UK Opens Dual-Use Export Licence to 12 More Countries from 14 October 2026

United Kingdom exporters can ship many dual-use goods to 12 more countries without individual licences from 14 October 2026.

The UK Export Control Joint Unit added 12 countries to its dual-use general export licence on 14 October 2026 and widened military licences.

The Export Control Joint Unit (ECJU) is the UK government team that issues export licences for sensitive goods. Its Notice to exporters 2026/23 sets out the changes¹. It covers goods with both civilian and military uses, called dual-use goods, and defence parts, software and technology.

In short, a UK firm can now send many controlled goods to the 12 new countries without asking for a licence for each shipment. It registers once for the general licence, marks its papers, and keeps records.

What is changing for dual-use exports on 14 October 2026?

An open general export licence (OGEL) is a licence published for everyone to use. An exporter does not apply for it shipment by shipment. Instead, it registers and then follows the licence conditions. The alternative is a standard individual export licence (SIEL), which the exporter must apply for and wait to receive.

From 14 October 2026, the ECJU widened the Dual-Use OGEL it first announced in June¹. The licence covers goods from aviation and maritime equipment to information technology. It also covers advanced technology in semiconductors and quantum¹.

The notice adds these 12 destinations to the countries already covered¹:

• Bahrain
• Botswana
• Brunei
• Jordan
• Kuwait
• Mauritius
• Morocco
• North Macedonia
• Oman
• the Philippines
• Qatar
• Seychelles

Before this change, a shipment of listed dual-use goods to any of these countries needed its own licence. Now an exporter registered for the Dual-Use OGEL can ship without waiting for a decision, as long as it meets the conditions.

Which countries does the Dual-Use OGEL now cover?

The October 2026 version of the licence lists its destinations in a schedule². It covers all 27 EU member states for exports from Great Britain. A licence is not needed to send goods from Northern Ireland to EU member states².

The wider list of destinations now reads²:

• Australia, Canada, Chile, Iceland, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland, the United States and Uruguay
• Liechtenstein
• the 12 new countries named in the notice

The licence also covers 11 British Overseas Territories, such as Bermuda, Gibraltar and the Falkland Islands. It covers the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man as well². The Isle of Man is included only for exports from Northern Ireland².

The June notice explains how the licence began. It merged two older licences: the EU member states Dual-Use OGEL and General Export Authorisation GEA001³. At that time it added South Korea, Singapore, Chile and Uruguay and the British Overseas Territories³.

Which dual-use goods are left out?

The licence covers goods listed in Annex I of the UK’s dual-use rules, with some exceptions². For exports from England, Wales and Scotland, all entries in Annex IIg are excluded. For exports from Northern Ireland, all entries in Section I of Annex II are excluded². Goods under control entry 0C003 are also excluded².

Some goods are excluded only for certain countries. The licence lists 11 control entries excluded for each of the 12 new countries². The same list applies to Chile, Singapore, South Korea, Uruguay and the overseas territories².

The excluded entries are 1A004a, 1A004b, 1A005, 4D004, 4E001c, 5A001f, 5A001j, 5A004, 5D002c3, 6A002c and 6A003b². A firm that wants to ship one of these goods to those destinations still needs another licence.

The licence also stops in several cases. It cannot be used when the government has told the exporter the goods may help make chemical, biological or nuclear weapons, or missiles that could carry them². It cannot be used for goods going to a customs free zone, except technology sent by phone, fax or other electronic means².

It also excludes goods for the army, police or security services of a country under an arms embargo, when the government has told the exporter of that use². The same applies when the exporter knows of such a use itself².

What changes for military goods licences?

The notice also widens both military goods, software and technology (MGST) OGELs¹. These licences cover a wide range of defence parts. The ECJU says these exports are critical to the UK’s plans under its Strategic Defence Review¹.

One MGST licence covers only government buyers, and NATO buyers where that applies. NATO is the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Seven countries now qualify under this licence¹:

• Brunei
• Chile
• Jordan
• Kuwait
• Montenegro
• North Macedonia
• Oman

The broader MGST licence covers both commercial buyers and government or NATO buyers. Seventeen countries will qualify under it¹:

• Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Estonia, Greece and Hungary
• Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg and Poland
• Portugal, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia
• South Korea and Switzerland

For a defence supplier, this means a private company in Poland or South Korea can now be supplied under the general licence. Before, many such sales needed an individual licence.

Why did the ECJU widen the licences?

The ECJU says the destinations are lower risk¹. It based its choice on a close study of past licensing decisions¹. Experts across government also gave advice, including the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO)¹.

The agency says the change could remove the need for over 800 individual licence applications a year¹. It says this lets its staff check the most sensitive licences faster and more closely¹. The decisions also reflect talks with exporters and other businesses¹.

The June notice gave a similar reason for the first version. It said the review showed exports to the added countries were "consistently approved and present low risk"³. It said those additions could save exporters more than 500 individual licences a year³. It also said the review would continue and more destinations might follow³.

How does an exporter use the Dual-Use OGEL?

The licence sets out the steps an exporter must follow²:

1. Register on SPIRE, the online export licensing system, before the first export². The firm must say where it keeps its export records³.
2. Add a note to the export papers. It reads "These items are being exported under the OGEL (Export of Dual-Use items)", or gives the firm’s licence reference².
3. Enter the licence reference, in the form GBOGE 20XX/XXXXX, on the UK customs declaration system².
4. Keep records of each export for at least four years from the end of that calendar year².

Firms that already registered for the June version do not need to register again². Their registration moves to the version in force².

The customs code rule matters at the border. The June notice says putting the reference on the Customs Declarations System (CDS) brings general licence exports in line with individual licences³. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and Border Force officers can ask to see the reference².

What reporting rules apply to the new countries?

The UK is part of the Wassenaar Arrangement, a group of countries that agree controls on arms and dual-use goods. Under it, the UK must report exports of certain sensitive goods to countries outside the group².

The licence names 17 countries outside the group². They include all 12 new destinations, as well as Chile, Cyprus, Iceland, Singapore and Uruguay². When a firm makes a permanent export of goods on the Sensitive List or Very Sensitive List to one of them, it must tell the government².

The report must give the destination, the control entry, the date of export and the quantity². For a firm shipping to Qatar or the Philippines for the first time under the licence, this is an extra step to plan for.

What happens if an exporter breaks the rules?

The Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade (BIST) audits firms that use the licence. Before a visit, a firm must complete and return a pre-visit questionnaire by the date given².

If an audit finds problems, the department may send a warning letter with a deadline to fix them². A firm that does not act may have its use of the licence suspended or revoked². During a suspension, the firm may still apply for individual licences².

Suspension of one licence does not stop a firm from using another OGEL². The general licence also does not replace other permissions. For example, goods under security classification may still need clearance from the Ministry of Defence².

What is the legal basis for the licence?

The licence is granted under article 26(4) of the Export Control Order 2008². In England, Wales and Scotland, it also rests on the assimilated version of Council Regulation (EC) No 428/2009 on dual-use goods². In Northern Ireland, it rests on Regulation (EU) 2021/821, which applies there under the Windsor Framework².

Key points on the UK dual-use and military licences

The table sums up the main facts of the change.

The changes are already in force. The June notice said the ECJU’s review continues, so more countries may be added to the Dual-Use OGEL later³.

Sources

1. ↩ Notice to exporters 2026/23: expansion of military and dual-use open general export licences – GOV.UK https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/notice-to-exporters-202623-expansion-of-military-and-dual-use-open-general-export-licences/notice-to-exporters-202623-expansion-of-the-dual-use-open-general-export-licence
2. ↩ Open General Export Licence Export of Dual-Use items to EU Member States https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6ac8fdaef1ba855cc196aa19/open-general-export-licence-export-of-dual-use-items.pdf
3. ↩ NTE 2026/14: announcing the Dual-Use OGEL – GOV.UK https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/notice-to-exporters-202614-announcing-the-dual-use-ogel/nte-202614-announcing-the-dual-use-ogel