2026-07-04 · agentmail

The AI Agent Compliance Checklist (7 Steps Before You Ship)

A practical 7-step checklist for deploying AI agents that handle money without exposing yourself to OFAC liability.

Before your AI agent signs its first real payment, go through this checklist. It takes 30 minutes and covers the minimum viable compliance program for autonomous agents moving money.

1. Register your compliance contact

Know who in your organization is responsible for sanctions compliance. For solo operators, it is you. For companies, designate a person. OFAC expects to find a compliance owner.

2. Map your agents transaction types

List every scenario where your agent can transfer value: direct payments to wallets, x402 micropayments, smart contract interactions that move tokens, and tipping or donation functions. Each needs a pre-payment screen.

3. Add sanctions screening

Choose your integration mode (HTTP, MCP, CLI) and wire sanctions screening into every transaction path from step 2. Test it with known sanctioned wallets to confirm blocking works.

curl "https://sanctionsai.dev/sanctions?wallet=0x098B716B8Aaf21512996dC57EB0615e2383E2f96"

4. Implement audit logging

Record every screen: timestamp, wallet/name/country checked, result, agent identity. The agentmail paid tier handles this automatically. Your audit trail is your first line of defense in any OFAC inquiry.

5. Set up alerts

Configure your agent to alert a human when a sanctions hit occurs. An agent that silently logs and continues is useless. If a match happens, a human needs to review it within a reasonable time window.

6. Document your compliance program

Write down what you built. OFACs Enforcement Guidelines explicitly consider documented compliance programs as a mitigating factor. A one-page summary of your agents screening procedure is enough.

7. Review weekly

The SDN list changes daily. Set a recurring reminder to review your screening logs and confirm blocking still works. Update agent permissions if needed.

Agentmail handles steps 3 and 4 automatically. Free tier: 5 checks/day, no API key. See pricing for production use.