Automated SDN list compliance for businesses of all sizes. Screen entities against OFAC sanctions lists in seconds — not hours.
OFAC stands for the Office of Foreign Assets Control, a division of the U.S. Department of the Treasury responsible for administering and enforcing economic and trade sanctions. OFAC maintains several sanctions lists, the most prominent being the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) List, which contains thousands of individuals, companies, and organizations that U.S. persons are prohibited from doing business with.
OFAC screening is the process of checking the names and identifying information of your customers, counterparties, and business partners against these sanctions lists. All U.S. persons — including citizens, permanent residents, entities organized under U.S. law, and anyone physically located in the United States — are required to comply with OFAC regulations. This obligation extends to foreign branches and subsidiaries of U.S. companies.
The consequences of non-compliance are severe. OFAC can impose civil penalties of up to $330,000 per violation under a strict liability standard — meaning you can be penalized even if you had no knowledge that the other party was sanctioned. Criminal violations can result in fines of up to $1 million and imprisonment of up to 20 years. In recent years, OFAC enforcement actions have resulted in penalties totaling hundreds of millions of dollars against financial institutions, technology companies, and other businesses.
Manual OFAC screening — searching names one by one on the OFAC website — is error-prone, time-consuming, and fundamentally unscalable. It fails to account for name variations, transliterations, or aliases, and provides no audit trail. This is why modern businesses rely on automated OFAC screening software to ensure comprehensive, consistent, and documented compliance.
SanctScan is purpose-built OFAC compliance software that combines powerful screening capabilities with an intuitive interface. Here is what sets it apart.
Screen names against the OFAC SDN list with advanced fuzzy matching that catches aliases, transliterations, and alternative spellings. Get results in seconds instead of hours of manual lookup.
Set up ongoing monitoring for your customers and counterparties. SanctScan automatically rescreens monitored entities and sends instant email or webhook alerts when risk profiles change.
Integrate OFAC screening directly into your onboarding flow, payment processing, or KYC workflow with our REST API. Simple JSON requests and responses with comprehensive documentation.
Screen hundreds or thousands of entities at once by uploading a CSV file. Track progress in real time and download results when complete — ideal for periodic portfolio-wide rescreening.
Go beyond OFAC with screening against EU, UK, UN, Australian, Canadian, and Swiss sanctions lists. A single search covers all major international sanctions programs in one pass.
Every potential match receives a confidence-based risk score with full details on which lists triggered the match, the matched aliases, and the source data. Make faster, more informed compliance decisions.
Whether you need a simple OFAC screening tool for occasional checks or a full-featured sanctions screening platform for enterprise compliance, SanctScan scales with your business. Every plan includes access to all seven sanctions lists, risk scoring, and search history.
Get started with automated OFAC compliance in three simple steps. No lengthy onboarding, no implementation consultants — just sign up and start screening.
Type a single name into the search bar for an instant OFAC check, or upload a CSV file containing hundreds of entities for bulk screening. Either way, you get comprehensive results against all supported sanctions lists.
Within seconds, SanctScan returns a detailed screening report showing any potential matches, the confidence-based risk score for each match, which sanctions lists were hit, and the full entity details from the source data.
Add high-priority entities to continuous monitoring with a single click. SanctScan automatically rescreens them whenever sanctions lists are updated and sends you instant alerts via email or webhook if anything changes.
The entire process from account creation to your first OFAC screening takes less than two minutes. SanctScan handles the complexity of fuzzy matching, list updates, and risk scoring behind the scenes so your team can focus on reviewing results and making compliance decisions.
OFAC compliance is not limited to banks. Any business that deals with customers, vendors, or partners must ensure it is not engaging with sanctioned parties. Here are the industries where OFAC screening software is essential.
Subject to BSA/AML requirements and examined by federal regulators for OFAC compliance program effectiveness.
FinCEN-registered MSBs including money transmitters, check cashers, and currency exchanges must screen all transactions.
Digital financial services face the same OFAC obligations as traditional banks, often with higher transaction volumes and faster onboarding.
Must screen all parties in the supply chain — buyers, sellers, shipping companies, and end users — against OFAC lists before every shipment.
OFAC has specifically targeted crypto wallets and protocols. Exchanges must screen wallet addresses and counterparty names.
Required to screen policyholders, claimants, and beneficiaries. OFAC has issued significant penalties to insurers for compliance failures.
FinCEN Geographic Targeting Orders require title companies to identify beneficial owners, and all real estate transactions are subject to OFAC sanctions.
Professional service firms must ensure they are not providing services to sanctioned parties, especially in cross-border transactions.
Regardless of your industry, if your business touches U.S. commerce in any way, OFAC compliance software is not optional — it is a legal requirement. The strict liability standard means that ignorance is not a defense.
Transparent, predictable pricing with no hidden fees. Start free and scale as your compliance needs grow.
See how SanctScan compares to manual OFAC screening processes and traditional enterprise compliance solutions.
| Feature | SanctScan | Manual Process | Enterprise Solutions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Setup time | Minutes | N/A | Weeks to months |
| Cost | From $0/mo | Staff time | $10,000+/year |
| OFAC SDN coverage | Partial | ||
| Additional global lists | 6 more lists | No | Varies |
| API access | No | Usually | |
| Continuous monitoring | No | Sometimes | |
| Bulk screening | No | Usually |
SanctScan bridges the gap between manual processes that do not scale and enterprise solutions that cost tens of thousands of dollars per year. With a generous free tier and plans starting at $29 per month, you get enterprise-grade OFAC screening software at a fraction of the cost — with none of the implementation complexity.
OFAC screening is the process of checking individuals, organizations, and vessels against the sanctions lists maintained by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), a division of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. The primary list is the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) List. Businesses use OFAC screening software to ensure they do not engage in prohibited transactions with sanctioned parties.
OFAC screening should be performed at customer onboarding, before processing any transaction, and on an ongoing basis as sanctions lists are updated frequently — sometimes multiple times per week. Continuous monitoring is the gold standard for compliance, as it automatically rescreens your existing customers and counterparties whenever the SDN list changes.
If a match is found during an OFAC screening, you are required to block the transaction and freeze any assets associated with the designated party. You must file a blocking report with OFAC within 10 business days. Depending on the circumstances, you may also need to file a Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) with FinCEN. Proceeding with a transaction involving a sanctioned party can result in severe civil and criminal penalties.
Yes. OFAC regulations apply to all U.S. persons, which includes U.S. citizens, permanent residents, entities organized under U.S. law, and anyone physically present in the United States. OFAC compliance operates under strict liability — meaning you can be penalized even if you did not know the other party was sanctioned. This is why automated OFAC screening software is essential for businesses of all sizes.
Automated OFAC screening software compares names and identifying information against the SDN list and other sanctions databases using fuzzy matching algorithms. This accounts for transliteration differences, spelling variations, and aliases. Each potential match receives a confidence-based risk score, allowing compliance teams to quickly triage results and focus on high-risk matches rather than manually reviewing every entry.
The SDN list (Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List) is maintained by OFAC and contains the names of individuals, companies, and organizations that are subject to U.S. economic sanctions. The list includes terrorists, narcotics traffickers, and those involved in weapons proliferation, among others. U.S. persons are prohibited from conducting business with anyone on the SDN list, and any assets they hold must be blocked and reported to OFAC.
No credit card required. 100 free screenings every month. Set up your compliance workflow in under two minutes.
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