SANCTIONS LISTS AND WATCHLISTS EXPLAINED · GUIDEUPDATED 2026-09-04
Sanctions Lists and Watchlists Explained
UK Sanctions List: the single source since the OFSI list closed on 28 January 2026
Since 28 January 2026 the FCDO's UK Sanctions List is the only UK designation source: 6,334 designations, 58 fields, the richest ship schema, one CSV.
If your pipeline still pulls ConList.csv, it is reading a closed list. The OFSI Consolidated List of Asset Freeze Targets closed on 28 January 2026, and since that date the UK Sanctions List, published by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, is the only source for UK sanctions designations. It names the people, entities and ships designated or specified under regulations made under the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018. Records still carry an OFSI Group ID, so historic references resolve, and a UN reference number where the designation mirrors a UN listing. The list is published in ODT, ODS, XML, HTML, TXT, CSV and PDF with an XSD schema, and there is a separate hosted search tool. On ship identifiers it is the richest of the major lists, which matters if you screen shipping or trade finance.
What this workflow covers
SCOPE- 6,334 designations in the CSV downloaded on 4 September 2026, report date 3 September 2026: 4,027 individuals, 1,643 entities and 664 ships
- ConList.csv stopped on 28 January 2026; the FCDO UK Sanctions List is the replacement
- Identifiers per record: a Unique ID (a regime prefix plus a number, such as AFG0001), the OFSI Group ID for continuity with the closed list, and a UN reference number where the listing mirrors a UN one
- 58 fields per row, including up to six name parts, non-Latin script name with script type and language, date of birth, nationality, passport number, national identifier, position, six address lines, the regime name, designation type, designation source, sanctions imposed, the UK Statement of Reasons and the date designated
- Ships add IMO number, current and previous owner or operator, current believed flag, previous flags, ship type, tonnage, length, year built and hull identification number
- Files at https://sanctionslist.fcdo.gov.uk/docs/: UK-Sanctions-List.csv (about 50 MB), .html, .xml, .txt, .odt, .ods and .pdf, plus an XSD; hosted search at search-uk-sanctions-list.service.gov.uk
- Report date on the first line of the CSV and a Last Updated date on every row, so two downloads can be diffed without a separate change file
- Ownership and control, not a bare 50 percent rule: more than 50 percent of the shares or voting rights, the right to appoint or remove a majority of the board, or a reasonable expectation that the designated person can ensure the affairs are conducted in accordance with their wishes
- Not in it: the trade, transport and financial-services restrictions that apply by sector rather than by name, and the Home Office list of proscribed terrorist organisations
- False positives to expect: Russian and Belarusian names in several transliterations (both Latin and Cyrillic forms are stored), ship names reused across unrelated hulls, and partial-string matches on long regime names
Key statistics
DATA- Designations on the UK Sanctions List, report date 3 September 2026
- 6,334 (4,027 individuals, 1,643 entities, 664 ships)
- Counted from UK-Sanctions-List.csv
- OFSI Consolidated List closure
- Closed 28 January 2026; UK Sanctions List is now the only source
- GOV.UK, Financial sanctions: consolidated list of targets (withdrawn)
- Fields published per designation
- 58, including IMO number and hull identification number for ships
- UK Sanctions List CSV header
Compliance glossary
TERMS- UK Sanctions List
- The FCDO register of persons, entities and ships designated or specified under regulations made under the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018. Since 28 January 2026 it is the single source for UK designations.
- OFSI Group ID
- The identifier used by the now-closed OFSI Consolidated List. It is retained as a field on UK Sanctions List records so that historic case files and older screening evidence still reconcile.
- Designation type
- The field stating whether a UK Sanctions List record is an Individual, an Entity or a Ship. It determines which identifier block — date of birth and passport, registration number, or IMO and flag — is available to match on.
- Statement of Reasons
- The published narrative explaining why a person or entity was designated under a UK regime. It is part of the record and is the text a reviewer reads when assessing whether a candidate match is plausible.
- SAMLA 2018
- The Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018, the primary legislation under which UK autonomous sanctions regulations are made and under which designations on the UK Sanctions List are imposed.
Authoritative references
SOURCES- 01The UK Sanctions List
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
- 02UK Sanctions List publication files
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
- 03Search the UK Sanctions List
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
- 04Financial sanctions: consolidated list of targets (withdrawn 28 January 2026)
Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, HM Treasury
Frequently asked questions
Q&A- What does a UK Sanctions List record actually contain?
- The regime, the designation type, the measures imposed, the UK Statement of Reasons and the identifiers used to confirm a match, for every person, entity and ship designated or specified under regulations made under the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018. The Statement of Reasons is the part a reviewer reads; the identifier fields are the part a matcher uses.
- Is the OFSI consolidated list still being updated?
- No. The OFSI Consolidated List of Asset Freeze Targets closed on 28 January 2026, and gov.uk states that the UK Sanctions List is now the only source for all UK sanctions designations. The OFSI Group ID survives as a field on UK Sanctions List records, so older case files and screening evidence still reconcile.
- Do we pay for the UK Sanctions List or the search tool?
- No. The full list is published free in seven formats with an XSD schema at sanctionslist.fcdo.gov.uk, and the hosted search at search-uk-sanctions-list.service.gov.uk is free as well. Neither asks for registration or a key.
- How do we match ships against the UK list?
- On IMO number, not on name. The list held 664 ship designations on 3 September 2026, each carrying IMO number, current and previous owners or operators, current and previous flags, ship type, tonnage, length, year built and hull identification number, which is more than any other major list publishes. Ship names change and are reused; the IMO number stays with the hull.
- How often does the UK Sanctions List change?
- Whenever designations are made, amended or revoked, with no fixed calendar. The published file carries a report date on its first line and each row carries its own Last Updated date, so a pipeline can see exactly which designations moved between two downloads without a delta feed. The UK Sanctions List is one of the main jurisdictions on the ScreenVeritAI coverage register, screened by default, and the Quick Check evidence PDF is the record of what it said on the date you ran it.
- We have a UK sanctions hit. Who do we report it to?
- Confirm the match against the identifiers in the record first. Then apply the asset freeze and the prohibition on making funds or economic resources available to or for the designated person's benefit, and report financial-sanctions breaches and suspicions to OFSI. For trade measures, consider whether HMRC or the Department for Business and Trade is the relevant authority.
- What is the quickest way to get the UK Sanctions List into a pipeline?
- Take it straight from https://sanctionslist.fcdo.gov.uk/docs/UK-Sanctions-List.csv, or the .xml if you want the published schema. The CSV is around 50 MB because the Statement of Reasons text is long. Its first line is a report date, so skip it before parsing the header row.
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