Sanctions list search: OFAC, EU, UN and UK lists, and how to screen a counterparty properly

Five official lists cover most of what a European company has to check: the US OFAC SDN list and Consolidated Screening List, the EU consolidated list, the UN Security Council list and the UK Sanctions List. This guide says where each is published and searched, why a single name search is not a screening, and which of these lists the Prometiam API screens (in beta).

The short answer

For a one-off check of one name, use the official search tool of each list below. For a counterparty you onboard or keep doing business with, a manual search is not enough: you need to check the company, its officers and its owners, allow for aliases and spelling, and repeat the check when the lists change. That is what a screening process, or an API, is for.

The main sanctions lists and where to search them

  • OFAC SDN list (United States). The Specially Designated Nationals list of the US Treasury. OFAC’s Sanctions List Search tool, at sanctionssearch.ofac.treas.gov, searches the SDN list and the non-SDN consolidated sanctions lists, and uses fuzzy logic on its name field to find potential matches.
  • US Consolidated Screening List (CSL). A list of parties for which the US government maintains restrictions on certain exports, reexports or transfers of items. It consolidates multiple export screening lists of the Departments of Commerce, State and the Treasury. The CSL search engine at trade.gov/data-visualization/csl-search has a fuzzy name search, and the CSL is also available through an API.
  • EU consolidated list. The consolidated list of persons, groups and entities subject to EU financial sanctions, managed by DG FISMA, which reflects the officially adopted texts published in the Official Journal of the EU. It can be downloaded at webgate.ec.europa.eu/fsd/fsf. The EU Sanctions Map at sanctionsmap.eu gives the details of each EU sanctions regime and its legal acts.
  • UN Security Council Consolidated List. All individuals and entities subject to measures imposed by the Security Council, published on the UN Security Council website at main.un.org/securitycouncil/en/content/un-sc-consolidated-list.
  • UK Sanctions List. GOV.UK states that the UK Sanctions List is now the only source for all UK sanctions designations, and that the OFSI Consolidated List of Asset Freeze Targets closed on 28 January 2026 and is no longer updated. The list has an interactive search tool at search-uk-sanctions-list.service.gov.uk and is also published as XML, CSV and other formats.

The lists are separate legal instruments from separate authorities. Being absent from one says nothing about the others, and each is updated on its own schedule.

What screening a counterparty properly means

  • Names and aliases. A listed party can carry several names. A search has to match the alias a person or company is listed under, not only the primary name.
  • Spelling and transliteration. Names in Cyrillic, Arabic, Greek and other scripts reach a list in several Latin spellings. An exact-match search misses them, so matching must tolerate variants and return a score you can set a threshold on.
  • False positives. Common names match. Date of birth and country narrow a person match; keep a record of why a hit was cleared.
  • Ownership and control. OFAC’s 50 Percent Rule (FAQ 399) applies to entities owned 50 percent or more in the aggregate by one or more blocked persons. A search on a company’s name does not show who owns it, so screen its officers and owners as well as the company, and read the owners from the register where it publishes them.
  • Change over time. A clean result today is not a clean result next month. Lists add and remove parties continuously; the UN list, for instance, was updated on 5 October 2026. Screening is repeated, or the counterparty is put on a watchlist.

How the Prometiam API screens

GET /sanctions/screen matches a person or entity name against six sources in one call: the EU consolidated list, the UN sanctions list, OFAC (the SDN list), the UK Sanctions List (the list value is OFSI in the API), the French Registre national des gels and the US Consolidated Screening List. The sources are refreshed daily. Sanctions screening is in beta: the API specification says not to use it as the sole sanctions control until it is announced as generally available.

  • Trigram fuzzy matching with a confidence score from 0 to 100 and a threshold you set (50 to 100, default 80).
  • Names in non-Latin scripts are transliterated to Latin letters, in your query and in the listed names, before matching.
  • entity_type for persons, entities or vessels, with optional date of birth and country to cut false positives.
  • Each hit returns the source list, the name or alias it matched and a link to the official entry.
  • POST /sanctions/screen screens up to 50 names in one call; GET /sanctions/changes lists additions, removals and amendments; the watchlist re-screens your counterparties against each list change and can call a webhook.

On the UK source: GOV.UK says the OFSI consolidated list closed on 28 January 2026 and that the UK Sanctions List is now the only source of UK designations. For UK exposure, use the UK Sanctions List search as your reference and confirm any UK result there.

To screen a company the way this guide describes, send the legal name and then the officers returned by GET /companies/{id}, and for UK companies the persons with significant control, which come back as appointments flagged is_beneficial_owner.

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer rk_live_your_api_key" "https://api.prometiam.com/functions/v1/risk-api/sanctions/screen?name=Acme%20Trading%20S.A.&threshold=85"

What the API does not cover

Adverse media is not covered. PEP screening is beta, Spain only, through include_pep=true, and contains no relatives or close associates. The 50 Percent Rule and ownership chains are not calculated for you: the API returns list matches for the names you send. A hit is a prompt to investigate, not a determination.

Try it on the free trial

The 14-day free trial (500 credits, card required, nothing charged for 14 days) lets you try up to 25 single-name screening calls a month; batch screening is not part of the trial. Full screening with watchlists and webhooks is on the Professional plan and above (EUR 29.99 a month), and Starter includes sanctions watchlist monitoring. There is no free screening tool on this site: the check is a paid scope with a small trial allowance.

FAQ

What is the OFAC SDN list?
The Specially Designated Nationals list of the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. OFAC’s Sanctions List Search tool searches it, together with the non-SDN consolidated sanctions lists, using fuzzy logic on the name field.

What is the difference between the SDN list and the Consolidated Screening List?
The SDN list is OFAC’s sanctions list. The Consolidated Screening List consolidates multiple export screening lists of the US Departments of Commerce, State and the Treasury, and is used to check parties subject to restrictions on exports, reexports or transfers of items.

Where do I search the UK sanctions list?
On the UK Sanctions List search tool at search-uk-sanctions-list.service.gov.uk. GOV.UK states that this list is now the only source for UK sanctions designations and that the OFSI consolidated list closed on 28 January 2026.

Does the API screen the UK sanctions list?
The API screens the UK Sanctions List (the list value is OFSI), next to the EU, UN, OFAC SDN, French gels and US Consolidated Screening List sources. Because the UK Sanctions List is now the only source of UK designations, confirm any UK result on the UK Sanctions List itself.

Is sanctions screening with Prometiam free?
Not beyond the trial. The free trial allows up to 25 single-name screening calls a month to try it, batch screening is not included, and full screening is a paid scope from the Professional plan. Sanctions screening is in beta.

Sources (official sites, checked 7 October 2026)

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Related

Sanctions screening API (beta) · Screen sanctions in JavaScript · Export-control screening (beta) · KYB onboarding · What is KYB? · KYB API · Free UK company check · Pricing

Frequently asked questions

What is the OFAC SDN list?
The Specially Designated Nationals list of the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. OFAC’s Sanctions List Search tool searches it, together with the non-SDN consolidated sanctions lists, using fuzzy logic on the name field.
What is the difference between the SDN list and the Consolidated Screening List?
The SDN list is OFAC’s sanctions list. The Consolidated Screening List consolidates multiple export screening lists of the US Departments of Commerce, State and the Treasury, and is used to check parties subject to restrictions on exports, reexports or transfers of items.
Where do I search the UK sanctions list?
On the UK Sanctions List search tool at search-uk-sanctions-list.service.gov.uk. GOV.UK states that this list is now the only source for UK sanctions designations and that the OFSI consolidated list closed on 28 January 2026.
Does the API screen the UK sanctions list?
The API screens the UK Sanctions List (the list value is OFSI), next to the EU, UN, OFAC SDN, French gels and US Consolidated Screening List sources. Because the UK Sanctions List is now the only source of UK designations, confirm any UK result on the UK Sanctions List itself.
Is sanctions screening with Prometiam free?
Not beyond the trial. The free trial allows up to 25 single-name screening calls a month to try it, batch screening is not included, and full screening is a paid scope from the Professional plan. Sanctions screening is in beta.