OFAC Screening Error Handling
How a screening integration responds to API errors, timeouts, and service disruptions, typically by failing closed.
TL;DR
TL;DR: Error handling decides what happens when a screening call fails or times out. The safe default is to fail closed, meaning the transaction does not complete until a screening result is obtained.
Why errors are dangerous
A screening integration has a simple job: return a clean or blocked result before a payment moves. When the API is down, the network times out, or the response is malformed, the integration has no result. The wrong response is to treat "no answer" as "clean" and proceed. If the counterparty was actually listed, the payment becomes a sanctions violation with no screening record to fall back on.
Fail open versus fail closed
Fail open means the transaction proceeds when screening is unavailable. Fail closed means the transaction stops until screening succeeds. For sanctions compliance, fail closed is the correct default because OFAC liability is strict and penalties start at $356,000 per violation. Availability of payments is secondary to avoiding an unapproved transfer to a listed party.
Practical handling
- Retry the call with backoff before concluding it failed.
- Log every failed screening attempt with the counterparty and timestamp.
- Queue the transaction for re-screening instead of dropping it.
- Alert a human when failures persist.
A screening provider with a fast, reliable endpoint reduces how often error handling is even exercised; sanctionsai.dev returns a result in under 100 ms per check.