Consolidated Screening List (CSL)
The Consolidated Screening List, CSL, combines eleven separate restricted-party lists maintained by the Departments of Commerce, State, and the Treasury into a single, unified data feed, published by the International Trade Administration. It exists specifically because checking OFAC’s SDN List alone leaves real gaps: ten other government lists carry independent restrictions the SDN List was never designed to capture.
Key takeaways
- The CSL combines eleven Commerce, State, and Treasury restricted-party lists into one searchable feed, published by the International Trade Administration.
- It includes OFAC’s SDN List alongside BIS’s Denied Persons, Entity, and Unverified Lists, State Department debarment lists, and other programme-specific lists.
- The CSL and the SDN List are not interchangeable; the CSL covers far more restriction types than sanctions alone.
- Access is available through a free search engine, downloadable files, and an API for direct system integration, with frequent, near-live data updates.
- BIS’s Affiliates Rule (effective 29 September 2025) applies its own 50% ownership standard to export-list affiliates, structurally similar to OFAC’s 50 Percent Rule but legally distinct.
- The Affiliates Rule is currently suspended (10 November 2025 to 9 November 2026), a genuinely recent development most existing CSL content hasn’t reflected yet.
- A CSL hit’s consequence varies entirely by which of the eleven source lists it came from; treating every match identically misreads the tool.
On this page
What the Consolidated Screening List actually isThe eleven lists it actually combinesWho publishes it, and how current it staysWhy “the CSL” and “the SDN List” aren’t interchangeableHow to actually access itThe Affiliates Rule: BIS’s own 50 percent rule for export listsWhy that rule is currently suspendedWhat the CSL can’t tell youUsing the CSL properly in a screening programmeBuilding this into ongoing complianceFAQsRead more
11
Separate Commerce, State, and Treasury restricted-party lists combined in the CSL
29 Sept 2025
Effective date of BIS’s Affiliates Rule applying a 50% ownership standard to export-list affiliates
Source: Federal Register, BIS
What the Consolidated Screening List actually is
The Consolidated Screening List is a list of parties for which the US government maintains restrictions on certain exports, reexports, or transfers of items, published by the International Trade Administration, part of the Commerce Department. It’s not a new, independent restriction in its own right; it’s a consolidation tool, pulling together eleven separate screening lists maintained across three different federal departments into one searchable feed, specifically so a firm doesn’t have to check eleven different government websites individually to run one counterparty check.
The eleven lists it actually combines
The CSL aggregates restricted-party data from across Commerce, State, and Treasury, including OFAC’s SDN List and its Non-SDN sanctions-related lists, BIS’s Denied Persons List, Entity List, and Unverified List, State Department debarment lists tied to ITAR violations, and several narrower, programme-specific lists covering areas like nonproliferation and sectoral sanctions. Each source list keeps its own independent legal basis and consequence; the CSL doesn’t harmonise what a hit actually means, it just puts all eleven in front of a single search.
Who publishes it, and how current it stays
The International Trade Administration maintains the CSL and makes it available through a free public search engine, downloadable data files, and an application programming interface, the CSL API, built specifically so firms can integrate the data directly into their own screening systems rather than checking manually. The underlying data updates frequently, with different sources describing the refresh cycle as hourly or as a daily update around 5:00 AM Eastern; regardless of the exact cadence, the practical point is that this is a living feed a firm should pull fresh at each use, not a static file downloaded once and reused indefinitely.
Why “the CSL” and “the SDN List” aren’t interchangeable
This is a distinction worth being precise about. The SDN List is one specific list, administered by OFAC, with one specific legal consequence, blocked assets and prohibited dealings. The CSL is a consolidation of the SDN List alongside ten other lists carrying meaningfully different consequences, from an outright denial of export privileges under the Denied Persons List to a narrower licensing requirement under the Entity List. Checking “the CSL” and getting a clean result doesn’t mean a party isn’t restricted under any US authority; it means the CSL’s specific search parameters didn’t return a match, which is a narrower claim than it sounds.
How to actually access it
Firms can search the CSL directly through the ITA’s own search engine at trade.gov, download the full dataset as a structured file for bulk processing, or integrate the CSL API directly into an onboarding or transaction screening workflow. The API returns only active entries; historical, delisted parties aren’t included in the live feed, which means research into a party’s past status requires checking source-specific archives rather than the CSL itself.
The Affiliates Rule: BIS’s own 50 percent rule for export lists
A genuinely recent development worth flagging directly, since most existing CSL content hasn’t caught up with it: BIS issued a rule, the Expansion of End-User Controls to Cover Affiliates of Certain Listed Entities, commonly called the Affiliates Rule, which became effective 29 September 2025. It applies a 50% ownership standard, structurally similar to OFAC’s own 50 Percent Rule but entirely separate and administered under export control law rather than sanctions law, extending Entity List and Military End-User List restrictions to affiliated companies majority-owned by already-listed parties, even where the affiliate itself was never individually named.
Why that rule is currently suspended
The Affiliates Rule didn’t stay in unmodified effect for long. BIS suspended it for one year, from 10 November 2025 to 9 November 2026, according to the Federal Register notice announcing the suspension. This means that, for the duration of the suspension, the automatic-affiliate-extension logic isn’t currently operative in the way the original rule intended, though firms tracking export control exposure need to watch for what happens when that suspension period ends, since the underlying rule itself wasn’t repealed, only paused.
What the CSL can’t tell you
The CSL is explicitly described by its own publisher as an aid to screening, not a substitute for full compliance verification. The government’s own guidance recommends checking the official Federal Register publication of any specific restriction before relying on a CSL match or non-match for a final compliance decision, and checking the individual source department’s own current list directly where the stakes of a transaction are high enough to warrant it. The CSL also can’t show 50 Percent Rule exposure through unlisted, aggregate-owned entities, since that population, by design, never appears on any of the eleven underlying source lists either.
Using the CSL properly in a screening programme
A screening programme that uses the CSL well treats it as a genuinely efficient first-pass tool, not a final compliance determination: running counterparties through the consolidated feed to catch the broadest possible range of US restricted-party exposure in one search, then investigating any hit against its specific source list to understand exactly what consequence actually applies, a full block, a licensing requirement, or a lighter, non-punitive flag, rather than treating every CSL match identically.
Building this into ongoing compliance
Given how frequently the underlying eleven lists change independently of each other, and given that a rule as significant as the 2025 Affiliates Rule can be issued, then suspended, within roughly six weeks of each other, a compliance programme relying on the CSL needs a genuine process for tracking regulatory changes to the CSL’s own underlying framework, not just running the same static screening query indefinitely and assuming the legal landscape behind it hasn’t moved.
Screen against every relevant US list at once
Check counterparties against sanctions, export control, and debarment lists together.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Consolidated Screening List?
The CSL is a US government tool that combines eleven separate restricted-party lists maintained by the Departments of Commerce, State, and the Treasury into one searchable data feed, published by the International Trade Administration.
Is the Consolidated Screening List the same as the SDN List?
No. The SDN List is one specific OFAC list. The CSL combines the SDN List with ten other lists carrying different legal consequences, so a CSL search covers far more ground than an SDN-only check.
How often is the CSL updated?
Frequently; sources describe the refresh cycle as either hourly or around 5:00 AM Eastern daily. Regardless of the exact cadence, it should be treated as a live feed to query fresh each time, not a static file.
How can a firm access the CSL?
Through the ITA’s free public search engine, a downloadable structured data file, or the CSL API for direct integration into onboarding and transaction screening systems.
What is the BIS Affiliates Rule?
A rule effective 29 September 2025 that applies a 50% ownership standard, similar in structure to OFAC’s own 50 Percent Rule, extending Entity List and Military End-User List restrictions to affiliated companies majority-owned by already-listed parties.
Is the Affiliates Rule currently in effect?
It’s currently suspended, from 10 November 2025 to 9 November 2026, per BIS’s Federal Register notice, though the underlying rule wasn’t repealed, only paused.
Does a clean CSL search mean a party is fully cleared?
Not entirely. The CSL’s own publisher recommends checking the Federal Register and individual source lists directly for high-stakes transactions, and it can’t reveal aggregate-ownership exposure under the 50 Percent Rule, which never appears on any published list.
Does every CSL hit carry the same consequence?
No. A hit needs to be traced back to its specific source list to understand the actual consequence, which ranges from a full asset block to a narrower licensing requirement to a non-punitive verification flag.
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Last reviewed July 19, 2026 · 11 min read · Written for compliance and risk professionals · By the WhoWiki editorial team
Key takeaway: The Consolidated Screening List, CSL, combines eleven separate restricted-party lists maintained by the Departments of Commerce, State, and the Treasury into a single, unified data feed, published by the International Trade Administration. It exists specifically because checking OFAC’s SDN List alone leaves real gaps: ten other government lists carry independent restrictions the SDN List was never designed to capture.