SDN List Search Without the False Positives
October 4, 2026
An SDN list search compares a name against the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List that OFAC publishes. Doing it well means checking every alias, allowing for different spellings of the same name, and then using dates of birth, nationality and ID numbers to tell a real match from a stranger with a similar name.
Most people get the first part right and struggle with the rest. They either miss a real match because the spelling was different, or they drown in hundreds of false alarms. Here's how to avoid both.
What's inside an SDN entry
Before you search, it helps to know what you're searching against. A typical SDN entry holds much more than one name:
| Field | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Primary name | The main name OFAC uses for the person, company, vessel or aircraft |
| Aliases (a.k.a., f.k.a., n.k.a.) | Other names the party uses, used to use or now uses |
| Dates and places of birth | Often more than one, because sources disagree |
| Nationality and citizenship | Useful for ruling matches in or out |
| Passport, national ID and registration numbers | The strongest identifiers when they're available |
| Addresses | Sometimes a full street address, often only a city or country |
| Program tags | The sanctions program, such as SDGT for terrorism or IRAN |
Two things follow from this. You have to search the aliases, not just the primary name. And when you get a hit, you have a lot of data to compare, so use it.
Why exact matching misses real hits
Many names on the SDN list come from languages that don't use the Latin alphabet. When an Arabic, Russian or Chinese name is written in English letters, there's no single correct spelling. The same name can show up as:
- Mohammed, Muhammad, Mohamed, Mohamad
- Abdul Rahman, Abdulrahman, Abd al-Rahman
- Aleksandr, Alexander, Oleksandr
- Qadhafi, Gaddafi, Kadhafi
On top of that, people swap the order of given names and family names, drop middle names, add or remove particles like al- or bin, and make plain typos when they fill in a signup form. An exact text match catches none of that.
So a proper SDN search uses fuzzy matching. It scores how close two names are, character by character and by how they sound, instead of asking whether they're identical. OFAC's own Sanctions List Search works this way too and lets you set a minimum name score.
Setting the threshold
The threshold is a tradeoff. Set it too high and real matches with unusual spellings slip through. Set it too low and every Maria and every Ali on your customer list lights up. There's no universal right number. Pick one based on your risk, test it on names you know should match, and write down why you chose it. That written rationale is part of your compliance program.
Weak aliases
OFAC marks some aliases as weak. These are broad or generic names, often a nickname or a short form, that are less likely to identify the person on their own. A hit on a weak alias alone usually needs more evidence before you treat it as a match.
Handling false positives without cutting corners
False positives are normal. Common names match listed people who share nothing else with your customer. The goal isn't to make them disappear. It's to clear them quickly, consistently and with a record. OFAC's guidance on possible hits boils down to a few questions you can turn into a routine:
- Which list is the hit on? An SDN hit means a full block. A hit on one of the non-SDN lists may mean narrower restrictions.
- How much of the name matches? If only one part of a three-part name matches, it's probably not your person.
- Do the other details line up? Compare date of birth, nationality, address and ID numbers from the full entry with what you know about your customer.
- Is anything still unclear? Ask the customer for more information, or call OFAC's compliance hotline before you act.
If a 34 year old customer born in Ohio matches a listed person born in 1958 in another country, you can clear it. Write down which details ruled it out, so the next reviewer and the next auditor can follow your reasoning.
Don't clear the same person twice
If you re-screen your customers when the list changes, the same false positive will come back every time. A good setup remembers a cleared match for that specific customer and that specific list entry, so you only see it again if something changes. That's how a review queue stays short enough for a real person to read.
One search versus a screening program
The official search tool is free and accurate for what it does: it searches one name at a time against OFAC's lists. If you check a few names a year, that may be all you need. As volume grows, its limits start to bite:
- No batch upload, so a list of 5,000 customers means 5,000 manual searches.
- No monitoring, so you won't know when an existing customer is added to the list.
- No saved record of what you searched, when, against which list version and what you decided.
- No way to connect screening to your signup or payment flow.
That record matters more than it used to. OFAC now requires sanctions records to be kept for ten years, so you need to be able to show your search and your decision long after the fact.
A checklist for every SDN search
- Search the full name, plus any other names the customer gave you.
- Match against primary names and all aliases, using fuzzy and phonetic matching.
- Use the current list, and know when it was last updated.
- Collect date of birth, nationality and an ID number up front, so you can resolve hits.
- Clear or escalate every hit with a written reason.
- Keep the customer in monitoring so a later designation doesn't slip past.
How OfacScanner runs the search
OfacScanner checks each name against the current SDN and consolidated lists, including every alias, with fuzzy matching built for transliterated names. It shows the match score next to the list entry so you can compare dates, nationality and IDs in one view, remembers the matches you clear, re-screens your saved records when the lists change and stores an evidence record of every check. CSV batches and an API are there when one name at a time stops being enough. See what each plan includes on the pricing page.
Have a name you need to check right now? Run an OFAC search and see the full entry behind any possible match.