How Partners With ITAR Registration Earn More

If you are looking to expand your shop's revenue streams, adding key industry certifications can give you access to high-precision, technical manufacturing work. Certified shops in the Xometry Partner Network earn more on average and access higher-value jobs sooner than non-certified shops. Work requiring certifications generated roughly 3.4 times the annual job value of non-certified work in 2025, while demand for certification-required work grew 56% year over year across the Xometry platform.

Among these credentials, International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) registration stands out as one of the most impactful steps manufacturing facilities can take when looking to capture market share in industries that require it, specifically aerospace and defense.

“ITAR registration gives Partners access to significantly more aerospace and defense work. A&D is home to many of our top customers, and roughly 90% of those jobs require ITAR compliance, which opens the door to more complex projects,” said Mark Kearney, vice president of quality operations and regulatory at Xometry.

Before evaluating costs and potential returns, it helps to understand what ITAR registration entails. ITAR registration is mandatory for any US company that manufactures, exports, or brokers defense articles, services, or related data covered by the US Munitions List (USML).

The US Department of State's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) administers ITAR. Registration itself is an administrative filing, not a certification of operational controls. While the registration confirms your business is officially on record with the State Department, complying with ITAR on a day-to-day basis requires additional internal infrastructure, including:

• Designating an Empowered Official (EO) within your organization to oversee compliance 
• Documenting strict physical and digital access controls
• Implementing ongoing compliance training for employees
• Maintaining rigorous recordkeeping standards for a minimum of five years

Once your shop is prepared to initiate the administrative filing, follow these steps to complete the process:

1. Determine Eligibility:

Confirm that your facility manufactures, exports, or brokers defense items or technical data listed on the USML.

2. Access the DECCS Portal:

Create an account in the Defense Export Control and Compliance System (DECCS), the electronic portal administered by the DDTC for all registration filings.

3. Submit Form DS-2032:

Complete and submit Form DS-2032 (Statement of Registration), outlining your corporate structure, facility locations, and business activities.

4. Pay the Registration Fee:

Pay the annual fee corresponding to your registration tier via the DECCS online payment system.

5. Await Approval and Maintain Annual Renewal:

Once reviewed and approved by the DDTC, you will receive your official ITAR registration letter. Registration must be renewed annually to remain active.

The DDTC has a fee schedule for manufacturers and exporters based on which tier they fall into.

• Tier 1 ($3,000 / year): Applies to new registrants and registrants that do not export. Qualifying small businesses can receive a reduced rate of $2,500 per year if they can prove that $3,000 was 1% or more of their total revenue for the last calendar year.
• Tier 2 ($4,000 / year): Applies to registrants that submitted between one and five favorable export licenses or determinations during the preceding 12-month period.
• Tier 3 ($4,000 base + $1,100 per determination beyond five): Designed for high-volume defense exporters that require more than five favorable determinations per year.

While the initial fee required for ITAR registration is a direct overhead expense, the financial benefits of registration extend to both job-level margins and your shop’s long-term enterprise value.

From a corporate valuation perspective, defense contractors with ITAR registration and CMMC 2.0 certification typically sell for 7-10x EBITDA, compared to a selling price of 5-7x EBITDA for non-compliant businesses, according to CT Acquisitions.

Operationally, Tier-1 contractors prefer to send work to compliant facilities. Subcontracted defense work requires prime buyers to verify ITAR compliance separately for each unregistered supplier in their supply chain, which creates a strong preference for partnering directly with shops that already hold active registration. Aerospace and defense buyers work with Xometry because it allows them to streamline sourcing by sending all their orders through the Xometry platform to be matched with certified Partners.

On the Xometry platform, quality and compliance credentials directly unlock high-value jobs for these prime buyers. ITAR-registered Partners and Partners holding certifications such as ISO 9001:2015, AS9100D, ISO 13485:2016, IATF 16949:2016, CMMC Level 2, or JCP earn more on average and access higher-value jobs sooner. Currently, Xometry has about 500 ITAR-registered Partners across its network, collectively processing approximately 2,000 ITAR-controlled jobs each month — and demand for this type of certification-required work is growing.

Deciding whether to register comes down to weighing the $2,500 to $3,000 entry cost against your shop's long-term commercial goals. If your facility aims to stay focused purely on commercial prototype parts or non-sensitive industrial components, standard certifications like ISO 9001 may suffice.

However, if your strategic plan includes securing steady, higher-margin defense work, capturing a share of the growing number of ITAR jobs being ordered through Xometry, or building enterprise value for a future sale, ITAR registration can offer a major return on investment.

Ready to grow your shop's revenue and access high-value work for top-tier customers? Learn more about how to join the Xometry Partner Network and upload your active facility certifications today.