Frequently Asked Questions

369. Does Sanctions List Search look for potential matches on all of the various sanctions lists that OFAC has published on its website?

369 … Sanctions List Search will look for and return potential matches from the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) and Consolidated Sanctions Lists . The user can look under the List column to see which list(s) a potential match is on. Please see the Consolidated List page for more detailed… Read more

467. Does the Sanctions List Search tool show historic information? For example, does it show names that have been removed from one of OFAC's sanctions lists?

467 … OFAC's Sanctions List Search is updated frequently and always contains the latest versions of OFAC's sanctions lists. Like OFAC's other list-related publications, Sanctions List Search does not contain historical information. Names that have been removed from OFAC's Specially Designated… Read more

253. When conducting a search using the ID field, does Sanctions List Search account for variations in non-alphanumeric characters?

253 … Sanctions List Search’s ID field uses exact character matching to provide users with a result. In order to receive the broadest number of results, users should conduct ID field searches both with and without any non-alphanumeric characters. … When conducting a search using the ID field, does… Read more

79. Does OFAC provide its Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) List in a format that can be easily imported into a database?

79 … Yes. OFAC's SDN list is available in XML, fixed-field and delimited formats that can be imported into a variety of software programs. … Does OFAC provide its Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) List in a format that can be easily imported into a …

80. Does OFAC provide its Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) List in a spreadsheet format?

80 … OFAC publishes the SDN data in a comma separated values format (CSV). This format is recognized by Excel and other spreadsheet programs and can be imported into spreadsheet format by simply opening the file in your default spreadsheet application. … Does OFAC provide its Specially Designated… Read more

422. How do I get a copy of one or more of OFAC’s other sanctions lists (in addition to the Specially Designated Nationals list)?

422 … OFAC maintains other sanctions lists in addition to its Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list . The names on these lists may also appear on the SDN list when such targets have a blocking provision associated with them. However, when the treatment of sanctions targets is unique and stops… Read more

83. How are OFAC's delimited files structured?

83 … All of OFAC's delimited files are described in OFAC's SDN data file specification guide and non-SDN data specification guide . In addition, OFAC published a tutorial on how to construct a basic relational database using OFAC’s delimited list files … How are OFAC's delimited files …

81. What is the delimiter in OFAC's delimited files?

81 … The delimiter varies based upon the file type. Files that end in .CSV have a comma delimiter. Files that end in .FF have a fixed width delimiter. … What is the delimiter in OFAC's delimited files? …

88. I am a developer looking to design an automated process that will download OFAC's Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list and other sanctions lists without human intervention. How can I do this given that changes to the sanctions lists can be sporadic?

88 … OFAC cannot give specific advice on how to design an automated system for downloading its sanctions list data. Many institutions solve this problem by setting up a scheduled download of the SDN List and other sanctions lists . These firms conduct their own risk assessments and decide how often… Read more

89. I am a database administrator at a financial institution and am responsible for keeping my company's sanctions list data current. Are OFAC's sanctions lists comprehensive or do I need to download some kind of supplement to the list every time there is an update?

89 … The SDN list and OFAC's non-SDN Consolidated lists are comprehensive. Database administrators can overwrite any old data in their systems with the latest versions of the list's data files, thus ensuring that their database is current … I am a database administrator at a financial institution… Read more

Frequently Asked Questions

Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence