The Consolidated Screening List: Restricted-Party Screening for Teaming Partners

Before you share technical data with a partner, ship hardware or sign a subcontract, you need to know whether the U.S. Government restricts dealings with that party. The Consolidated Screening List (CSL), published by the International Trade Administration at trade.gov, brings the main restricted-party lists of three departments into one searchable file. It is a screening aid, not a verdict: a name match starts a review, it does not end one.

What the list combines#

The CSL merges lists that each department keeps under its own authority:

Each list carries its own rules. The Entity List, for example, is set out in 15 CFR part 744 and usually means a license is required for items subject to the EAR, while an OFAC SDN listing generally blocks the transaction outright. Always read the entry and the list it comes from before you act.

Why name matching needs a human#

The CSL identifies parties by name, aliases, addresses and sometimes identification numbers. It does not carry a SAM.gov UEI, so any automated screen of U.S. contractors compares names. That produces two kinds of error:

• False positives: a common word in a company name ("Advanced", "Global", "Systems") or a shared surname matches an unrelated listing
• False negatives: a listed party trades under a slightly different name, a new alias or a subsidiary name

A good screen therefore compares more than the name: country, city and street address, alternate names and the program the listing comes from. Close calls go to a person who reads the entry.

A screening routine for partners#

1. Screen every new partner, supplier and foreign end user before you exchange controlled technical data or sign.
2. Search all names: the legal name, any doing-business-as names, the parent company and key foreign affiliates.
3. For any hit, open the source list entry and compare address, country and identifiers. Document why you cleared or escalated it.
4. If the match is real, stop the transaction and talk to your export compliance lead or counsel; some listings allow licensed business, others prohibit it.
5. Rescreen on a schedule and before each new order. Lists change every week.
6. Keep the record: who screened, when, against which list version, and the outcome.

Federal contracts add their own rules. FAR subpart 25.7 prohibits acquisitions involving sanctioned parties and sources, and the ITAR debarment rules in 22 CFR part 127 reach defense articles and services. Screening is how you show the Government you took those rules seriously.

How TeamingIndex helps#

• We screen every company in the index against the CSL bulk file each night. A profile says "No match on the Consolidated Screening List (screened on a date)" with ITA as the source; it never says "clean".
• Possible matches are reviewed by a TeamingIndex administrator before anything is shown. Only an exact, high-confidence match or a confirmed review appears publicly, with the list name and its meaning.
• Use the screened filter to show companies screened with no match, and keep running your own checks before award. Read the ITAR and EAR guide for what controlled data you may share, and the exclusions guide for the separate SAM.gov debarment check.