprecision.com/blog/itar-compliance-aerospace-parts-buyers description: "What ITAR compliance means for aerospace parts buyers: who must register with DDTC, what real compliance looks like, and what to ask a supplier." lang: en --- Image: Multi-axis CNC machining at TEK Precision's Deer Park, NY facility (https://tekprecision.com/assets/facility-1-DjNuUPZ0.webp) All Articles (https://tekprecision.com/blog) Buyer Guides # ITAR Compliance Explained for Aerospace Parts Buyers TEK Precision November 11, 2026 6 min read Last reviewed: November 2026 What ITAR compliance really means for aerospace parts buyers, who must register with DDTC, and what to ask before you send a controlled drawing package. ITAR compliance means a company that manufactures or exports US defense articles is registered with the State Department and controls those items, and the technical data behind them, so they never reach a foreign person without authorization. For a buyer of military helicopter or aircraft parts, it is the legal baseline that allows a supplier to receive your drawings and build your hardware at all. The term is used loosely on supplier websites and capability statements. This guide explains what the regulation requires, what "ITAR compliant" should mean in practice, and what to ask before you send a controlled drawing package. ## What ITAR Is The International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) are found at 22 CFR Parts 120 to 130 (https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-22/chapter-I/subchapter-M/part-120/subpart-B) and implement the Arms Export Control Act. They are administered by the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC), part of the US Department of State. ITAR controls three things: - **Defense articles:** items on the US Munitions List (USML), including many components specially designed for military aircraft. - **Technical data:** information needed to design, produce, assemble, test, repair or maintain a defense article. Engineering drawings, specifications and process instructions usually fall here. - **Defense services:** assistance or training given to foreign persons on defense articles. An "export" under ITAR is broader than shipping a box overseas. Releasing controlled technical data to a foreign person, even inside the United States, can count as an export that needs authorization. ## Who Has to Register Under 22 CFR 122.1, anyone in the United States who is in the business of manufacturing or exporting defense articles, or furnishing defense services, must register with DDTC. The regulation states that a manufacturer that does not export must still register, and a single occasion of manufacturing a defense article is enough to count as being in the business. Two points matter for buyers: 1. **Every company registers on its own.** A prime contractor's registration does not cover its subcontractors. If your part passes through a machine shop, a plating house and an assembler, each one that handles the article or its data needs its own registration and controls. 2. **Registration has to be renewed.** It runs for a set term, so a statement that a supplier "is ITAR registered" is only useful if the registration is current. ## What "ITAR Compliant" Should Mean in Practice Registration is the entry ticket. Compliance is the day-to-day discipline behind it. When a supplier says it is ITAR compliant, you should expect to see: - **Controlled access to technical data.** Drawings, models and specifications are stored so that only authorized people can reach them, on paper and in digital systems. - **Screening of people and visitors.** The company knows the status of employees and visitors who could be exposed to controlled data on the shop floor. - **Control of subcontracted work.** Outside processors are vetted before controlled data or hardware is released to them. - **Recordkeeping.** Registrants must keep records of their ITAR activities, generally for five years. - **A named point of responsibility.** Someone inside the company owns export compliance and can answer your questions directly. None of this shows up on the finished part. That is why it has to be asked about and, ideally, seen during a facility audit. ## Why It Matters for Rotorcraft and Military Parts Much of the hardware in military aviation, from flight control linkages to hydraulic components, is built to drawings that carry export control markings. A supplier that builds to print needs the full drawing package, and that package is often ITAR-controlled technical data. Placing that data with a supplier that cannot protect it creates exposure for you, not only for them. A buyer who releases controlled drawings to an unregistered or poorly controlled source may itself be part of an unauthorized export. Commercial parts are not automatically outside this question. Some commercial aircraft components fall under the Commerce Department's Export Administration Regulations (EAR) instead of ITAR, and jurisdiction depends on the specific item. Your export compliance team, not a supplier's marketing material, should make that call. ## What Happens When Controls Fail ITAR violations are enforced by DDTC and, in serious cases, by the Department of Justice. Consequences can include civil penalties, criminal charges and the loss of export privileges, and they can reach any company in the chain that released data or hardware without authorization. The regulation also provides a voluntary disclosure process for companies that discover a violation themselves. For a program office or an OEM buyer, the practical risk is simpler: a supplier problem can stop deliveries while it is investigated. Choosing a source with mature controls protects both compliance and schedule. ## ITAR Is Not a Quality Certification ITAR compliance tells you a supplier can legally handle your parts and data. It says nothing about whether those parts will conform to the drawing. Quality is covered separately by a quality management system certification such as AS9100D, by customer approvals and by the supplier's inspection capability. A sound supplier evaluation checks both. Our guide on how to evaluate an aerospace machining supplier (https://tekprecision.com/blog/how-to-evaluate-aerospace-machining-supplier) covers the quality side step by step. ## Questions to Ask Before You Send a Drawing Package Use these with any new source of controlled hardware: 1. Is your company registered with DDTC, and is the registration current? 2. Who inside the company is responsible for export compliance? 3. How are controlled drawings received, stored, and returned or destroyed? 4. How do you control access for employees, visitors and IT systems? 5. Will any part of this job be subcontracted, and how are those processors vetted? 6. How long do you keep records of controlled work? 7. Which US government or defense OEM programs have you supported that required these controls? A supplier that handles controlled work routinely should answer these without hesitation. Our aerospace RFQ checklist (https://tekprecision.com/blog/aerospace-rfq-checklist) also explains how to send controlled technical data when you request a quote. ## How TEK Precision Handles Controlled Work TEK Precision is an ITAR compliant manufacturer in Deer Park, New York, building flight safety-critical components for rotorcraft and fixed-wing programs. Its defense work includes the US Army and AMCOM, the US Navy and NAVSUP, US Air Force logistics channels and the Defense Logistics Agency, alongside OEM production for Sikorsky and Northrop Grumman. The full list is on the customers page (https://tekprecision.com/customers). That work runs under the same audited quality system described on the quality page (https://tekprecision.com/quality), with material traceability from order entry through final delivery. If you are qualifying a new source for controlled hardware, you can request audit documentation or schedule a facility visit (https://tekprecision.com/contact). ## Frequently Asked Questions Is ITAR registration the same as ITAR compliance? No. Registration with DDTC is a legal requirement for companies that manufacture or export defense articles. Compliance is the ongoing set of controls on data, people, subcontractors and records that keeps a registered company within the regulation. Do US manufacturers have to register if they never export? Yes. 22 CFR 122.1 states that a manufacturer of defense articles must register with DDTC even if it does not export. Can a supplier share my drawings with a subcontractor? Only if the subcontractor is authorized to receive the data and the release is handled within ITAR's rules. Ask in advance which operations, if any, will be performed outside the supplier's facility. Does ITAR apply to commercial helicopter parts? It depends on the item. Some commercial aircraft parts fall under the Export Administration Regulations rather than ITAR. Jurisdiction is decided item by item, so confirm it with your export compliance team. TP Written by TEK Precision Related Articles ## More from Buyer Guides Buyer Guides ### DMSMS and Obsolete Parts: Keeping Legacy Aircraft Flying With Build-to-Print November 11, 2026 https://tekprecision.com/blog/dmsms-obsolete-aircraft-parts-build-to-print Buyer Guides ### Aerospace Special Process Approvals: What Buyers Should Verify Before Choosing a Supplier October 9, 2026 https://tekprecision.com/blog/special-process-approvals-aerospace-suppliers Buyer Guides ### Turnkey Mechanical Assemblies: What Tier-1 OEMs Gain From One Qualified Source October 9, 2026 https://tekprecision.com/blog/aerospace-mechanical-assembly-supplier-guide ## Structured data ```json [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://tekprecision.com/#organization", "name": "TEK Precision Co., Ltd.", "alternateName": "TEK Precision", "url": "https://tekprecision.com/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://tekprecision.com/brand/tek-logo.webp" }, "foundingDate": "1968", "description": "Precision aerospace manufacturer of flight safety-critical components, hydraulic assemblies and mechanical assemblies for rotorcraft and fixed-wing platforms.", "email": "teksales@tekprecision.com", "telephone": "+1-631-242-0330", "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "streetAddress": "205 West Industry Court", "addressLocality": "Deer Park", "addressRegion": "NY", "postalCode": "11729", "addressCountry": "US" }, "sameAs": [ "https://www.linkedin.com/company/tek-precision/" ], "hasCredential": { "@type": "EducationalOccupationalCredential", "credentialCategory": "certification", "name": "AS9100D / ISO 9001:2015", "identifier": "275724", "description": "AS9100D / ISO 9001:2015 certified. 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