{
  "id": 14060670,
  "title": "Screen a list of names against the OFAC sanctions list, with a record of every check",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/12/screen-a-list-of-names-against-the-ofac-sanctions-list-with-a-record",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-10-12T22:43:58.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Dev.to",
    "slug": "dev-to",
    "url": "https://dev.to/mooseandraven/screen-a-list-of-names-against-the-ofac-sanctions-list-with-a-record-of-every-check-18h"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "This Apify actor addresses a gap in checking lists of names against the U.S. Treasury OFAC sanctions lists. When you provide an array or CSV text of names, optionally including reference IDs, dates of birth, and countries, the actor checks them against the OFAC SDN and Consolidated lists, along with alias files, and returns a verdict for each name: clear, possible, or hit. The verdict includes the top 3 candidate matches. The matching process involves exact substring matching on listed names and aliases, plus a fuzzy score tolerant to typos and word-order, with transliteration folding. If a date of birth or country supplied conflicts with the listing, the name's verdict is lowered to \"possible,\" making it visible in the per-name summary for human review. Every check is recorded in a CSV file in the actor's key-value store in the user's Apify account, providing a record of what names were screened and when. The actor operates on a pay-per-event basis, costing $0.02 per name screened, $0.004 per matched record, $0.05 per scheduled monitor run, and $4.00 per 1,000 records for a full-list export, with no monthly subscription or API key required. However, there are limitations to consider. The actor screens only listed parties and does not perform OFAC's 50% rule or ownership checks, which means a name not on the list could still be owned 50% or more by blocked persons. Additionally, it is a screening aid, not legal advice, and not a certified compliance engine like enterprise AML platforms. The match quality is high, with 97.5% of machine-generated misspellings of real SDN names correctly identified as hit or possible, but it does not guarantee catching all real-world sanctioned parties or test other transliterations or unlisted owned entities. The OFAC list changes daily, so the match quality figure may drift. Finally, a separate test showed 16.5% of 200 common names came back as false hits, so every hit and possible name should be reviewed by a human before taking any action. The actor processes data in a legacy CSV format, which OFAC publishes but lacks documentation, meaning Treasury could change the format without notice. Additionally, uncapped full-list exports may exceed Apify's per-run cost limit and abort partway, so setting a cap is advised. The actor can be accessed at the following URL: https://apify.com/mooseandraven/ofac-sanctions-screening-suite. If any issues or missing information are found, an issue should be opened on the actor's page.",
  "summary": "If you only screen a handful of customers or vendors a month, enterprise screening subscriptions are hard to justify. Treasury's own search at sanctionssearch.ofac.treas.gov works for one name at a time. The gap is when you have a list and want a record of what you checked. I built an Apify actor for that gap. Here is what it does, what it costs, and where it falls short. What it does You give it…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}