Build the checklist around the actual partnership, not a generic list of laws: define the parties, countries, technology, data flows, access routes and intended use, then assign each relevant risk an owner, evidence requirement, decision, mitigation and review trigger. Sanctions, export controls, privacy, cybersecurity, intellectual property and local approvals may all matter, but which rules apply depends on the jurisdictions, technology, data, sector and deal structure.
1. Scope the partnership before checking requirements
Start with a written description of what the parties will do, where they will do it and what they will exchange. A checklist built before these facts are known will miss risks or apply controls to the wrong activity.
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Record the parties, places and activity
- Describe the purpose, operating model, expected duration, launch markets and material milestones.
- Record each party’s legal identity, beneficial owners, affiliates, subcontractors, agents, intermediaries and relevant banks.
- List the countries where the parties are established, where personnel will work, and where products, services, support or operations will be provided.
- Describe intended users and uses, including any downstream recipients or onward transfers.
The European Commission’s due diligence guidance, published 19 February 2024, treats partner, transaction and goods risks as part of sanctions due diligence. It is an EU example, not a universal rule for every transaction.
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Map technology, data and access
Diagram where hardware, software, encryption, source code, technical data, know-how, personal data and support originate, are accessed, stored and sent next. Include remote access, backups, maintenance, test environments and access by personnel in other countries; a file need not be physically shipped for a cross-border access or transfer question to arise.
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Assign accountable owners and approvals
Name a business sponsor and accountable owners for trade compliance, privacy, security, procurement, legal and operations. Record who can approve launch, grant an exception, pause access or escalate an unresolved issue. The U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) describes export compliance programs as tailored to an organization’s activities and risk, rather than a checklist that alone establishes compliance; see its Export Compliance Programs guidance.
2. Use a register that creates decisions, not just checkmarks
Keep a versioned register that connects each question to its scope, evidence and decision. A blank or unchecked item should show whether review is pending, not applicable with a reason, or blocked pending specialist advice.
| Register field | What to record |
|---|---|
| Requirement and scope | Risk or legal question, relevant jurisdiction, activity, parties, product or data involved, and source or legal basis. |
| Owner and reviewer | One accountable control owner, supporting teams, specialist consulted where relevant, and approval or escalation route. |
| Evidence and assessment | Documents reviewed, search date and time where applicable, classification rationale, assessment, unresolved facts and reviewer. |
| Decision and mitigation | Proceed, proceed with controls, hold, or stop; conditions, license or approval needs, exception approver and expiry if applicable. |
| Dates and triggers | Completion date, next review, target date for open work and events that require reassessment. |
Keep the evidence supporting a decision with the register entry so a later reviewer can understand what was checked and why the outcome was accepted.
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3. Screen sanctions, counterparties and diversion risk
Sanctions and export controls are related but distinct checks. A party-screening result does not by itself settle whether a technology transfer is controlled, and a product classification does not clear the people or route involved.
Check parties and transaction routes
- Identify contracting parties, beneficial owners and controllers, affiliates, banks, intermediaries, ultimate destination, end user and intended end use.
- Consult the official sanctions and restricted-party sources applicable to the transaction. Preserve the source or list, search terms, date and time, reviewer, potential-match resolution and supporting evidence.
- Investigate ownership, routing, unusual intermediaries, destination changes or other facts that could indicate diversion or circumvention; document how discrepancies were resolved.
- Determine whether controls, licenses, notifications or contractual flow-downs apply to the proposed route and activity.
The European Commission guidance above discusses partner, transaction and goods due diligence and circumvention red flags. UK guidance on Sanctions End-Use Controls, published 22 April 2026, addresses potential diversion of goods and related technology under UK controls. These are jurisdiction-specific examples; confirm which restrictions apply to the actual facts.
Define when screening happens again
Set re-screening triggers for ownership or control changes, a new destination or intermediary, a changed end use, a new recipient, or changes to applicable restrictions. Route a potential match or diversion concern to the designated compliance owner before proceeding.
4. Classify technology and determine export-control steps
Inventory every controlled-item candidate involved in the relationship: hardware, software, encryption, source code, technical data, services and know-how. Assign classification responsibility and retain the conclusion, rationale and source references rather than recording only a classification label.
Trace each transfer and access path
- Map origin, destination, recipient, end user, end use, re-export route and any in-country or deemed transfer questions relevant to the applicable regime.
- Identify access by personnel in other jurisdictions, including remote support, collaboration tools, shared repositories and technical demonstrations.
- Determine whether a license, exception, authorization, screening, reporting, recordkeeping or training requirement applies under each relevant regime.
- Block release or access until required review and authorization are complete; record the control that enforces the hold.
BIS says an export compliance program should be tailored to an organization’s EAR-subject activities, maintained as risks and activities change, and supported by management commitment and risk assessment. Its guidance describes eight program elements, but that framework is not a guarantee that a particular exporter or partnership is compliant. Reassess classification and authorization questions when the product, destination, user, end use, ownership or applicable law changes.
5. Map personal data and validate transfer routes
First identify which personal data is involved and which jurisdiction’s transfer rules attach to each collection, disclosure, storage or remote-access activity. Do not assume that a contract’s governing law alone determines the transfer regime.
Document data roles and flows
- Record data categories and sensitivity, people involved, purposes, retention periods, systems and subprocessors.
- Map collection, remote access, storage, backups, support, onward disclosure and deletion locations.
- Identify each party’s controller, processor or equivalent role under the applicable regime and establish who handles data-subject requests and incidents.
- Check whether the proposed transfer route and documentation are permitted for the actual parties, locations and activity.
The UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) updated its guide to international transfers on 15 January 2026. It explains when UK transfer rules apply and steps to comply. Its separate transfer risk assessment guidance, also updated 15 January 2026, explains that UK legislation now calls the assessment a “data protection test.”
Confirm mechanism, safeguards and contract terms
Have the privacy owner or qualified adviser identify the applicable transfer mechanism and complete the risk assessment or data protection test required by the relevant law. The European Commission describes EU Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) as pre-approved clauses for certain transfers from EU/EEA entities, or entities subject to GDPR, to recipients outside the EU/EEA. Whether the clauses apply and which module fits depends on the parties’ roles and transfer facts; they are not a universal solution for every cross-border data flow.
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Contract terms should cover security, purpose limits, assistance with rights requests and incidents, subprocessor controls, deletion or return, audit evidence and change notification. Reassess if the data, partner, location, access route, subprocessor or legal framework changes.
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6. Assess ICT supplier and information-exchange security
Assess both the partner and the products or services it supplies. A security review should address supplier dependencies as well as how the two organizations will safely exchange or expose information.
Review supplier and supply-chain risk
NIST SP 1326, published in July 2026, identifies five ICT supplier due-diligence components: foreign ownership, control or influence (FOCI); provenance; resilience; foundational cybersecurity practices; and supply-chain tiers. Use these as review areas, adapted to the supplier and the transaction, rather than as a one-size-fits-all certification.
Set controls before connection or disclosure
- Define information classification, access permissions, authentication, encryption, logging and vulnerability or patch handling.
- Specify incident notification, cooperation, continuity, audit and evidence expectations.
- Set secure exchange and remote-access rules before connecting systems or disclosing sensitive information.
- Apply controls to subcontractors and agree how new suppliers, components or access routes are reviewed.
NIST SP 800-47 Rev. 1 (July 2021) covers protecting information before, during and after an exchange or access arrangement, with protections tailored to risk. It states: “the information being exchanged also requires the same or similar level of protection as it moves from one organization to another (protection commensurate with risk).”
Plan suspension and exit
Specify who disables accounts and connections, revokes credentials, returns or deletes information, verifies closure and retains legally required records when access is suspended or the partnership ends. Tie these steps to the contract and operational runbook so exit does not depend on an informal request.
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7. Set IP, technology-access and local-law terms
Before collaboration begins, distinguish each party’s background intellectual property from licensed rights, jointly developed results, improvements, derivatives and third-party or open-source materials. The agreement should state who owns or may use each category and what happens to those rights if the relationship changes or ends.
Define permitted access and use
- Specify who may access, copy, modify, reverse engineer, train on, disclose, sublicense, retain or transfer technology and data; state the permitted territories, purposes and duration.
- Address source code, trade secrets, personnel and facility safeguards, technical-data exposure, audit rights and incident response.
- Set rules for improvements and derivatives, including whether either party may continue using them after termination.
Check local restrictions and governance
For each host jurisdiction, identify potential ownership, localization, licensing, administrative-approval, disclosure, secrecy and data-export or access rules. Agree decision rights, regulatory cooperation, records access, dispute handling and transition assistance. SEC staff disclosure guidance flags questions around technology and IP licensing to foreign entities and joint ventures, improvement rights, foreign ownership, local regulatory access and laws restricting data export or access. The SEC guidance expressly has no legal force or effect and does not create obligations; treat it as a diligence prompt, not a legal requirement.
8. Compare alternatives and keep the checklist current
If choosing among partners, operating models or destinations, assess each against the same dimensions and retain the reason for any exception. Weight matters for the actual transaction rather than assigning a universal score or declaring one structure safest in every case.
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|---|---|
| Ownership and screening | Who owns or controls the parties, and what sanctions or restricted-party exposure needs resolution? |
| Export controls | What classifications, end users, end uses, destinations and license questions are implicated? |
| Data transfers | Which transfer route and safeguards apply to the data, parties and locations? |
| Supplier and security | What are the provenance, resilience, supply-chain and information-exchange risks? |
| IP and access | Who controls background IP, improvements, technical access and continued use? |
| Local requirements | What approvals, ownership restrictions, disclosure rules or access constraints may apply? |
| Monitoring and exit | Can the arrangement be audited and changed safely, and can access and data be closed out? |
Preserve the evidence reviewed, decision, exception, owner, completion date and next review for each applicable entry. BIS recommends regular risk assessment and keeping the export program current; its guidance summary references at least annual assessment for that program. Do not apply that cadence automatically to every privacy, sanctions, security or local-law obligation. Reassess when ownership, product, destination, data flow, partner, business model or law changes.
This framework helps teams organize review; it does not determine which laws apply to a particular deal. Have qualified trade, sanctions, privacy, cybersecurity or local-law specialists resolve uncertain classifications, transfer mechanisms, licenses and jurisdiction-specific requirements before the affected activity proceeds.
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