SANCTIONS LISTS AND WATCHLISTS EXPLAINED · GUIDEUPDATED 2026-09-04
Sanctions Lists and Watchlists Explained
The UN Security Council Consolidated List is one file, not one regime
The UN Consolidated List: 1,011 names, committees that each set their own measures, reference prefixes that route a hit, 'na' fields, and where the XML is.
Two names on the UN Consolidated List can carry different measures, and the file will not tell you which. It is one document, assembled by the UN Secretariat from the lists maintained by the individual sanctions committees, ISIL (Da'esh) and Al-Qaida, the 1988 Committee on the Taliban, DPRK, Libya, Yemen, Haiti, Central African Republic, South Sudan and the rest, and each committee's own page states which of the asset freeze, travel ban and arms embargo attaches to a given name. The permanent reference number is the key: its prefix identifies the regime and routes a hit to the right committee. Member states are obliged to implement the measures specified for each listing, and they do so through EU regulations, UK regulations and national statutes rather than through the UN file itself. The list is free, published in XML, HTML and PDF in two orderings, and small enough that there is no technical excuse for not screening it.
What this workflow covers
SCOPE- 1,011 records in the XML generated on 3 September 2026 and downloaded 4 September: 736 individuals and 275 entities and other groups; the UN's own page reported the same figures, last updated 27 August 2026
- Reference prefixes route a hit: QD for the Al-Qaida regime, CF for the Central African Republic, TAi and TAe for the Taliban, and so on
- Fields: permanent reference number, DATAID, name in up to four parts, title, designation, date and place of birth, aliases marked good or low quality, nationality, listed-on and last-updated dates, address, and a comments field with narrative detail
- 'na' means the committee has not obtained that identifier, not that the field is empty by design
- Two orderings, three formats: alphabetical and by permanent reference number, each as PDF, XML and HTML; the machine-readable file is https://scsanctions.un.org/resources/xml/en/consolidated.xml, about 2 MB
- Each change comes with a press release in the relevant committee's Press releases section, and every consolidated file states that it supersedes all previous versions
- No UN 50 percent rule: the freezes reach funds and assets owned or controlled directly or indirectly by a listed party, and the implementing law in your jurisdiction supplies the operative ownership test
- Narrative summaries of reasons for listing sit on the committees' web pages, not in the consolidated file
- False positives are driven by Arabic, Pashto and Somali names in Latin transliteration with aliases graded 'low', by the large share of year-only or 'approximately' birth dates, and by entities described by function rather than by a registered legal name
- National and regional lists transpose UN designations with a lag, so screening only the UN file understates exposure and screening only the EU or UK file can miss a designation not yet transposed
Key statistics
DATA- Records on the UN Consolidated List, 4 September 2026
- 1,011 (736 individuals, 275 entities and other groups)
- UN Security Council Consolidated List page and consolidated.xml
- Last update stated on the UN list page
- 27 August 2026 — supersedes all previous versions
- UN Security Council Consolidated List page
- Published formats
- XML, HTML and PDF, in alphabetical and permanent reference number order
- UN Security Council Consolidated List page
Compliance glossary
TERMS- Permanent reference number
- The identifier assigned to each UN listing, whose prefix indicates the sanctions regime — QD for Al-Qaida, CF for the Central African Republic, TAi and TAe for the Taliban — and which stays with the entry across updates.
- Sanctions committee
- The subsidiary body of the Security Council that manages one sanctions regime: it designates names, publishes narrative summaries of reasons for listing, and states which measures apply to each listing.
- Narrative summary
- The committee-published explanation of why a person or entity was listed. It is not in the consolidated file; it sits on the relevant committee's web page and is the text a reviewer reads when assessing a candidate match.
- 'na' (not available)
- The value used in a UN list field when the committee has not obtained that identifier. It signals missing data rather than an absent attribute, and it is a major driver of false positives on this list.
- Focal Point for De-listing
- The Secretariat mechanism through which a listed individual or entity can submit a de-listing request to the relevant committee, alongside the Ombudsperson process for the ISIL (Da'esh) and Al-Qaida regime.
Authoritative references
SOURCES- 01United Nations Security Council Consolidated List
United Nations Security Council
- 02Consolidated list XML export
United Nations Security Council
- 03Security Council sanctions committees
United Nations Security Council
Frequently asked questions
Q&A- Is the UN Consolidated List a single sanctions regime?
- No. It is one file combining every individual and entity subject to measures imposed by the Security Council, assembled from the separate sanctions committee lists as an implementation convenience. Being on it does not mean a name is listed under one regime or that the same measures apply to every entry; the committee decides that.
- How often does the UN list change?
- Whenever a sanctions committee adds, amends or removes a name. The list page states the date it was last updated, 27 August 2026 as at 4 September 2026, and says that version supersedes all previous ones. A press release accompanies every change and is posted in the relevant committee's Press releases section.
- Where do we get the UN list, and does it cost anything?
- Nothing. XML, HTML and PDF versions are published free at scsanctions.un.org and on the Security Council website, in both alphabetical order and permanent reference number order. There is a mailing list for change notifications and a Secretariat contact address for questions about the lists.
- We have a UN list hit. Which measures apply?
- It depends on the committee. Some listings carry an asset freeze, a travel ban and an arms embargo; others carry fewer. Take the entry's permanent reference number, read the committee page its prefix points to, then apply the implementing law in your own jurisdiction, because the operative prohibition comes from that instrument rather than from the UN file.
- We already screen the EU and UK lists. Is the UN file redundant?
- No. EU and UK regimes transpose UN designations, but not instantly, and the transposed record can carry different identifiers or spellings. Screening the UN file alongside the regional lists closes the transposition gap and gives you the UN reference number, the key for reconciling one person across three registers. Every ScreenVeritAI check screens the UN Consolidated List by default as one of the main jurisdictions on the coverage register, next to the EU and UK files, and a Quick Check stores the outcome as a point-in-time evidence PDF.
- What does 'na' in a UN entry mean for matching?
- Not available: the committee has not been able to obtain that identifier. It appears frequently in the date of birth, place of birth and passport fields, so a large share of UN entries can only be compared on name and nationality. Expect a higher false-positive rate on this list than on OFAC or the UK, and record that the identifier was absent rather than that it matched.
- Are vessels on the UN Consolidated List?
- The consolidated list is structured as individuals and entities. Designated vessels are handled separately by the Security Council, principally under the DPRK regime, and are published as their own list rather than as records inside the consolidated file.
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