German export control explained: BAFA licences, the Ausfuhrliste and dual-use rules

The legal stack

Three layers govern a German export. Regulation (EU) 2021/821 applies directly for dual-use items. The Außenwirtschaftsgesetz (AWG) and the Außenwirtschaftsverordnung (AWV) add the national rules, including Germany’s own control list. Weapons of war sit under a third statute, the Kriegswaffenkontrollgesetz, with its own list and its own approvals.

The division of labour: BAFA in Eschborn issues licences, the economics ministry sets policy, and customs enforces at the border.

The lists: Ausfuhrliste and Annex I

Germany’s national list is the Ausfuhrliste (Anlage AL to the AWV). Part I Section A is the military list, positions 0001 to 0022; Section B carries national dual-use positions in the 9xx range — items Germany controls although the EU list does not. EU-controlled dual-use items live in Annex I of 2021/821.

A German classification therefore runs two lists in sequence, and “not in Annex I” is only half an answer. Where neither list bites, BAFA will confirm it on request with a Nullbescheid — the negative ruling customers and banks like to see. Thylon drafts both the two-list analysis and the Nullbescheid application behind it.

Which authorisation: EAG, SAG, AGG

BAFA’s instruments scale with your trade. The Einzelausfuhrgenehmigung (EAG) covers one transaction; the Sammelausfuhrgenehmigung (SAG) covers recurring flows to defined partners; and the numbered Allgemeine Genehmigungen (AGG) are pre-published general licences you use by meeting their conditions — Germany’s counterpart to the EU’s EU001–EU008, which remain available too. AGG use is tied to registration through BAFA’s ELAN-K2 portal within the deadline each AGG sets.

The economics are blunt: a transaction that fits a general authorisation ships in days; one that needs an EAG waits in a queue. Finding the lawful general route first is precisely the search Thylon’s licensing module runs before any application gets drafted.

End-use paperwork: the Endverbleibserklärung

German licensing runs on end-use evidence. The Endverbleibserklärung — the end-use declaration your customer signs — follows BAFA’s prescribed forms and wording, and a licence application without clean end-use documents is an application waiting to be queried. Thylon generates the declaration pack per destination and keeps the signed versions attached to the shipment record they justify.

The people the law expects

Two roles anchor a German programme. The Ausfuhrverantwortlicher is the named board-level person personally responsible for export control — BAFA will not grant licences to a company without a valid nomination. Day to day, the Exportkontrollbeauftragter runs the system: classifications, screening, licence conditions, records.

In a 30-person defence startup those are the same overloaded human. Thylon is built as that person’s analyst: it drafts, they decide, and the file shows both.

2026: the acceleration package

Licensing is getting faster by design. BAFA’s fifth Maßnahmenpaket, in force since 1 February 2026, created AGG No. 45 — non-sensitive electronic transfers of armaments software and technology via BSI C5-certified EU servers — and AGG No. 46 for European Defence Fund projects, while widening several existing AGGs, including towards the UK. Further general authorisations followed in spring 2026, and since March 2026 a pilot Erklärverfahren lets vetted recurring exports move on a declaration instead of a fresh licence.

For exporters the lesson is strategic: the fastest lane keeps changing, in your favour — if someone is watching the changes. That watching is a product feature here, not a newsletter.

Sanctions screening, always on

Beside the goods question runs the party question: the Sanktionslistenprüfung against the EU consolidated list and the rest of the stack, on every counterparty, every time, with re-screening as lists move. German case practice treats skipping it as organisational fault. Thylon’s screening module covers the EU, UN, US, UK and Taiwanese lists in one pass and writes the evidence down.

What changed in 2025–2026

• 1 Feb 2026 — BAFA's fifth acceleration package took effect: new AGG No. 45 (electronic transfers of non-sensitive armaments software and technology via BSI C5-certified EU servers) and AGG No. 46 (European Defence Fund projects), plus widened AGGs including towards the UK.
• Mar 2026 — A pilot Erklärverfahren began for recurring listed dual-use exports to recurring recipients, replacing fresh licences with declarations for an initial cohort of companies.
• Spring 2026 — Further general authorisations (AGG No. 47 and 48) and a Komplementärgenehmigung for armaments that are also war weapons were introduced; most AGGs were extended into 2027.

Primary sources

• BAFA — Güterlisten (control lists)
• BAFA — 5. Maßnahmenpaket (30 Jan 2026)
• BAFA — Union General Export Authorisations (Annex II)
• Gesetze im Internet — AWG
• Gesetze im Internet — AWV

Where this fits

Export control rarely means one regime at a time. The pages below cover the rest of the map, and the product pages show how Thylon turns each list and licence type into drafted, cited work your officer signs off.