Guide

When does Congress have to be notified of a Foreign Military Sale?

Updated 11 September 2026

A notification to Congress is required by law when a Letter of Offer and Acceptance meets or exceeds a statutory threshold, and the thresholds vary by purchaser.

When does Congress have to be notified of an arms sale?

SAMM C5.7.3.1 — 36(b)(1) Congressional Notifications.

By law, a 36(b)(1) CN is required when an LOA meets or exceeds one of the thresholds identified in Table C5.T18. These thresholds vary by purchaser. A 36(b)(1) CN is also required if an LOA Amendment or Modification would increase the Major Defense Equipment (MDE) value or the total case value (TCV) such that it would meet or exceed the thresholds in Table C5.T18. and Congress has not been notified of the sale previously. See Section C5.7.3.2. for LOA Amendments and Modifications to cases that have already been notified to Congress.

Table C5.T18. Thresholds for 36(b) Congressional Notification
	North Atlantic Treaty Organization Countries, Australia, Israel, Japan, Republic of Korea, New Zealand	All Other Countries, North Atlantic Treaty Organization Organizations, All Other International Organizations
Major Defense Equipment	$25M	$14M
Any Articles, Services, or Both (Total Case Value)	$100M	$50M
Design and Construction Services	$300M	$200M

Synced 11 September 2026 · View on samm.dsca.mil

The President (delegated to the Secretary of Defense) shall submit a numbered certification (with justification, impact, etc.) to the Congress before issuing a foreign military sale (FMS) letter of offer and acceptance (LOA) to sell defense articles or services for $50 million or more, or any design and construction services for $200 million or more, or major defense equipment (MDE) for $14 million or more. The higher dollar thresholds for notification for NATO countries, Japan, Australia, Republic of Korea, Israel, and New Zealand are $100 million, $300 million, and $25 million respectively. Approval for FMS must be provided by the DOS to the DOD prior to any Congressional notification. Once a potential FMS is approved by the DOS, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) provides the official notification to Congress. The DSCA FMS notifications are generally announced and published almost immediately on the DSCA website and later in the Federal Register.

If the IA estimates that an LOR will result in a case that meets or exceeds certain dollar thresholds (as specified in Section 36(b) of the AECA), the IA must provide congressional notification data to DSCA within ten days of LOR receipt. SAMM Figures C5.F14 through C5.F19 are templates for the information to be provided by the IA. Upon receipt of the information, DSCA prepares the notification package and coordinates with the DOS/PM and congressional staff personnel to ensure potential concerns and sensitivities are resolved prior to providing the notification package to Congress. After this preliminary review period and upon the DOS/PM concurrence, DSCA submits a numbered certification to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate.

References

Drawn exclusively from publicly available authorities.

SAMM

SAMM C5.7.3.1 — 36(b)(1) Congressional Notifications.

Pipeline stageCongressional Notification Pipeline stageCase Development / LOA Preparation GuideHow long does Congress have to review an arms sale?

When does Congress have to be notified of a Foreign Military Sale?

When does Congress have to be notified of an arms sale?

References

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