OFAC Sanctions Name Screening

Screen supplied counterparty names against the current public US Treasury OFAC Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) CSV. Each candidate row identifies the input, SDN ID, listed name, matching primary name or alias, similarity, and the official source downloads. The Actor downloads the list on each run and compares names locally; it does not send your names to OFAC.

Candidate matches are informational, not sanctions or compliance verdicts. A name match cannot establish identity, and no match cannot establish clearance. Review identifiers and official records with your compliance team.

Who is this for?

Vendor onboarding teams, counterparty analysts, and researchers who need a reproducible list of candidate names for human review. This tool screens the SDN CSV only; it does not cover all OFAC lists, historical removals, ownership, beneficial owners, or all denied-party registers.

Why use this Actor?

• Submit up to 100 names in one input; download the official SDN and ALT (alias) CSV files once per run.
• Receive per-input match provenance, SDN IDs and aliases rather than a full-list export.
• Compare recurring exported datasets yourself to spot changed candidates. No built-in alerts, identity verification or automatic decisions.

Getting started

1. Enter one or more names into Names to screen.
2. Set Minimum name similarity (default 0.88). Set 1 for normalized exact matches.
3. Run the Actor and inspect the default dataset; no-match names produce no rows.
4. Independently check candidate identifiers and the official OFAC data before any decision.

Input parameters

Field	Default	Description
names	Required	1–100 names, each 3–150 characters.
minimumScore	0.88	Whole-name normalized edit similarity, 0.8–1.
maxMatchesPerName	10	Highest-scoring candidates per input, 1–50.

Example: {"names":["BANCO NACIONAL DE CUBA","BNC","A Name Not In The List"],"minimumScore":0.88}.

Output fields

One row per candidate, in the default dataset. inputName is the supplied name; sdnId is the OFAC identifier; sdnName is the primary entry; matchedName and matchType identify which name matched (primary or alias). similarity ranges from 0 to 1. aliases includes ALT CSV entries and quoted aliases in the SDN remarks. sdnType, programs, and remarks reflect fields in the SDN CSV (nullable). sourceUrl, aliasSourceUrl, and fetchedAt record provenance.

For example, a current official-list input BNC matched SDN ID 306, primary name BANCO NACIONAL DE CUBA, alias BNC, score 1; the alias source is https://www.treasury.gov/ofac/downloads/alt.csv. Actual source records may change.

How much does it cost to screen OFAC SDN names?

Pay-per-event pricing includes one start charge per run and one item charge for each returned candidate row, not each submitted name. Check the current Actor pricing panel for active plan-tier rates. For example, at the current $0.0035 start and $0.0024 BRONZE item price, one match costs $0.0059 and ten matches $0.0275 in Actor fees; zero matches still incur the start charge. Platform usage costs may vary by run. Other tiers differ: FREE $0.00276, SILVER $0.001872, GOLD/PLATINUM/DIAMOND $0.00144 per candidate.

Integrations and recurring review

Export the dataset as CSV or JSON to a spreadsheet or internal case queue. Schedule another run with the same inputs and compare retrieved timestamps, IDs and matched names in your own workflow; the Actor does not monitor changes or email alerts. Keep an audit trail of manual review and source timestamps.

API usage

Start an Apify run with the Actor API (replace YOUR_TOKEN):

curl -X POST 'https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/automation-lab~ofac-sanctions-name-screening/runs?token=YOUR_TOKEN' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' -d '{"names":["BNC"]}'

JavaScript with apify-client:

import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';
const client = new ApifyClient({ token: process.env.APIFY_TOKEN });
const run = await client.actor('automation-lab/ofac-sanctions-name-screening').call({ names: ['BNC'] });
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
console.log(items);

Python with apify-client:

import os
from apify_client import ApifyClient
client = ApifyClient(os.environ['APIFY_TOKEN'])
run = client.actor('automation-lab/ofac-sanctions-name-screening').call(run_input={'names': ['BNC']})
items = client.dataset(run['defaultDatasetId']).list_items().items
print(items)

Read the returned default dataset ID through the Apify API to retrieve match rows. Protect your API token and handle sensitive input data according to your own policies.

MCP usage

For Claude Code: claude mcp add --transport http apify "https://mcp.apify.com?tools=automation-lab/ofac-sanctions-name-screening". Ask: “Screen BNC against the current OFAC SDN CSV and list candidate IDs for review.” Claude Desktop, Cursor and VS Code MCP clients can configure {"mcpServers":{"apify":{"url":"https://mcp.apify.com?tools=automation-lab/ofac-sanctions-name-screening"}}}. Example prompts: “Screen BANCO NACIONAL DE CUBA and return official SDN IDs” and “Screen these supplier names and summarize the candidate alias fields.”

Legality and responsible use

This is a string similarity tool, not an official OFAC screening or legal opinion. Names may be duplicated across people or entities; spelling variants, non-Latin scripts, changed records and non-SDN lists can lead to missed matches. Similarity scores do not represent probability of identity. Download failures or malformed source files fail the run rather than silently using stale data. Do not use results as the sole basis for denying services or asserting sanctions status. Consult the official OFAC search and applicable legal professionals.

FAQ

Why did I get no rows? No candidate met the minimum similarity threshold in the downloaded SDN file. Try a supported spelling variant or lower the threshold, then review results manually.

Why did the run fail? The official files may be unavailable or structurally changed; retry later and inspect the run log. A failed run is not evidence that a name is clear.

Is this the complete US denied-party database? No. Only official public SDN and associated ALT CSV names are screened.

Related Actors

OFAC Sanctions List Export Scraper exports bulk list records rather than mapping supplied names to candidates. SAM.gov Entity Exclusions Scraper covers a different government exclusion source.