How to Check the OFAC-SDN List Directly

List-checking will continue to be a requirement of all grant-making entities until the U.S. Government repeals the USA PATRIOT Act. This year Mott only requires checking one list - OFAC-SDN. Because Mott requires only one list, if you only have one or two grantees there are some free alternatives to fulfill this requirement.

Option 1

You can check each organization name, organization contact, and project contact manually. Go to the OFAC-SDN site directly and conduct these checks. Do make sure you print the results pages so you have the documentation Mott requires.

Click on the SDN link to download the 250+ page SDN list in PDF format (this list is updated periodically, always get the latest list from the SDN site before checking). When the list is open in Acrobat, you can click on the search icon in the tool bar at the top of the page, type in the organization name, and a box on the right will return links to all occurrences of the name. You will need to verify that your organization is not a match with any results you may get, and you can usually do that by comparing addresses. Repeat the process with the complete name of the organization contact, and again with the project contact.

Option 2

You can check each organization name, organization contact, and project contact by visiting a third-party site that is not affiliated with the Treasury Department. Go to http://www.instantofac.com, and click on the "Search" tab on top.

Enter the organization name in the search box, and click "Search" to check it against the database. In the next screen, you will see your search results, as well as a "Printer-friendly" link to a printer-friendly formatted page. Print this page for documentation. Repeat the process with the organization contact, and again with the project contact.