Getting started
Sanctions screening: what we check and what a match means
We screen a company, its previous names, PSCs and officers against the UK (including UN designations), EU and US (OFAC) sanctions lists. A possible or strong match is a name to review against the official entry, not a finding that anyone is sanctioned.
Sanctions screening checks a company against the main sanctions lists that apply to UK businesses, and tells you whether any name is close enough to need a look.
What we screen
For the company you are looking at, we screen:
- its registered name, and its previous names;
- its current persons with significant control (PSCs): people, and companies or other legal entities;
- its current officers (directors, secretaries and LLP members), read live from Companies House when you run the check.
We do not screen former officers or owners, shareholders below the PSC threshold, or people who are not on the Companies House register.
Which lists
| List | Published by |
|---|---|
| UK Sanctions List | Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) |
| EU Consolidated Financial Sanctions List | European Commission |
| OFAC Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) List | US Treasury (OFAC) |
| OFAC Consolidated (non-SDN) List | US Treasury (OFAC) |
We check each list for changes four times a day and load a new version when it changes. Every result shows each list's own publication date and when we last checked it. If a list could not be loaded, the result says so and names the list, and you should check that list another way if you rely on it. The UK Sanctions List is the UK's official list; OFSI's Consolidated List is no longer updated, so we do not use it.
UN Security Council sanctions are covered through the UK Sanctions List, which includes the UN designations the UK gives effect to.
What the results mean
No potential matches
None of the names we screened was close to a name on the lists shown, on the dates shown. That covers only those names and those lists. It is not a guarantee about the company's owners or dealings more widely.
Possible match: review
A name we screened is close to a listed name or alias, and nothing we hold rules it out. Most possible matches are different people or businesses with similar names. Open the official entry and compare what you know: date of birth, nationality, address, the company's activity.
Strong match: review
A close name and something independent agrees:
- for a person, the birth month and year that Companies House publishes;
- for a company, a registration number on the list, or an identical name with a UK address on the list.
A strong match still needs a person to review it. It is not a finding that anyone is sanctioned.
Similar names we set aside
When a listed person's date of birth does not fit the birth month and year Companies House publishes, we set the name aside and show it under Similar names we set aside, with the reason. We do the same for a short or generic company name (such as an acronym) when the list places that business in another country.
How names are compared
We remove case, accents, punctuation, titles (Mr, Dr, Sir) and company legal forms (Ltd, Limited, PLC, LLP, GmbH, OOO and so on), and ignore word order, so "SMITH, John" and "Mr John Smith" compare the same. We then look for identical names, names that share their words (allowing for different spellings of the same name, such as Mohammed and Muhammad), and names spelled very similarly. Low-quality aliases on the lists only count when they are identical.
Each potential match shows its score, the fields that agreed and differed, the reasons in plain English, and a link to the official entry (for the EU list, the legal act that lists it).
Limits you should know about
- A name match is not a finding. Never treat a person or company as sanctioned because of a name match alone.
- Dates of birth. Companies House publishes only the month and year of birth, and nothing for PSCs who are companies. Many listed people have no date of birth, or only a year.
- Names in other alphabets. We compare the Latin-alphabet spellings the lists give. A name spelled very differently in English may be missed.
- Ownership and control. Sanctions can apply to businesses owned or controlled by a listed person even when the business itself is not listed. We screen the PSCs Companies House holds, not every shareholder or indirect owner.
- Politically exposed persons (PEPs) are not covered.
Where to find it
In the web app (Pro and Team): open a company and choose the Risk & Due Diligence tab. The Sanctions panel runs the check when you open it.
Through the API (Starter and above): GET /sanctions/company/{number}. GET /sanctions/lists shows the versions we hold. Every KYB check (POST /kyb/check, and KYB checks run from a list) includes a sanctions_screening check and a sanctions field: a possible or strong match makes the KYB result refer, never fail. See KYB checks: what pass, refer and fail mean.
Sanctions screening is automated information from public lists. It is not legal or compliance advice. Use it alongside your own procedures and, for anything you are unsure about, the official guidance from OFSI and the other publishers.
Last updated 2 October 2026
Related articles
- Search for a company
- Read a company page
- What the health score means, and its limits
- KYB checks: what pass, refer and fail mean
- Contact support
Still need help? Contact us, or if you have an account, open a support request.