If we load OFAC's consolidated file, are we covered for the SDN List?

No. OFAC's Consolidated Sanctions List compiles the non-SDN registers such as SSI, CAPTA and NS-MBS. The SDN List is published separately and has to be ingested in addition, not instead.

Is there one global list we could just use?

There is not. The UN Consolidated List is the closest thing to an international register, but it only carries UN Security Council designations. Autonomous EU, US, UK and national measures sit outside it and frequently go further.

What formats do the authorities publish?

Machine-readable XML, CSV or JSON alongside human-readable HTML and PDF. Field structures differ between authorities, so alias handling, date formats and identifier types all have to be normalised before anything is matched.

SCREENING GLOSSARY · GUIDEUPDATED 2026-09-04

Screening Glossary

Consolidated sanctions lists: which file covers what?

A consolidated sanctions list is a single file in which an authority publishes the designations made under its various regimes, so a screening system loads one dataset instead of dozens of annexes. Each authority means something slightly different by the word.

The EU consolidated list gathers everyone designated under EU restrictive measures. The UN Security Council Consolidated List gathers everyone designated by its sanctions committees. OFAC's Consolidated Sanctions List gathers its non-SDN registers and specifically excludes the SDN List. Loading one file and assuming it covers the others is a gap we still see in working screening programmes.

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What this workflow covers

SCOPE

Ingest the consolidated file, then map each record back to the regime that produced it, so the evidence names the legal instrument.
The same Russian bank can carry a full asset freeze in the EU file and only a debt restriction in the US one. The correct action differs.
Record the file version and timestamp used for every check. A cached file screens yesterday's world without saying so.
No consolidated list is global.

Compliance glossary

TERMS

EU consolidated list: The single register of persons, groups and entities subject to EU financial sanctions, maintained for all EU restrictive-measure regimes.
List version: The dated publication of a list file; recording it makes a past screening result reproducible after the list has changed.

Authoritative references

SOURCES

01
United Nations Security Council Consolidated List
United Nations Security Council
02
EU Sanctions Map
European Union
03
Additional Sanctions Lists
U.S. Department of the Treasury — OFAC

Frequently asked questions

Q&A

If we load OFAC's consolidated file, are we covered for the SDN List?: No. OFAC's Consolidated Sanctions List compiles the non-SDN registers such as SSI, CAPTA and NS-MBS. The SDN List is published separately and has to be ingested in addition, not instead.
Is there one global list we could just use?: There is not. The UN Consolidated List is the closest thing to an international register, but it only carries UN Security Council designations. Autonomous EU, US, UK and national measures sit outside it and frequently go further.
What formats do the authorities publish?: Machine-readable XML, CSV or JSON alongside human-readable HTML and PDF. Field structures differ between authorities, so alias handling, date formats and identifier types all have to be normalised before anything is matched.

Screening Glossary Sanctions list Non-SDN lists OFAC Consolidated Sanctions List EU consolidated list UN Consolidated List Customer screening Sanctions screening