The Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list, explained
The Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List, or SDN list, is the U.S. Treasury's list of individuals, companies, vessels and aircraft whose property is blocked under OFAC sanctions. U.S. persons are generally prohibited from dealing with anyone on it, and property of listed persons in the United States or in a U.S. person's possession or control is blocked (OFAC FAQ 91). OFAC updates it whenever it designates or removes someone, so a name that was clear last month may not be clear today.
What "blocked" means
Blocking is a freeze, not a seizure. When a person is on the SDN list, U.S. persons are prohibited from transactions involving them wherever they are located, and all their property within U.S. jurisdiction must be blocked (OFAC FAQ 10). If you end up holding something a blocked person has an interest in, you must report the blocking to OFAC within 10 business days (OFAC FAQ 5). Our post on a true match covers what to do next.
Who is on it
People are added for many reasons. OFAC's examples include narcotics trafficking and terrorism, and the names, often with aliases and other identifying information, are added to the list (OFAC FAQ 10).
Each entry is one of four types. On OFAC's publication of 8 October 2026, the list had 19,416 entries:
| Type | Entries |
|---|---|
| Entities (companies and organizations) | 10,017 |
| Individuals | 7,498 |
| Vessels | 1,559 |
| Aircraft | 342 |
We counted these from OFAC's own SDN.CSV export by entry type. The numbers change with every publication; the SDN list page always has the current files.
Who is blocked without being on it
The SDN list is not a complete list of blocked persons. OFAC says some sanctions block categories of persons who do not appear on it, including blocked foreign governments and any entity owned 50 percent or more, individually or in the aggregate, directly or indirectly, by one or more blocked persons (OFAC FAQ 91).
Indirect ownership counts. In OFAC's own example, if a blocked person owns 50 percent of Entity A, and Entity A owns 50 percent of Entity B, Entity B is blocked (OFAC FAQ 401). Screening a company name is therefore only half the job for counterparties that matter; you also need to know who owns them. See the 50 percent rule with worked examples.
The SDN list is not the only list
OFAC also maintains sanctions lists with prohibitions other than blocking. For example, the Sectoral Sanctions Identification (SSI) list names persons in certain sectors subject to restrictions other than blocking; it is not part of the SDN list, though some persons appear on both (OFAC FAQ 10). These sit in OFAC's Consolidated list. See OFAC's non-SDN lists and SDN, Consolidated and the Consolidated Screening List.
How to search it
OFAC's free Sanctions List Search looks up a name across the SDN list and OFAC's other lists. Results carry a score: 100 is an exact match and lower scores indicate potential matches, calculated from phonetic and character similarity (OFAC FAQ 247). It is meant for individual users, not automated systems running searches continually (OFAC FAQ 287). Our guide to the search tool explains the fields and what the tool does not keep.
A hit is a candidate, not a finding. OFAC recommends a step-by-step review of each potential match and says organizations should keep complete records of the steps taken and the information relied on (OFAC FAQ 5). Our false positive guide has a template.
How to download it
For screening a file of customers or vendors, use the data, not the search box. OFAC publishes the SDN data as a CSV that opens in any spreadsheet (OFAC FAQ 80), alongside XML and other formats on the Sanctions List Service. The files are complete each time, so you can overwrite the old copy with the new one (OFAC FAQ 89). See how to download the SDN list.
Keeping the evidence
Whatever you use, keep the record: who was screened, when, against which list publication, and how any candidate was resolved. OFAC's rules require a full record of each transaction subject to them for at least 10 years (31 CFR 501.601).
This is screening data and general information, not legal advice.
Run a free OFAC check on a name against the current SDN and Consolidated lists.