A new route to the potentially useful carbo-t-butoxylating agent, t-butyl cyanoformate (I), is described which involves treatment of a t-butyl a-alkoxyacetate with N-bromosuccinimide followed by hydrolysis of the intermediate a-bromo ester (IV) and reaction of the resuking glyoxylate solution with hydroxylamine to yield t-butyl oximinoacetate (11). Dehydration of the oxime by means of acetic anhydride and triethylamine gave the cyanoformate (I). As ...