OFAC Launches Reconsideration Portal To Streamline Delisting Petitions

Key Takeaways

OFAC’s new Reconsideration Portal centralizes SDN delisting petitions and requests for unclassified designation documents, replacing prior email-based intake with a structured online submission process.
The portal streamlines intake but does not guarantee faster adjudication. OFAC has set no decision deadline, and the substantive review process remains unchanged.

On June 29, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) launched an online Reconsideration Portal for requests to remove persons or property from OFAC sanctions lists, including the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) List. OFAC states that the portal streamlines delisting petitions by collecting key information upfront rather than through repeated questionnaires.

What Is the OFAC Reconsideration Portal and What Documents Are Required?

The portal centralizes administrative reconsideration requests, also called delisting petitions, from listed individuals, entities, property owners, and authorized representatives, and permits requests for a “courtesy document” containing unclassified, non-privileged information underlying a sanctions determination. According to OFAC guidance, petitioners should be ready with listing details, a Unique Identification Number (UID, found via OFAC’s Sanctions List Search tool), identity or registration documents, five years of addresses, representative authorizations, arguments and evidence of an insufficient basis or change in circumstances, and remedial steps that would negate the basis for the sanction. OFAC also issued a Quick-Reference Guide summarizing the components of a delisting petition.

How OFAC Will Review SDN Delisting Submissions

The portal does not change OFAC’s existing administrative reconsideration framework. A petitioner may submit arguments or evidence showing either that an insufficient basis exists for the sanction or that the circumstances resulting in the sanction no longer exist. OFAC’s guidance frames these arguments as two primary paths: “insufficient basis” and “change in circumstances.”

After a portal submission, OFAC will conduct an initial completeness review and, if satisfied, will email a Petition ID. OFAC states that it endeavors to complete that initial review within seven to 10 business days. The full review may still be lengthy depending on the facts, the completeness of the petition, whether OFAC needs additional information, the petitioner’s candor, and the level of interagency consultation required.

What the OFAC Portal Means for Companies, Financial Institutions, and Individuals

For U.S. companies and financial institutions, the portal should ease delisting issues involving customers, counterparties, vessels, beneficial owners, or other business contacts. For non-U.S. companies, this portal is an important tool as non-U.S. persons can face sanctions risk for causing U.S. sanctions violations or for engaging in conduct that evades U.S. sanctions.

The portal improves intake, not the substantive review. OFAC guidance states that the petitioner must meet the removal criteria for all authorities under which the person or property is sanctioned, so petitioners sanctioned under multiple authorities or multiple designation criteria should address each authority and criterion in their submission.

How to File an OFAC Delisting Petition: Step-by-Step Guidance

First, confirm that the portal is the right path. Administrative reconsideration is for listed or otherwise sanctioned persons or property, while close-name-match issues should be addressed to OFAC’s Compliance Hotline.

Second, decide whether the petition is primarily a “change in circumstances” petition or an “insufficient basis” petition. A change-in-circumstances petition should focus on developments after designation, such as changed ownership, changed management, cessation of sanctionable conduct, dissolution, or other remedial steps. An insufficient-basis petition should focus on evidence showing that the basis for designation did not exist at the time of listing.

Third, consider requesting a courtesy document where the designation basis is unclear, recognizing that protected information may be redacted.

Fourth, ensure that the petition is accurate. False or misleading submissions may delay or defeat a petition, and materially false statements or concealed facts may result in criminal penalties.

Finally, the portal should improve intake, but it does not guarantee faster final decisions. OFAC has set no adjudication deadline, and the timing of its transition away from email has not been confirmed. Users should also distinguish delisting from licensing reconsideration, which remains a separate issue.

References

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