Free Sanctions Check
Instantly check any person or company against OFAC SDN, UN Security Council, EU, UK, and other global sanctions lists. No sign-up, no email — just type a name and search.
Screening against 90,819 entries from global sanctions databases. Last updated 2 weeks ago.
Educational Tool Only. This tool is provided for educational and informational purposes and does not constitute legal, regulatory, or professional advice. Results should not be used as the sole basis for any compliance or business decision.
No Guarantee of Accuracy. While this tool is based on recognised regulatory frameworks, LexFlag does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or currency of the results. Regulations change frequently and may vary by jurisdiction.
Independent Verification Required. You should consult qualified professionals and independently verify any results before making any decisions. LexFlag and its affiliates accept no liability for any loss or damage arising from the use of this tool.
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Explore Compliance GamesWhat This Tool Checks
OFAC SDN List
U.S. Treasury's Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List.
UN Sanctions
United Nations Security Council Consolidated Sanctions List.
EU Sanctions
European Union Consolidated Financial Sanctions List.
UK & More
UK OFSI, World Bank Debarment, ICIJ Offshore Leaks, and more.
How It Works
Enter a Name
Type any person or company name. No account or registration needed.
Instant Screening
We search across OFAC, UN, EU, UK, and other global sanctions databases in seconds.
Review Results
See which sanctions lists returned matches, with entity details and country information.
Need More Than a Quick Check?
This free tool provides basic name matching against public sanctions lists. For production-grade compliance screening, our paid tools offer:
- Intelligent fuzzy matching to catch name variations
- PEP screening and adverse media checks
- Beneficial ownership analysis
- Structured, audit-ready compliance reports
- Batch screening and ongoing monitoring
- Court records and financial database checks
Frequently Asked Questions
How Sanctions Screening Works and Why It Matters
A sanctions check is the process of comparing a person or entity name against lists published by government agencies and international bodies. The most widely referenced is the OFAC Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list, maintained by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Other critical sources include UN Security Council consolidated lists, EU restrictive-measures registers, and UK OFSI sanctions data. Every financial institution is required to screen customers, counterparties, and beneficial owners against these lists as part of its customer identification program (CIP) and broader anti-money laundering obligations.
Who Needs a Sanctions Check?
Sanctions screening is not limited to banks. Any business that handles financial activity — including payment processors, insurance firms, money services businesses, fintech companies, and cryptocurrency exchanges — must verify the identities of their customers and confirm they do not appear on a sanctions database. Law enforcement and regulatory agencies such as the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) expect organisations to implement risk-based procedures for verifying customer identities, maintaining customer information, and filing reports on suspicious activities. Failure to screen can result in severe civil and criminal penalties.
What This Free Tool Does
Our sanctions check free tool lets you search a name against multiple sanctions lists in seconds. It performs approximate string matching to catch transliterations and spelling variations, returning results ranked by confidence score. Each result shows the matched name, entity type, associated sanctions programs, and linked data topics. While this tool provides a strong starting point for identity verification and initial due diligence, production-grade compliance programs require ongoing monitoring, fuzzy matching across aliases, and audit-ready reporting — capabilities offered by our professional screening platform.
Sanctions Screening Best Practices
Effective screening goes beyond a one-time name check. Compliance teams should re-screen customers whenever sanctions lists are updated, when customer information changes, and during periodic KYC reviews. Integrating screening into your onboarding workflow reduces the chance of processing transactions with sanctioned parties. Complement your sanctions check with checks against politically exposed persons (PEP) databases, adverse-media sources, and government issued identification records. Use our sanctions by country tool to understand geographic risk, the AML red flags checklist to evaluate behavioural indicators, and the CDD checklist generator to ensure your due diligence documentation is complete.
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Start AssessmentDatabase Statistics
View total entities by dataset, type breakdowns, top 20 countries, and data freshness information.
View StatisticsNeed Help?
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