Overview
Sanctions Screening works by matching your query against every name and alias on the OFAC SDN list using fuzzy name matching built for transliterated names. Sanctioned individuals are listed under many spellings, so exact comparison misses them. Each result carries a confidence score and the alias it matched on, letting you tune between catching more names and reviewing fewer false positives.
Formula
One function covers the whole catalog: the first argument names the source, the rest are its inputs, and the "field" pair says which single value lands in the cell. Formulas covers the grammar that applies to all of them.
=VERVE("sanctionscreening", A2, "field", "query")=VERVE.CALL("sanctionscreening", A2, "field", "query")A2 holds the name you are looking up. Drag the formula down and each row resolves on its own.
With literal values
Nothing has to come from a cell — typed values work the same way.
=VERVE("sanctionscreening", "Banco Nacional de Cuba", "field", "query")=VERVE.CALL("sanctionscreening", "Banco Nacional de Cuba", "field", "query")Inputs
Required inputs are positional, in the order below. Everything else is passed as a "name", value pair after them — the same shape as SUMIFS. Premium inputs are accepted on every plan but only take effect on plans that include them.
| Input | Type | Where it goes | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
nameRequired | string | argument 2 (A2) | The person or company name to screen (minimum 3 characters) |
thresholdOptionalPremium | number | "threshold", value | Minimum match score to return, between 0.5 and 1. Lower catches more names but returns more false positives default 0.85 |
limitOptionalPremium | number | "limit", value | Maximum number of matches to return (1-50) default 10 |
typeOptionalPremium | string | "type", value | Restrict screening to one entry type |
Passing an option
=VERVE("sanctionscreening", A2, "threshold", 0.85)=VERVE.CALL("sanctionscreening", A2, "threshold", 0.85)What lands in your sheet
The "field" pair is what makes the formula resolve to one cell. Its value is a dot-path from the table below, so swapping it is how you pull a different value — one formula per column.
Seeing everything at once
Drop the "field" pair and the formula returns the whole response instead: two columns, field name on the left and value on the right, spilling from the cell you typed in.
=VERVE("sanctionscreening", A2)=VERVE.CALL("sanctionscreening", A2)The second row's table would land on top of the first's, and every cell after the first reads #REF! (#SPILL! in Excel). Keep one per sheet, or name a field, and leave the cells below and to the right empty.
Response fields
Paths are relative to data. Each one is exactly what the "field" pair accepts, so swapping it is how you pull a different value into a cell. On a plan without a Premium field the cell reads #PREMIUM(field) rather than a value, so a locked field never looks like a real answer.
| Use as "field" | Type | Example cell value | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
query | string | Banco Nacional de Cuba | The name that was screened |
matched | boolean | true | Whether any entry on the list matched the query |
matchCount | number | 1 | Number of matching entries returned |
verdict | string | exact | Highest confidence across all matches: exact, high, possible, or none |
topScore | number | 1 | Match score of the strongest match, from 0 to 1 |
results | array[1] | Matching SDN entries, strongest first | |
results.0.uid | number | 306 | OFAC unique identifier for the entry |
results.0.name | string | BANCO NACIONAL DE CUBA | Primary name as published by OFAC |
results.0.type | string | entity | Entry type: individual, entity, vessel, or aircraft |
results.0.score | number | 1 | Match score for this entry, from 0 to 1 |
results.0.confidence | string | exact | Plain-language score band: exact, high, or possible |
results.0.matchedOnPremium | string | BANCO NACIONAL DE CUBA | The normalized name or alias the query actually matched |
results.0.matchedViaPremium | string | primary | Whether the match came from the primary name or an alias type |
results.0.isWeakAliasPremium | boolean | false | True when matched on an alias OFAC flags as low confidence |
results.0.programs | array | ["CUBA"] | Sanctions programs the entry is listed under |
results.0.titlePremium | object | null | Role or title of the listed individual |
results.0.akaPremium | array[2] | All known aliases with type and strength | |
results.0.aka.0.namePremium | string | BNC | The alias name |
results.0.aka.0.typePremium | string | aka | Category of alias, e.g. aka |
results.0.aka.0.strengthPremium | string | weak | OFAC's own confidence flag for this alias: strong or weak |
results.0.dateOfBirthPremium | array | [] | Published dates of birth |
results.0.placeOfBirthPremium | array | [] | Published places of birth |
results.0.nationalitiesPremium | array | [] | Published nationalities |
results.0.citizenshipsPremium | array | [] | Published citizenships |
results.0.addressesPremium | array[4] | Published addresses | |
results.0.addresses.0.address1Premium | string | Zweierstrasse 35 | First line of the published address |
results.0.addresses.0.cityPremium | string | Zurich | City of the published address |
results.0.addresses.0.postalCodePremium | string | CH-8022 | Postal or ZIP code of the published address |
results.0.addresses.0.countryPremium | string | Switzerland | Country of the published address |
results.0.idsPremium | array | [] | Published identity documents and registration numbers |
results.0.remarksPremium | object | null | OFAC remarks for the entry |
list | object | {…} | |
list.source | string | OFAC SDN | Name of the sanctions list screened |
list.authority | string | US Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control | Publishing authority for the list |
list.publishDate | string | 07/15/2026 | Date OFAC published the list version screened against |
list.recordCount | number | 19217 | Number of entries on the list version screened against |
list.lastUpdated | string | 2026-07-16T05:00:12.431Z | ISO 8601 timestamp of the last successful list sync |
Filling a whole column
Both platforms make one batched call for a column rather than one request per cell, and both cost the same — 20 credits per row looked up. How you write it differs, because the two runtimes batch at different points.
=VERVE("sanctionscreening", A2:A100, "field", "query")In Google Sheets, give the arguments ranges and the answers spill down from the cell you typed in. Custom functions there run synchronously and in isolation, so dragged cells cannot be coalesced — the range form is how a column becomes one call. The "field" pair is required here: a per-row two-column table has nowhere to spill. Use a full column per input (A2:A100, not A2) — a single-cell reference is read as row 1 only and the rest of the column comes back blank.
In Excel, type the formula once and fill down — no range form and none needed, because its runtime is asynchronous and the add-in coalesces the calls a fill produces into a single batched request. Do not hand VERVE.CALL a range: Excel flattens it into positional arguments, so A2:A100 arrives as a hundred separate arguments and the cell reads #ERR rather than filling.
Either way, column A holds your name values and the answers land beside them, one row each, blank rows skipped.
When a cell doesn't fill
A failed lookup returns readable text starting with #ERR rather than a spreadsheet error, because Excel cannot show a custom message on a real error — you would get a bare #VALUE! with no reason. The trade-off is that IFERROR() will not catch it; test with LEFT(cell, 4) = "#ERR" instead. Error handling covers the rest.
| Cell reads | What happened |
|---|---|
#ERR Not connected | No API key saved. Open the side panel and connect your account. |
#ERR Replace <name> with a cell or value | A preview formula was copied as-is. Swap the placeholder for a cell reference. |
#ERR No "x" in sanctionscreening | An option name this source does not take. The message lists the ones it does. |
#ERR No data point "…" | The "field" path is not in the response. Check it against the table above. |
#PREMIUM(field) | The field exists but your plan does not include it. |
#ERR Out of credits | The cycle's credits are spent. Usage resets on your billing date. |
Before the formula works
The add-in reads the API key you saved once in the side panel — the key never goes in the formula, so a shared sheet does not leak it and a collaborator without access simply sees the last calculated values.
- Install the add-in for Google Sheets or Excel.
- Open the side panel and sign in, or paste a key from your dashboard.
- Type the formula above into any cell.
Other ways to use OFAC Sanctions Screening
Set up OFAC Sanctions Screening on VerveSheets, or reach the same source a different way. Your VerveSheets account and credits work on all of them — one key, one balance.
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