OFAC Screening FAQs
Answers to common questions about OFAC screening itself, covering how the check runs and what it returns.
TL;DR
TL;DR: Screening is a check of a counterparty against the SDN List before a payment. SanctionsAI returns ALLOW for a clean result and BLOCK for a flagged one, in a single HTTP call under 100 ms.
What screening actually does
Screening compares a counterparty, usually a wallet address, against OFAC's SDN List, the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List. SanctionsAI checks 947 OFAC-listed crypto wallets and 19,218 SDN names across 16 jurisdictions, synced hourly. The result feeds the 4-Gate Agent Payment Protocol: SCREEN, then SCORE, then STOP, then STAMP.
Common questions
- What tools are available? sanctions_check, risk_score, kya_verify, and dispute_open.
- What does it cost? A free tier of 5 checks per day with no signup, then $19 per month for 10,000 checks or $99 per month for 100,000 checks.
- Where does it run? Anywhere the app or agent pays, including x402, MCP, and Base/USDC flows.