How to screen a buyer or supplier against US government lists
Updated
Before you ship to a new buyer or pay a new supplier, it takes a few minutes to check whether their name shows up on a US government restricted-party list. This guide explains what to use, how to search, and what to do if something turns up.
A search result is a lookup, not a decision about whether you can do business with someone.
What the Consolidated Screening List is
The Consolidated Screening List (CSL) is a single list, run by the US International Trade Administration at trade.gov, that pulls together several lists of parties the US government restricts in some way. trade.gov describes it as a list of parties for which the US government maintains restrictions on certain exports, and says it can be used as an aid to industry in conducting electronic screens of potential parties to regulated transactions.
Official page: trade.gov Consolidated Screening List
Which lists it combines
As stated on trade.gov, the CSL combines lists from three US agencies.
Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security
- Denied Persons List
- Unverified List
- Entity List
- Military End User List
Department of State
- Nonproliferation Sanctions (Bureau of Arms Control and Nonproliferation)
- AECA Debarred List (Directorate of Defense Trade Controls)
Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)
- Specially Designated Nationals List
- Foreign Sanctions Evaders List
- Sectoral Sanctions Identifications List
- Correspondent Account or Payable-Through Account Sanctions List
- Non-SDN Menu-Based Sanctions List
- Non-SDN Chinese Military-Industrial Complex Companies List
- Palestinian Legislative Council List
One recent change: trade.gov says that as of October 1, 2026, the State Department list does not include people designated under ACN-led programs. Those parties now appear on OFAC's SDN List instead, so they still show up through the SDN entries.
The lists change, so check the page for the current set.
How to search it on trade.gov
- Open the CSL search tool from the trade.gov page above (it is under "CSL Search").
- Type the company or person's name. trade.gov says you can search by name, country or source agency.
- Turn on fuzzy name search if it is offered. trade.gov says fuzzy search returns a score for near matches and helps with names translated from non-Latin alphabets.
- Try more than one spelling. Check the company name, the owner's name, and any trading names you were given.
- Open any result and read the details: the source list, the address, and the listing notice.
trade.gov also offers downloadable files (CSV, TSV and JSON) with a "source" column showing which agency's list each entry comes from. The tools update automatically every day, according to trade.gov.
OFAC has its own search page
OFAC, the Treasury office behind the sanctions lists, runs its own tool: OFAC Sanctions List Search.
OFAC says its tool uses fuzzy logic on the name field to look for potential matches on the SDN List and the Non-SDN Consolidated Sanctions List. Its page links to an FAQ called "Dealing with an 'OFAC Alert'" and a "Contact OFAC" page. Those are the official places to learn what an alert means.
If you get a possible match
A match on a name does not mean the person you are dealing with is the person on the list. Many names are common. But do not ignore it.
- Stop. Pause the order, the shipment or the payment until you have looked into it.
- Check the details. Compare the listed name, address, country and any ID numbers with what you know about your buyer or supplier. Read the source list and the notice behind the entry.
- Ask for help. Talk to a trade lawyer or a licensed customs broker before going ahead. trade.gov says that if a listed party appears to match a party in your transaction, additional due diligence should be conducted before proceeding, and that depending on the list the outcome can be an export prohibition, a license requirement, or a review of the end use and end user.
- Keep notes on what you checked and when.
If there is no match, that is also only a lookup result. The list is not a full picture of any company.
Why bother
- The lists exist because the US government restricts dealing with certain parties. Finding out after a shipment or payment is a worse position than finding out before.
- trade.gov itself points users to check the Federal Register and the agencies' official lists before acting, so a quick screen is a starting point for that check.
- It is cheap. The search is free to use on trade.gov.
- It is a good habit to run each time you add a new buyer or supplier, and again from time to time, since the lists are updated.
Next step
Once a new supplier is screened and verified, you can pay them from a Shield US business account.