What is OFAC?
OFAC is the U.S. Treasury office that administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions. It publishes the SDN List and non-SDN sanctions lists, runs Sanctions List Search, and issues rules, licenses, and guidance that tell U.S. persons what transactions are blocked or restricted.
Full name: Office of Foreign Assets Control
Short explanation
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is the Treasury bureau responsible for administering U.S. economic and trade sanctions based on national-security and foreign-policy authorities. OFAC publishes sanctions lists, including the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List, and provides search tools, data files, regulations, licenses, and public guidance for sanctions compliance.
Related study: OFAC and EU sanctions list growth study
How it’s used
- Sanctions screening: organizations check OFAC lists before transactions, payments, onboarding, or export activity that may involve a restricted party.
- SDN list records: OFAC's SDN file names individuals, entities, vessels, and aircraft whose property is blocked under U.S. sanctions authorities.
- Non-SDN records: OFAC also publishes consolidated non-SDN lists that carry restrictions other than full SDN blocking.
- Fonteum studies aggregate OFAC and other open sanctions records without assigning risk scores or naming parties as wrongdoers.
Frequently asked questions
- What does OFAC stand for?
- OFAC stands for the Office of Foreign Assets Control, the U.S. Treasury office that administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions.
- What lists does OFAC publish?
- OFAC publishes the SDN List and several non-SDN sanctions lists, along with data files and a public search tool.
- Is OFAC the same as the SDN List?
- No. OFAC is the Treasury office; the SDN List is one major sanctions list that OFAC publishes and administers.
Explore in Fonteum
How Fonteum sources, resolves, and publishes data tied to this term.