Sanctions screening

Sanctions screening checks names against global sanctions databases. There are two ways to use it:

As part of a search — add sanctionsScreening: true to POST /search to screen the business alongside other data sources
Standalone — use POST /sanctions to screen any name independently, with full control over matching parameters

Coverage

Current maintains indexed copies of 10 sanctions sources, updated regularly:

Source	Key
US OFAC SDN List	`us-sanctions-ofac-sdn`
US OFAC Consolidated (non-SDN)	`us-sanctions-ofac-consolidated`
Canada Public Safety (s.83.05)	`ca-sanctions-terrorist-entities`
Canada Global Affairs (SEMA)	`ca-sanctions-autonomous`
EU DG FISMA	`eu-sanctions-consolidated`
UK FCDO	`uk-sanctions-list`
UN Security Council	`un-sanctions-consolidated`
Netherlands Terrorism List	`nl-sanctions-terrorism`
Australia DFAT	`au-sanctions-consolidated`
Switzerland SECO	`ch-seco-sanctions`

Screening via search

Add sanctionsScreening: true to your search request:

{
  "name": "Acme Corp",
  "sanctionsScreening": true
}

Results appear in the sanctions field of the response. See Response structure for the full schema.

When sanctionsScreening is omitted, whether screening runs follows your account’s configured search settings. Pass sanctionsScreening: true (or false) to override that for a single search.

Configuration

Screening works out of the box with sensible defaults, but you can tune it to match your compliance requirements.

Match threshold

The sanctionsThreshold parameter controls how strict the name matching is (0.7–1, default 0.85). It’s the same 0–1 scale as the matchScore on every result, so you can take a score you’ve seen and use it as a floor:

Threshold	Behavior
0.70–0.79	Cast a wider net — more matches, but more false positives to review
0.80–0.89	Balanced (recommended starting point: 0.85)
0.90–1.00	Stricter — only near-exact name matches, minimal review burden

Lower the threshold if your compliance program requires maximum coverage and you have capacity to review more results. Raise it if you want to reduce noise and are comfortable with a tighter match window.

Screening toggle

Screening is off by default. Enable it per request with sanctionsScreening: true, or enable it for all searches in your dashboard settings. This lets you control costs and only screen when relevant to your workflow.

Response structure

When sanctionsScreening: true, the response includes a sanctions object with query, totalMatches, and matches. An empty matches array means no matches were found — a clear result.

{
  "sanctions": {
    "query": "Acme Corp",
    "totalMatches": 1,
    "matches": [
      {
        "legalName": {
          "name": "ACME CORPORATION",
          "matchScore": 0.91,
          "matchedName": "ACME CORPORATION",
          "nameScores": [
            { "name": "ACME CORPORATION", "score": 0.91 },
            { "name": "Acme Corp", "score": 0.95 }
          ]
        },
        "alternateNames": ["Acme Corp"],
        "addresses": [],
        "details": {
          "source": "us-sanctions-ofac-sdn",
          "datasets": ["us-sanctions-ofac-sdn"],
          "countries": ["US"],
          "programs": [],
          "identifiers": [],
          "listingDate": null,
          "dateOfBirth": null,
          "remarks": null
        },
        "sourceUrls": []
      }
    ]
  }
}

Field	Description
`query`	The name that was screened
`totalMatches`	Number of matched entities (0 = clear)
`legalName.name`	The sanctioned entity’s name as it appears in the database
`legalName.matchScore`	Match confidence (0–1). Higher = more similar to your query.
`legalName.matchedName`	Which name or alias produced the best score
`legalName.nameScores`	Per-name/alias match scores for transparency
`alternateNames`	Other names associated with the sanctioned entity
`details.source`	Which sanctions list flagged this entity
`details.datasets`	All sanctions lists that flagged this entity
`details.countries`	Countries associated with the entity
`sourceUrls`	Direct links to the entity record for human review

How matching works

Screening runs through three stages to find relevant matches while minimizing false positives:

1. Fuzzy search

The business name is searched against all sanctions collections simultaneously using fuzzy text matching. Minor spelling differences, accented characters (e.g., “Müller” vs “Muller”), and punctuation variations are handled automatically so that legitimate matches aren’t missed due to formatting differences.

2. Name similarity scoring

Every candidate result is scored based on how similar the queried name is to the sanctioned entity’s legal name and all known aliases. The highest-scoring name wins. Results below your configured sanctionsThreshold are discarded — this is your primary lever for balancing thoroughness against review volume.

3. Word-level verification

Results that pass the score threshold go through a final check: do the individual words in the business name actually correspond to words in the matched entity’s name? This catches legitimate spelling variations (e.g., “Kapital” matching “Capital”) while filtering out coincidental matches where the overall name looks similar but no individual words actually line up.

Common business designators like “Inc”, “Ltd”, “Corp”, and “GmbH” are ignored during comparison so they don’t affect match quality. “Sberbank Capital Inc” correctly matches “Sberbank Capital Ltd”.

Partial failures

If the sanctions service is unavailable, the search still completes with other data. Check the errors object in the response:

{
  "errors": {
    "businessRegistry": null,
    "regulatoryRegistry": null,
    "sanctionsScreening": {
      "code": "UNAVAILABLE",
      "message": "Sanctions service temporarily unavailable",
      "retryable": true
    },
    "websiteAnalysis": null,
    "general": null
  }
}

errors is null when every source succeeded. Otherwise all five keys are present and the ones that succeeded are null.

Standalone screening

POST /sanctions lets you screen any name without running a full business search. This is useful for batch screening, screening individuals, or integrating sanctions checks into your own workflows.

{
  "query": "Vladimir Putin",
  "entityType": "individual",
  "countries": ["RU"]
}

Request parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`query`	string	required	Name to screen
`typoTolerance`	0, 1, or 2	1	Character edits allowed when matching
`nameVariants`	boolean	true	Search common name variants and transliterations
`entityType`	string	—	Filter to `individual`, `entity`, `vessel`, or `aircraft`
`countries`	string[]	—	Filter by ISO2 country codes
`sources`	string[]	all	Limit to specific sanctions lists (see coverage table)
`dateOfBirth`	string	—	Filter by DOB in `YYYY-MM-DD` format (partial dates accepted)
`threshold`	number	0.85	Minimum match confidence, 0.7–1 — the same scale as `matchScore`. Every match at or above the floor is returned; nothing below it is.
`source`	string	`current`	`current` screens Current’s indexed copies of the sources above; `opensanctions` screens the OpenSanctions match API instead.

Response structure

{
  "meta": {
    "screeningId": "a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890",
    "screenedBy": "you@example.com",
    "screenedAt": "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z",
    "duration": 342,
    "status": "completed",
    "submitted": {
      "query": "Vladimir Putin",
      "entityType": "individual",
      "countries": ["RU"],
      "source": "current",
      "threshold": 0.85
    }
  },
  "results": {
    "totalMatches": 1,
    "matches": [
      {
        "legalName": {
          "name": "Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTIN",
          "matchScore": 0.95,
          "matchedName": "Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTIN",
          "nameScores": [
            { "name": "Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTIN", "score": 0.95 },
            { "name": "Владимир Путин", "score": 0.72 },
            { "name": "Wladimir Putin", "score": 0.88 }
          ]
        },
        "alternateNames": ["Владимир Путин", "Wladimir Putin"],
        "entityType": "individual",
        "details": {
          "source": "us-sanctions-ofac-sdn",
          "countries": ["RU"],
          "programs": ["RUSSIA-EO14024"],
          "identifiers": [],
          "listingDate": "2022-02-25",
          "dateOfBirth": "1952-10-07",
          "remarks": null
        },
        "sourceUrls": ["https://sanctionssearch.ofac.treas.gov/..."]
      }
    ],
    "sourceCounts": {
      "ofacSdn": 1,
      "ofacConsolidated": 0,
      "caTerroristEntities": 0,
      "caAutonomousSanctions": 1,
      "euConsolidated": 1,
      "ukList": 1,
      "unConsolidated": 0,
      "nlTerrorism": 0,
      "auConsolidated": 1,
      "chSeco": 1
    }
  },
  "errors": null
}

`meta`

Field	Description
`screeningId`	UUID for this screening request
`screenedBy`	Email of the user behind the key, or `null` for unattributed API-key calls
`screenedAt`	ISO 8601 timestamp
`duration`	Time in milliseconds
`status`	`completed` or `failed`
`submitted`	Echo of your request parameters, with defaults applied. `query` and `source` are always present; the rest appear only when you sent them.

`results`

totalMatches (count), matches (sorted by matchScore descending), and sourceCounts.

Field	Description
`totalMatches`	Number of matched entities (0 = clear result)
`matches[].legalName.name`	The sanctioned entity’s name as it appears in the database
`matches[].legalName.matchScore`	Match confidence (0–1). Higher = more similar to your query.
`matches[].legalName.matchedName`	Which name or alias produced the best score
`matches[].legalName.nameScores`	Per-name/alias match scores for transparency
`matches[].alternateNames`	Other names and aliases for the entity
`matches[].entityType`	Type of entity (`individual`, `entity`, `vessel`, `aircraft`)
`matches[].details.source`	Which sanctions list flagged this entity
`matches[].details.countries`	Countries associated with the entity
`matches[].details.programs`	Sanctions programs the entity is listed under
`matches[].details.identifiers`	Passport numbers, tax IDs, and other identifying documents
`matches[].details.listingDate`	When the entity was added to the list
`matches[].details.dateOfBirth`	Date of birth for individuals (may be partial)
`matches[].details.remarks`	Additional notes from the sanctions source
`matches[].sourceUrls`	Direct links to the entity record for human review
`sourceCounts`	How many matches were found in each sanctions source, regardless of filtering — useful for gauging the breadth of matches across lists

`errors`

null when screening completes successfully. When status is failed, an object keyed by source:

{
  "errors": {
    "sanctionsScreening": {
      "code": "UPSTREAM_ERROR",
      "message": "Cannot connect to sanctions search service",
      "retryable": true
    }
  }
}

Sanctions screening requires human review. A match indicates similarity between names — it is not a definitive determination. Always have a compliance professional review matches before taking action. The sourceUrls field links directly to the entity record to assist review.

Overview

Guides

Concepts

API Reference

Changelog

Releases

Coverage

Screening via search

Configuration

Match threshold

Screening toggle

Response structure

How matching works

1. Fuzzy search

2. Name similarity scoring

3. Word-level verification

Partial failures

Standalone screening

Request parameters

Response structure

`meta`

`results`

`errors`

​Coverage

​Screening via search

​Configuration

​Match threshold

​Screening toggle

​Response structure

​How matching works

​1. Fuzzy search

​2. Name similarity scoring

​3. Word-level verification

​Partial failures

​Standalone screening

​Request parameters

​Response structure

​meta

​results

​errors

Coverage

Screening via search

Configuration

Match threshold

Screening toggle

Response structure

How matching works

1. Fuzzy search

2. Name similarity scoring

3. Word-level verification

Partial failures

Standalone screening

Request parameters

Response structure

`meta`

`results`

`errors`