# OFAC Sanctions Screener – Bulk SDN List Fuzzy Name Check (`exprmntl/ofac-sanctions-batch-screener`) Actor

Screen a list of people, companies, vessels or aircraft against the U.S. Treasury OFAC SDN sanctions list in one run, with fuzzy matching for typos, aliases and word order – no API key.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/exprmntl/ofac-sanctions-batch-screener.md
- **Developed by:** [Paul Chavez](https://apify.com/exprmntl) (community)
- **Categories:** Business, Developer tools
- **Security:** Limited permissions
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 0.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

$8.00 / 1,000 name screeneds

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## OFAC Sanctions Screener – Bulk SDN List Name Check with Fuzzy Matching

Screen a list of people, companies, vessels or aircraft against the U.S. Treasury OFAC SDN sanctions list in one run, with fuzzy matching for typos, aliases and word order – no API key.

The Actor downloads the official SDN list files (public-domain U.S. government data from the Sanctions List Service) at the start of a run (cached for the day), so results are always current. No API key and no web scraping.

> **Screening aid only.** This is not legal advice and not a substitute for compliance due diligence. Always verify potential matches in the official OFAC Sanctions List Search before acting. Not affiliated with or endorsed by OFAC / U.S. Treasury.

### OFAC screening use cases: vendors, customers, payees

Vendor / customer onboarding checks, payment and payee list screening, marketplace seller checks, crypto and fintech KYC pre-screening, periodic re-screening of a customer list.

### Input: list of names to screen

| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| `names` (required) | List of names to screen. |
| `minScore` | Minimum match score 50–100 (default 88). Higher = fewer false positives. |
| `maxMatchesPerName` | Max matches returned per name, 1–25 (default 5). |
| `entityType` | `any`, `individual`, `entity`, `vessel`, `aircraft`. |
| `programs` | Optional OFAC program filter, e.g. `["CUBA","SDGT"]`. |

```json
{ "names": ["Banco Nacionl de Cuba", "Acme Plumbing Services LLC"], "minScore": 88, "maxMatchesPerName": 3 }
```

### Output: match score, alias, programs per name

```json
{
  "inputName": "Banco Nacionl de Cuba",
  "status": "POTENTIAL_MATCH",
  "topScore": 98.9,
  "matches": [{
    "uid": "306", "score": 98.9, "matchedName": "BANCO NACIONAL DE CUBA",
    "matchedOn": "primary", "type": "entity", "programs": ["CUBA"],
    "remarks": "a.k.a. 'BNC'.", "aliasCount": 1
  }],
  "listLastModified": "Wed, 28 Oct 2026 14:03:09 GMT",
  "disclaimer": "Screening aid only. ..."
}
```

`status` is `POTENTIAL_MATCH` or `NO_MATCH`. See `samples/output.json` for a real run (typo'd name, alias match, clean name).

### Fuzzy matching accuracy (SDN list test, 19,484 entries)

- 186 of 200 randomly perturbed real SDN names (typos / reordering / dropped words) were found: **93% recall**.
- 0 of 100 random non-sanctioned business names produced a match at the default threshold.
  These are our own tests and do not guarantee results on your data.

### OFAC screening pricing (pay per name)

**$0.008 per name screened** (including names with no match). Batch of 1,000 names = $8.

Related searches: OFAC SDN search, sanctions screening API, sanctions list checker, watchlist screening, AML KYC name check, Treasury SDN fuzzy match.

### Run via API (cURL)

```bash
curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/exprmntl~ofac-sanctions-batch-screener/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"names": ["Banco Nacional de Cuba", "Jon Smith"], "minScore": 88}'
```

### Run from Python

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN")
run = client.actor("exprmntl/ofac-sanctions-batch-screener").call(run_input={"names": ["Banco Nacional de Cuba", "Jon Smith"], "minScore": 88})
for item in client.dataset(run["default_dataset_id"]).iterate_items():
    print(item)
```

Running with no input performs a small demo run with example data.

### FAQ

**How do I check a list of names against the OFAC SDN list?**
Paste the names into `names` (or send them via API). Each name gets a status, top score and the matching SDN entries.

**Does it catch misspellings and aliases?**
Yes. Matching is fuzzy (typos, word order, legal-suffix noise) and covers SDN aliases (AKAs).

**How current is the sanctions data?**
The official SDN files are downloaded from Treasury's Sanctions List Service at run time (cached for a day).

**Can I reduce false positives?**
Raise `minScore` (e.g. 92) or filter by `entityType` and `programs`.

**Is this a compliance-certified tool?**
No. It is a screening aid; verify every potential hit in OFAC's official Sanctions List Search. Not legal advice; not affiliated with OFAC.

# Actor input Schema

## `names` (type: `array`):

People, companies, vessels or aircraft to screen, one per line. Matching also checks all aliases (a.k.a.) on the SDN list.

## `minScore` (type: `integer`):

Only matches at or above this score are returned. 100 = identical after normalisation. Lower values catch more spelling variants but add false positives. 85-90 is a common starting range.

## `maxMatchesPerName` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of potential matches returned for each input name.

## `entityType` (type: `string`):

Only compare against SDN entries of this type.

## `programs` (type: `array`):

Optional. Only return matches tagged with at least one of these program codes (e.g. CUBA, SDGT, RUSSIA-EO14024). Leave empty for all programs.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "names": [
    "Banco Nacional de Cuba",
    "Jon Smith"
  ],
  "minScore": 88,
  "maxMatchesPerName": 5,
  "entityType": "any"
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

One dataset item per input name with status, top score and potential OFAC SDN matches.

## `overview` (type: `string`):

Key fields as a table view.

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "names": [
        "Banco Nacional de Cuba",
        "Jon Smith"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("exprmntl/ofac-sanctions-batch-screener").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "names": [
        "Banco Nacional de Cuba",
        "Jon Smith",
    ] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("exprmntl/ofac-sanctions-batch-screener").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "names": [
    "Banco Nacional de Cuba",
    "Jon Smith"
  ]
}' |
apify call exprmntl/ofac-sanctions-batch-screener --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,exprmntl/ofac-sanctions-batch-screener"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/erl0rxTeu1Xg6rJ00/builds/xQrouFbs2raaa9ncF/openapi.json