This guide walks you through how to run a single screening in the sanctions.io Screening Portal, from entering a name to reviewing your results and downloading a report.
What is Single Screening?
Single Screening lets you instantly check any individual or entity against global sanctions lists, PEP databases, crime watchlists, and high-risk jurisdiction lists; all from the sanctions.io Screening Portal. No file uploads, no technical setup. Just enter a name and get results in seconds.
It's the go-to option when you need to quickly check a specific person or organization. For example, during customer onboarding, a transaction review, or an ad-hoc compliance check.
Topics Covered
→ How to run a single screening
→ Select the Collections or Watchlists
→ View Match Details in Your Screening Results
→ Download a Screening Report
Need to screen multiple records at once? Check out the Manual Batch Screening guide to process up to 10,000 records in a single upload.
How to run a single screening
- Sign in at sanctions.io.
- On the Screening Portal, you can conduct single screenings manually by entering any name.
Note: The 'Sanctions Lists Collection' is selected by default. Click on Advanced Search Options to specify other lists.
Advanced Search Options
Refine your search for more precise results by including additional parameters, such as country, date of birth, and entity type, and selecting specific watchlists relevant to your needs.
Confidence Score Threshold
The Confidence Score indicates how closely a search result matches the name you entered, on a scale from 0 to 1, where 1.0 represents an exact match. The threshold you set determines the minimum score a result must reach to appear in your screening results.
Use the slider to raise or lower the threshold based on your needs.
We recommend starting at 88%: this is a solid default for most use cases, balancing accuracy with a manageable number of results to review.
- Higher threshold (e.g., 90%—95%): Returns only high-confidence matches. Fewer results, but stricter; some partial matches may be filtered out.
- Lower threshold (e.g., below 88%): Casts a wider net and returns more results, which is useful for investigative or high-risk reviews, but expect more false positives to review.
Select the Collections or Watchlist
Click the list selector dropdown to choose what you want to screen against. The dropdown is organized into two sections: Collections at the top, followed by individual watchlists grouped by region.
Note: If any list is select, Sanctions Lists collection will be selected by default. You can add more Collections or switch to individual lists at any time.
Option 1: Use a Collection
Collections are the fastest way to get broad coverage. Each one bundles all related lists into a single checkbox; no need to pick lists one by one.
The following Collections are available:
- Sanctions Lists — all targeted sanctions lists (OFAC, UN, EU, UK, Canada, Australia, Japan, and more)
- PEP Lists — Politically Exposed Persons and their close associates (RCAs)
- Crime Lists — INTERPOL Red Notices, Europol and FBI Most Wanted
- High-Risk Jurisdictions — FATF high-risk lists, OFAC country programs, FinCEN advisories, and EU tax blacklists
- Adverse Media — news-based screening from highly trusted global sources
Availability of each Collection depends on your subscription plan. If a Collection is not visible or cannot be selected, please contact help@sanctions.io to confirm your plan coverage.
Option 2: Select Individual Watchlists
Scroll past the Collections section to browse lists organized by region (e.g., Europe, Americas, Asia-Pacific). Check one or more lists to include only those specific sources in your search. This is useful when your compliance process requires screening against a defined set of lists.
You can combine Collections and individual lists in the same search. The dropdown will display the total number of lists selected and their names (e.g., "2 lists selected"; "EU / EU Consolidated List of Sanctions"; "Crime Lists").
You can select one or multiple watchlists, or choose one of our Collections to include an entire category of lists in your search.
Full Watchlist Coverage
Learn more sanctions lists, PEP databases, crime watchlists, and high-risk jurisdiction lists available in sanctions.io , visit Watchlist Coverage.
View Match Details in Your Screening Results
When Single Screening finds one or more matches, they are listed in the Screening Results table below the search bar. Each row represents a match from a specific watchlist and includes the following at a glance:
- Score — the Confidence Score indicating how closely the result matches your search (e.g., 1.00 = exact match)
- Name — the name as it appears on the watchlist
- Country — the country or countries associated with the record
- DOB — date of birth, where available
- Type — entity type (e.g., Individual, Entity)
- Source — the watchlist where the match was found (e.g., SDN, CFSP, UK-SANCTIONS)
- Last Updated — when the watchlist record was last updated by the issuing authority
Expanding a result
Click on any row to expand it and view the full record details, which may include:
- Additional information, such as gender, position, regime, and alias type
- Place of birth
- Identifiers such as national ID or sanctions list reference numbers
- Remarks and the official statement of reasons for the listing
The same individual or entity may appear across multiple rows if they are listed on more than one watchlist. Each row represents a separate listing and should be reviewed independently.
Note: The availability of information depends on what the issuing authority has published. sanctions.io displays the data exactly as provided by the original source.
Download a Screening Report
Results are immediately accessible on the portal, and you can download them as a PDF Screening Report or a JSON file for future review.
Download in PDF
Once you click 'Generate PDF', the portal will process your request, and a notification icon will appear in the top right corner of your screen.
When your Screening Report is ready, click on the Notifications to download it.
Additionally, the results are emailed to the address linked to your account for your convenience.
We’re here to help!
If you have any questions or require further assistance, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our support team:
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Chat: Available directly in the Help Center page
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Email: help@sanctions.io