Overview of BIS and OFAC Restricted Party Lists

What is a Restricted Party List?

A Restricted Party List is comprised of the names, aliases, and addresses of individuals, corporations, research institutions, and government organizations that the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) and Department and Office of Foreign Assets Controls (OFAC) have determined pose a substantial export risk. There are numerous Federally maintained Restricted Part Lists, the ones most directly involved in Export Compliance are listed as follows:

Denied Persons List - BIS
Entity List - BIS
Unverified List - BIS
Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons - OFAC

Collaborating with Universities or Institutions on a Restricted Party List

Institute collaborations with restricted parties, including some universities, can raise "red flags" with government agencies. Restricted parties are subject to individualized (and often comprehensive) licensing requirements. It is recommended that you run a restricted party screen to determine if your collaboration may involve a party of concern.

The parties on this list are a hand-picked subset of BIS Entities provided by our office for the purpose of illustrating a few high-profile institutions on the BIS Unverified and Entity list. The parties on this list are prohibited from receiving items that are subject to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) without an export license. If a potential collaborator is a restricted party, the proposed activities need to be reviewed by Export Compliance prior to engagement. Please be aware that if a license is required for the proposed activities to move forward, the license application will face a presumption of denial by the cognizant government agency.

The list on this page was generated on April 1st, 2022. The government agencies revise and correct the entries on the Entity Lists on a regular basis; in order to ensure your inquiry reflects the most accurate and recent information, it is recommended that you run a Restricted Party Screen (RPS) through Visual Compliance.

Updated Aug 9, 2022