Trade, tariffs and industry

Executive Order 13026: Administration of Export Controls on Encryption Products

President: Bill Clinton

Moved selected encryption products from State to Commerce controls while preserving national-security review and adding Justice Department participation.

Status: Revoked. Is Executive Order 13026 still in effect? No. Executive Order 13026 was revoked. See Federal Register record.

What does Executive Order 13026 do?

EO 13026 governed encryption items transferred from the Munitions List to the Commerce Control List. It limited mandatory foreign-availability treatment, added Justice to interagency license review, treated encryption software by function rather than informational content and authorized controls on related assistance. Commerce progressively liberalized encryption exports, and the 2018 Export Control Reform Act replaced the expired statutory basis with permanent authority. Current EAR encryption classifications and license exceptions now control.

Administration position: The order transferred and structured controls; it neither banned encryption nor made every encryption export license-free.
SignedNovember 15, 1996
Control shiftState to Commerce for selected items
Added reviewerJustice Department

Before and after

Before the order

Many encryption products were treated as defense articles under State Department controls.

After the order

Selected products entered the dual-use EAR system with special interagency safeguards.

Who had to do what

Agency / officeActionTiming / position
CommerceAdminister transferred encryption controlsUnder later-updated EAR rules
State, Defense, Energy and JusticeReview covered applicationsUnder the historical process
PresidentResolve designation disputesAs reserved

What happened next

EO 13026 established the transfer conditions.

The Export Control Reform Act became law.

Current EAR rules governed encryption exports.