In EU competition law, regulations issued by the European Commission, or in certain cases the European Council. Block exemptions have been introduced for certain types of agreement, such as vertical agreements, technology transfer agreements and research and development agreements.

In UK competition law, exemptions for particular categories of agreement falling within the Chapter I prohibition of the Competition Act 1998, and will be contained in orders made by the Competition and Markets Authority. If an agreement meets the conditions set out in the block exemption it is automatically exempt from the Chapter I prohibition. Block exemptions are intended to provide legal certainty for businesses. For further details, see Practice note, Distributorships: overview (UK).