Watchlist Search

List names, match rules, and a form for a documented screening.

Watchlist Search

OFAC SDN

Quick answer. The OFAC SDN list is the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons list. OFAC’s Sanctions List Search also covers other sanctions lists. Read the program code on any hit. A watchlist search only means something after you name the list. OFAC’s Sanctions List Search covers the SDN list and other OFAC lists. UN, EU, and UK lists are different publications. A PEP file is not a sanctions list.

Official office

Office of Foreign Assets Control

Open the official search

Steps

  1. Screen OFAC first for a U.S. question

    Use the official search or the current SDN file from the Sanctions List Service.

  2. Add the other lists your policy names

    UN, EU, and UK are separate downloads and separate hits.

  3. Treat PEPs as a policy category

    There is no single official U.S. PEP list. Cite the role and the source.

  4. Compare identifiers

    A similar name is not the listed person until date of birth, address, or ID fails to distinguish them.

SDN is one OFAC list among several

Search at sanctionssearch.ofac.treas.gov. The tool uses approximate matching and a confidence slider. OFAC says the tool is not a substitute for due diligence and does not recommend a specific confidence setting.

Downloadable files, including SDN.CSV and the PDF list, are on the Sanctions List Service. A hit on a weak match is a question, not a block, until a person compares the identifiers.

Name the list before you report a hit

Search OFAC at sanctionssearch.ofac.treas.gov. Record the confidence setting, the program code, and the date. OFAC says the tool is not a substitute for due diligence and will not pick the threshold for you.

A government watch list search that dumps every commercial file into one red flag hides the source. Keep OFAC, UN, EU, UK, and PEP in separate lines of the note.

Common mistakes

  • Calling a UN hit an OFAC hit.
  • Calling a PEP a sanctions target.
  • Hiding the match threshold.
  • Using a stale SDN file.

Questions

Where is the official OFAC search?

sanctionssearch.ofac.treas.gov. Data files are on OFAC’s Sanctions List Service.

Is the FBI watch list the SDN list?

No. Do not substitute one government list for another. Screen the list your policy names.

What should I record?

The name you typed, the date, the list, the program code, and how you compared identifiers.

Sources reviewed