Frequently Asked Questions

3 … Each OFAC sanctions program is based on different foreign policy and national security goals, so the prohibitions imposed may vary between programs. Many sanctions programs require blocking the property and interests in property of specific individuals and entities and prohibit dealing in such… Read more

4 … Yes. There may be exceptions to sanctions prohibitions. Exceptions may take the form of authorizations, such as general licenses and specific licenses, or exemptions. OFAC issues general licenses in most of its sanctions programs to authorize certain transactions that would otherwise be… Read more

6 … References to relevant statutes, executive orders, regulations, guidance, general licenses, and sanctions actions for each sanctions program may be found in the Sanctions Programs and Country Information page on OFAC’s website. The OFAC Legal Library page on OFAC’s website also contains links… Read more

247 … The score field indicates the similarity between the name entered and resulting matches on one of OFAC's sanctions lists. It is calculated using two matching logic algorithms: one based upon phonetics, and a second based upon the similarity of the characters in the two strings. The slider bar… Read more

248 … The minimum name score field limits the number of names returned by the search. A value of 100 will return only names that exactly match the characters entered into the name field. A value of 50 will return all names that are deemed to be 50% similar based upon the matching logic of the… Read more

249 … Sanctions List Search will first look for potential matches based on the first letter of  input search terms and by checking for matches at least 50% or more similar based on edit distance (edit distance is the minimum number of operations required to transform the input string of characters… Read more

250 … OFAC cannot make such a recommendation because each search has its own unique set of facts surrounding it. Users of Sanctions List Search must make their own match threshold determinations based upon their own internal risk assessments and established compliance practices. … Does OFAC… Read more

251 … Only the name field influences the score. … What fields influence the score? …

252 … Only the name field uses the fuzzy searching logic. … What fields use fuzzy logic? …

287 … Sanctions List Search is a free tool provided by OFAC to assist the public in complying with sanctions programs. It is intended to be used by individual users that are looking for potential matches on OFAC's sanctions lists. It should not be utilized by automated systems that are configured… Read more