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ITAR compliance training · aerospace and defense · self-paced

Know which parts are ITAR, who can see the drawings, and what to file.

Taught by Will Trikha, third-party registrar auditor.

Learn what ITAR controls, how to classify a part against the USML, who counts as a foreign person and which license, agreement or exemption fits. Then check your own shop, one working checklist at a time, with Coach Q beside you.

For export compliance leads, Empowered Officials, program, quality and shipping staff, and engineers at defense manufacturers, repair stations and their suppliers.

Start free. Lesson 1, with Coach Q, no card.

Friday, 3:50 PM. A consultant in Germany wants the CAD file by Monday. Make the call, then audit a technical data transfer log.

See everything you get ↓ Lessons for life · coach included, no renewal fee
  • About 10 hours
  • Self-paced
  • 49-question final exam
  • Verifiable certificate
academy.qmslearning.com
Lesson 1 of ITAR Compliance, a real screen from the course

Can our new engineer, who isn't a US citizen, see the military harness drawings?

COACH Q · IN YOUR POCKET

That decision belongs to your Empowered Official, not to me. Until the answers are in writing: non-ITAR work, and no access to the ITAR files.

Real screen from this courseLesson 1 is free

Sound familiar?

A lot of the risk hides in ordinary work: an email, a screen share, a new hire.

We don't export, so ITAR isn't our problem.

If you manufacture defense articles, you register with DDTC whether or not anything leaves the country. There's no revenue threshold and no small business exemption. The course starts there, then follows the duty down to your suppliers.

It goes on a military jet, so it's ITAR.

The paragraph decides, not the end use. VIII(h)(1) keeps parts on the USML only for the aircraft it names, like the F-35, so an F-16-only fitting is generally EAR 9A610. You'll record the paragraph, basis, reviewer and date for every part.

It's just one drawing, and they signed our NDA.

An NDA protects confidentiality. It doesn't authorize an export. Emailing technical data to a foreign consultant needs a license, agreement or exemption in place first, and you'll practice the safe habit: stop, escalate, get it in writing, then send.

She's brilliant. Can she start on the program today?

A degree and a work visa don't authorize access. Showing controlled technical data to a foreign person inside your own building is a deemed export, and it needs authorization first. You'll learn to ask the U.S. person question without demanding documents.

What it does for you

Be the one people check with before they hit send.

The colleague who keeps the company clear

One emailed drawing can be an export. The person who knows where the line is becomes the first call.

Ready when an auditor asks

Classification records, a transfer log and a Technology Control Plan you checked against your own shop.

Proof on your record

27 working checklists, a 49-question final exam and a certificate anyone can verify.

No course can promise you a raise or a title. What you'll have is the skill, the work to show for it and a certificate anyone can verify. That's what those conversations run on.

Why it matters

ITAR risk doesn't need a shipping box.

$51M

In February 2024, Boeing reached a $51M settlement with the U.S. State Department resolving 199 violations of the Arms Export Control Act and ITAR, including technical data downloaded by employees at Boeing facilities in China.

Source: CNBC, February 29, 2024, on the State Department settlement

Showing technical data to a foreign person is an export, even inside your own building. An emailed drawing, a screen share with a foreign supplier, a foreign visitor reading a whiteboard, a new hire on a work visa with drive access: none of them needs a shipping box, and each needs authorization first.

Civil penalties need no proof of intent, and each unauthorized transfer can count as its own violation. Boeing disclosed its violations voluntarily and still settled, under a three-year consent agreement with outside audits. There's no small business exemption, and your primes flow these duties down to you.

What you'll learn

From the USML paragraph to the transfer log.

Most lessons put you inside Keltrow Aerostructures, a fictional F-35 parts maker: a drawing request on a Friday, a new hire on a visa, a visitor who wants a look. You audit its records, make the call, then check your own shop.

01Modules 1 and 2 · USML

Know what ITAR controls, and classify every part

You start with the law behind ITAR, who DDTC is, what registration demands and what a release is. Then you classify parts in the order 22 CFR 120.11 sets, write a record anyone can re-check, and learn when to hand the question to DDTC with a commodity jurisdiction request.

  • Registration under 122.1 for any maker of defense articles, exports or not, renewed yearly
  • Order of review: the USML paragraph, the specially designed test in 120.41, then the CCL
  • When to file a DS-4076 commodity jurisdiction request, and the history it must disclose

02Module 3 · Parts 123 to 126

Pick the right license, agreement or exemption

Every export needs an authorization, and the kind depends on what moves, who gets it and for how long. You'll match the form to the job, build a DSP-5 that agrees with the purchase order, scope a TAA or MLA by number and revision, and prove an exemption on paper before it ships.

  • Match the form to what moves: DSP-5, DSP-73, DSP-61, DSP-85, TAA, MLA or WDA
  • Technical data alone can go on a DSP-5. Engineering help needs a TAA, approved first.
  • Exemption memos: the section, each condition with evidence, approved before it ships

03Module 4 · TCP

Build a Technology Control Plan that matches the floor

No ITAR section says write a TCP. It's how you show you prevent unauthorized releases, and you'll build each part: scope, foreign person identification, physical and IT controls, training and monitoring. Then you test it the way a customer's auditor would, against badge logs, drive permissions and visitor records.

  • A release (120.56) includes seeing and hearing: a screen share, a plant tour, a phone call
  • An H-1B holder is a foreign person. A green card holder is a U.S. person (120.62).
  • Cloud under 120.54(a)(5): end-to-end encryption the provider can't open, no 126.1 country

04Module 5 · Program

Run the program day to day, and prove it works

You'll set up the people and records the program runs on: an Empowered Official who can refuse to sign, training that comes before access, retention that starts on the right date, and internal audits that close findings with evidence. Plus what to do the hour you suspect a release.

  • Empowered Official under 120.67: a U.S. person, a direct employee, empowered in writing
  • Records under 122.5: five years from license expiration, or from the transaction for an exemption
  • Disclosure under 127.12: notify DDTC immediately, full disclosure within 60 days of notice

05Module 6 · Aerospace and MRO

Apply it to aircraft parts, repairs and suppliers

VIII(h)(1) keeps parts on the USML only for the aircraft it names, a list last revised September 15, 2025, and engine parts follow Category XIX and its named engines. You'll sort mixed military and commercial work, flow ITAR terms down to suppliers, map partners to the right authorization and write a dated 90-day roadmap.

  • F-35 and F-22 parts stay USML. F-16-only and unarmed UH-60 parts are generally EAR 9A610.
  • Task cards extracted from an F-35 repair manual are technical data too
  • PO flow-down: registration, foreign person release limits, sub-tier control, audit right

06Module 7 · AI

Use AI at the export desk without exporting data

AI is good at drafting from text your rule allows and at counting logs. Technical data stays out of every AI tool unless your Empowered Official has approved that tool for it in writing under the TCP. Classification, authorizations and violation calls stay with named people.

  • Why the 120.54(a)(5) encryption carve-out doesn't reach a tool that reads your data
  • A lab: an AI-drafted review summary with eight wrong lines to catch before anyone uses it
  • A compliance desk prompt pack and a one-page AI work plan your Empowered Official approves

Who built it

Built from the auditor's side and the supplier's side.

Will Trikha

Founder and CEO, QMS Learning · Third-party registrar auditor

Will Trikha is a third-party registrar auditor with more than 20 years in aerospace and quality. He built this course from 22 CFR 120 to 130, the Arms Export Control Act behind it and the way DDTC handles registration, licensing and voluntary disclosure, then wrote it the way an auditor works: pull the record, test it, write what it shows.

He's COO of PTX Defense, an AS9100D-certified aerospace manufacturer, so he lives with these requirements from the supplier side too. He founded QMS Leader, which implements quality management systems for manufacturers. This is practical training, not legal advice. Classification, license and disclosure calls stay with your Empowered Official and counsel.

What an auditor pulls first in an ITAR program

  1. The classification record behind each partIt should name the USML paragraph or ECCN, why it applies, a reviewer and a date, and get re-reviewed on every drawing revision. "Military aircraft part" is a shortcut, not a basis.
  2. The authorization column in the transfer logEvery transfer to an outside party should name a license, agreement or exemption, or a verified U.S. person. An NDA or an onboarding checklist in that column is a finding.
  3. Access dates against status and training datesA badge or drive account switched on before the U.S. person answer is recorded, or before ITAR orientation, is the gap that lets a release happen. Comparing those dates takes minutes.
  4. The exemption log, line by lineAn exemption is only as good as its written analysis. A citation that doesn't describe what shipped, or a value over the limit, means no exemption covered it. Check the approval date against the ship date too.

Check us before you pay

  • Take lesson 1 free. The real first lesson with Coach Q. No card.
  • Look Will up. His LinkedIn profile lists the work behind the course.
  • Check a certificate. Every certificate can be confirmed at academy.qmslearning.com/verify.
  • Keep your exit. 3 days after you buy to ask for a refund.

The usual way, and this course

Knowing the definitions is the easy part.

Knowing the rule is the start. The work is applying it to your own parts, drawings and people, and keeping the proof.

The usual way
This course
Jurisdiction
"It's military, so it's ITAR." "It's commercial, so it's EAR99."
Classify from the paragraph text, with a basis, a reviewer and a date
What counts as an export
A crate leaving the dock
Emails, screen shares, tours and new hires, sorted before anything is released
How you prove it
A slide deck and a signature sheet
27 working checklists on your own shop, then a 49-question final exam
How it fits you
The same pace and the same examples for everyone
A study plan sized to your week, and a coach that works on your own job, never technical data
When you're stuck
Email the instructor and wait for a reply
Ask Coach Q on any screen, any hour
After you finish
Access often ends after a year
Lessons for life, kept up to date, and a coach that stays with you

Not like training used to be

Short, hands-on, built around you. And the coach stays.

Training used to mean days in a classroom or hours of video. Here are real screens from ITAR Compliance: short sessions where you make the call, a plan that fits your week, and an expert in your pocket.

Coach Q · your expert on call

We just hired an engineer who isn't a US citizen. Can she see the drawings for our military harness?
COACH Q

That decision belongs to your Empowered Official, not to me. It turns on two facts I can't settle for you: whether those drawings are ITAR-controlled technical data, and whether she is a foreign person under ITAR.

Here's what the course teaches. Showing controlled technical data to a foreign person inside your own plant is still an export, and it needs authorization before access. The course's default until those answers are in writing: non-ITAR work, and no access to the ITAR files or areas.

Want me to prepare a one-page note to your Empowered Official that lists the facts they'll need to decide?

Coaching, not decisions. Your Empowered Official makes the call. Comes with your course, no renewal fee.

Study plan: a real screen from ITAR Compliance

Study plan · Your personal trainer

Tell it your goal date. It builds sessions around your week and shows each day whether you're on plan, so the course actually gets finished.

Focus timer: a real screen from ITAR Compliance

Focus timer · 25 minutes, no tab-hopping

One click starts a focused session, and it follows you from lesson to lesson. Short sessions are how busy people finish.

Course Hub: a real screen from ITAR Compliance

Course Hub · Compliance documents drafted with you

Pick a template, give Coach Q the facts you're allowed to share, never technical data, and get a working draft you edit and keep: Technology Control Plan, jurisdiction and classification worksheet, restricted party screening log, ITAR training matrix.

Apply at work: a real screen from ITAR Compliance

Apply at work · Proof your boss can see

Log what you tried, what happened and how you know. Record your manager's sign-off with their name and date, and export the log for your performance review.

Today view: a real screen from ITAR Compliance

Today view · One look and you know what's next

Your goal, days left, lessons done, your streak and today's session.

Built around you

Give the study plan your goal date and it sizes each session to your week. Coach Q works on the facts you bring from your own job, never technical data, so the examples are yours, not a textbook's.

Hands-on, not hours of video

Lessons are built around calls you make: read the record, sort the evidence, catch the mistake. Checks and labs score you on the spot, and your first win comes in the first few minutes of lesson 1.

Stays with you. Stays current.

Coach Q doesn't leave when you finish. It comes with your course, no subscription and no renewal fee, so it's there for the next drawing request, and the one after that. When the rules behind this course change, we update the lessons and the coach's setup, and we move the coach to newer AI models as we test them.

What you walk out with

You don't just learn the rules. You check your own shop against them.

A jurisdiction and classification record

Every product documented as USML or CCL with its rationale, and borderline items flagged for a commodity jurisdiction request. Your company and DDTC make the determinations. The checklist makes sure the record exists.

A DSP-5 application check

Registration, Empowered Official, end-user, USML category, end-use and non-transfer certificates, value and quantity, all confirmed before anything is submitted.

A Technology Control Plan review

Scope, foreign person identification, physical and IT access controls, training, visitors, audits and incident reporting, checked item by item.

A physical and IT security walk

Posted ITAR areas, visitor logs, locked storage, a segmented network, email and cloud controls, and portable media, checked on the floor.

Exemption analysis and disclosure readiness

Before claiming an exemption: the section, every condition, a written analysis and Empowered Official approval. Plus a documented path for voluntary self-disclosure.

Your 90-day roadmap

Your top five ITAR priorities for the next 90 days, each with what you'll do, the resources it needs and how you'll measure success.

Inside the course

The course, step by step.

About 10 hours, self-paced, in short sessions that fit your week.

ITAR Fundamentals

Understanding the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. 5 lessons.

The US Munitions List (USML)

Classification and jurisdiction determination. 5 lessons.

Export Licensing

Licenses, agreements, and exemptions. 5 lessons.

Technology Control Plans

Protecting ITAR-controlled technical data and articles. 5 lessons.

Compliance Program Management

Building and maintaining an effective ITAR compliance program. 5 lessons.

Applied ITAR Compliance

Practical application for aerospace and defense operations. 5 lessons.

Put AI to Work in Export Compliance

Which AI tool does which export compliance job, why technical data stays out, a prompt pack for the compliance desk, a lab where an AI draft has planted errors to catch, and an AI work plan for your next compliance review. 3 lessons.

The itemized list

Everything you get.

Each priced line shows what a comparable item costs from another provider, with the source, so you can check it yourself. The included lines are what get the course finished. Checked October 12, 2026.

ITAR Compliance · itemAdding up: $1,045
01

The ITAR Compliance course

$795

ITAR fundamentals, the US Munitions List and jurisdiction, licenses, agreements and exemptions, Technology Control Plans, compliance program management, and applied ITAR for aerospace and defense work. Real-world scenarios with explained answers, like a drawing emailed to an overseas subsidiary or a new hire on a work visa.

COMPARABLE · ECTI, ITAR Export Controls e-Seminar for U.S. Companies, self-paced, 4 hours in 10 modules, 12 months of viewing access, certificate of completion (learnexportcompliance.com, Oct 2026): $795

02

27 working checklists for your own shop

Included

27 of the 33 lessons end with a checklist you walk through your facility, your files and your people, from your classification record to your visitor logs.

INCLUDED · adds nothing to the total

03

Course Hub with AI-drafted compliance documents

Included

A Technology Control Plan, a jurisdiction and classification worksheet, a restricted party screening log and an ITAR training matrix. Coach Q drafts the structure from facts you're allowed to share, never technical data. Your company records its own determinations and screening results.

INCLUDED · adds nothing to the total

04

Coach Q, your expert in your pocket

$250

Ask before anyone hits send, any hour. It's set up for ITAR, works on the facts you give it and marks what's missing, then explains the rule and points you to the section. Jurisdiction, classification, license and screening decisions stay with your Empowered Official and counsel. No subscription or renewal fee. It stays with you after the course, and we keep its setup current when the rules change.

COMPARABLE · MoreSteam, E-Learning Support, 1 hour of coaching: $250

05

Put AI to work in export compliance

Included

Which AI tool does which export compliance job, why technical data stays out, a prompt pack for the compliance desk, a lab where AI-generated work has planted errors to catch, and an AI work plan for your next compliance review.

INCLUDED · adds nothing to the total

06

Study plan, your personal trainer

Included

Built around your goal date and your week. It shows each day whether you're on plan and what today's session is.

INCLUDED · adds nothing to the total

07

Focus timer

Included

25-minute focused sessions that carry from lesson to lesson.

INCLUDED · adds nothing to the total

08

Apply at work log

Included

What you changed at work, with your manager's sign-off recorded, exportable for your review.

INCLUDED · adds nothing to the total

09

Final exam and a certificate anyone can verify

Included

49 questions, 80 percent to pass. Your certificate shows your name, the course, the date and what was tested, and anyone can confirm it online.

INCLUDED · adds nothing to the total

10

Lessons for life

Included

Come back whenever the job needs it. Your access doesn't expire. We keep the lessons current for the edition this course teaches.

INCLUDED · adds nothing to the total

Priced elsewhere, piece by piece$1,045
Your price$295

One person, one time. $750 less than buying the comparable pieces.

People
1
Enroll for $295 →

5 or more people get 10% off every seat. Secure checkout by Stripe. 3-day refund.

Compare before you choose

Three ways to learn this. Here's the honest comparison.

Including the row where ECTI wins.

What you pay
$295, once
$795 at ECTI
Free or a monthly plan
Time to finish
About 10 hours, in short lessons
4 hours
Minutes
Counts toward an export compliance credential
No. A QMS Learning certificate of completion
Yes. 4 ECoP ITAR renewal credits
No
Working checklists for your own shop
27
Varies
Only if you write them
Graded final exam
49 questions, 80 percent to pass
Certificate of completion. No exam listed
No
Help after the course
Coach Q, no renewal fee
Varies
It explains. It won't grade you or vouch for you
How long the lessons stay open
For life
12 months
Not a course

ChatGPT will explain the ITAR. It will not grade you, it will not vouch for you, and controlled technical data never goes into it.

Prices are published list prices, checked October 12, 2026: ECTI, ITAR Export Controls e-Seminar for U.S. Companies.

Try before you buy

Try it before you pay. Change your mind after.

Before you pay

Lesson 1 is free.

The real first lesson, with the exercises and Coach Q. Your first win comes in the first few minutes. Judge it yourself.

Try lesson 1 free ↑

After you buy

3 days to change your mind.

Email will@qmslearning.com within 3 days of purchase for a refund. A refund ends access to the course. Refund policy

Company pays

Send it to your manager.

We wrote the email for you. Job training is generally a deductible business expense for the company, so check with your accountant. Need a quote or a PO? Email will@qmslearning.com.

Send this to my manager →

Questions

Straight answers.

Is this a certification?

No. You earn a certificate of completion for your training record by finishing every lesson and passing the 49-question final exam at 80%. It isn't a government credential or an export compliance certification, it doesn't register your company with DDTC, and it doesn't make anyone an Empowered Official.

Will Coach Q classify our products?

No. Coach Q, your private AI coach, comes with your course. No subscription or renewal fee. It's set up for ITAR, works on the facts you're allowed to share and marks what's missing. It explains how the USML is organized, what a jurisdiction review asks and what your classification record should contain. Your company makes and documents its determinations, and DDTC decides when you submit a commodity jurisdiction request. No AI authorizes an export or clears a denied party, and controlled technical data stays out of Coach Q and every other AI tool.

Is this legal advice?

No. It's practical training for the people who run the program day to day. For licenses, agreements, disclosures and anything with enforcement risk, work with export counsel.

Does it cover the EAR?

It covers how ITAR and the EAR differ and why jurisdiction comes first. It isn't an EAR course.

Can my company pay?

Yes. Use a company card at checkout. Job training is generally a deductible business expense for the company, so check with your accountant. Need a quote or a PO first? Email will@qmslearning.com.

What if it isn't for me?

Try lesson 1 free before you pay. After you buy, email will@qmslearning.com within 3 days of purchase for a refund. A refund ends access to the course.

Training a team?

Pick how many people before you check out and pay once by card. Five or more people get 10% off every seat, applied at checkout. After checkout you add each person's name and email, and each of them gets their own login, private AI coach, study plan and certificate. More than 50 people, or need an invoice instead? Email will@qmslearning.com for a quote.

How long do I keep access?

The lessons are yours for life, and Coach Q comes with your course and stays with you after you finish. There's no subscription or renewal fee.

Does the course keep up when the rules change?

Yes, for the edition it teaches. When the rules or guidance behind this course change, we update the lessons and the coach's setup, and you get the update at no extra charge. When a new edition replaces the standard, we point you to the transition training. Your conversations with Coach Q aren't used to train AI models.

Everything, one more time

Control the data. Before it leaves the room.

  • The ITAR Compliance course$795
  • 27 working checklists for your own shopIncluded
  • Course Hub with AI-drafted compliance documentsIncluded
  • Coach Q, your expert in your pocket$250
  • Put AI to work in export complianceIncluded
  • Study plan, your personal trainerIncluded
  • Focus timerIncluded
  • Apply at work logIncluded
  • Final exam and a certificate anyone can verifyIncluded
  • Lessons for lifeIncluded

Priced elsewhere, piece by piece: $1,045

$295

Per person, one time. Lessons for life. Coach Q included, no renewal fee.

About 10 hours. That's 20 half-hour lunch breaks.

People
1
Enroll for $295 →

5 or more people get 10% off every seat. Secure checkout by Stripe. 3-day refund.

Not ready to buy? Try lesson 1 free.

Friday, 3:50 PM. A consultant in Germany wants the CAD file by Monday. Make the call, then audit a technical data transfer log.