22 CFR § 120.3 - Policy on designating or determining defense articles and services on the U.S. Munitions List.
---
identifier: "/us/cfr/t22/s120.3"
source: "ecfr"
legal_status: "authoritative_unofficial"
title: "22 CFR § 120.3 - Policy on designating or determining defense articles and services on the U.S. Munitions List."
title_number: 22
title_name: "Foreign Relations"
section_number: "120.3"
section_name: "Policy on designating or determining defense articles and services on the U.S. Munitions List."
chapter_name: "DEPARTMENT OF STATE"
subchapter_number: "M"
subchapter_name: "INTERNATIONAL TRAFFIC IN ARMS REGULATIONS"
part_number: "120"
part_name: "PURPOSE AND DEFINITIONS"
positive_law: false
currency: "2026-03-24"
last_updated: "2026-03-24"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
authority: "22 U.S.C. 2651a, 2752, 2753, 2776, 2778, 2779, 2779a, 2785, 2794, 2797; E.O. 13637, 78 FR 16129, 3 CFR, 2013 Comp., p. 223."
regulatory_source: "87 FR 16411, Mar. 23, 2022, unless otherwise noted."
cfr_part: "120"
---
# 120.3 Policy on designating or determining defense articles and services on the U.S. Munitions List.
(a) For purposes of this subchapter, a specific article or service may be designated a defense article (see § 120.31) or defense service (see § 120.32) if it:
(1) Meets the criteria of a defense article or defense service on the U.S. Munitions List (USML) (part 121 of this subchapter); or
(2) Provides the equivalent performance capabilities of a defense article on the USML.
(b) For purposes of this subchapter, a specific article or service shall be determined in the future as a defense article or defense service if it provides a critical military or intelligence advantage such that it warrants control under this subchapter.
An article or service determined in the future pursuant to this subchapter as a defense article or defense service, but not currently on the USML, will be placed in Category XXI of § 121.1 of this subchapter until the appropriate category of the USML has been amended to provide the necessary entry.
(c) A specific article or service is not a defense article or defense service for purposes of this subchapter if it:
(1) Is determined to be under the jurisdiction of another department or agency of the U.S. Government (see § 120.5) pursuant to a commodity jurisdiction determination (see § 120.4) unless superseded by changes to the USML or by a subsequent commodity jurisdiction determination; or
(2) Meets one of the criteria of § 120.41(b) when the article is used in or with a defense article and specially designed is used as a control criteria.
The intended use of the article or service after its export (*i.e.,* for a military or civilian purpose), by itself, is not a factor in determining whether the article or service is subject to the controls of this subchapter.