OFAC sanctions exemptions
Some activity is exempt from sanctions by statute, not by license — informational materials, personal communications, travel, and humanitarian carve-outs. Here is each, with its legal authority.
Any postal, telegraphic, telephonic, or other personal communication that does not involve a transfer of anything of value.
Donations of Humanitarian ArticlesDonations, by persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction, of articles such as food, clothing, and medicine intended to relieve human suffering.
Informational Materials (Berman Amendment)The import or export of information and informational materials — publications, films, posters, phonograph records, photographs, microfilm/microfiche, tapes, CDs, CD-ROMs, artworks, and news wire feeds — whether commercial or otherwise, regardless of format or medium of transmission.
Travel-Related TransactionsTransactions ordinarily incident to travel to or from any country — importation of accompanied baggage for personal use, maintenance within a country (living expenses and acquisition of goods/services for personal use), and the arrangement or facilitation of such travel.
Program-specific exemptions (31 CFR)
Each sanctions program's regulations carry their own “Exempt transactions” section, where the statutory exemptions above become operational for that program — including the presidential carve-outs that narrow them. This is the citation a compliance officer relies on for a given program: § 515.206 for Cuba, § 560.210 for Iran, § 587.205 for Russia. 36 sections across 35 regulations parts, synced weekly from the official eCFR.
Not every program has one. Parts such as 591 (Venezuela), 598 (Kingpin) and 586 (CMIC) contain no exempt-transactions section, and a program's absence here means the CFR is silent — not that no exemption applies. The statutory exemptions above operate on their own terms.
- 31 CFR § 510.213 — North Korea sanctionsPart 510
- 31 CFR § 515.206 — Cuban sanctionsPart 515
- 31 CFR § 525.207 — Burma sanctionsPart 525
- 31 CFR § 526.206 — Hostages and Wrongful Detention sanctionsPart 526
- 31 CFR § 528.205 — International Criminal Court-Related sanctionsPart 528
- 31 CFR § 536.205 — Narcotics Trafficking sanctionsPart 536
- 31 CFR § 539.204 — Weapons of Mass Destruction sanctionsPart 539
- 31 CFR § 544.206 — Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferators sanctionsPart 544
- 31 CFR § 546.206 — Sudan Stabilization sanctionsPart 546
- 31 CFR § 547.206 — Democratic Republic of the Congo sanctionsPart 547
- 31 CFR § 548.207 — Belarus sanctionsPart 548
- 31 CFR § 549.206 — Lebanon sanctionsPart 549
- 31 CFR § 550.205 — Ethiopia sanctionsPart 550
- 31 CFR § 551.206 — Somalia sanctionsPart 551
- 31 CFR § 552.206 — Yemen sanctionsPart 552
- 31 CFR § 553.206 — Central African Republic sanctionsPart 553
- 31 CFR § 555.206 — Mali sanctionsPart 555
- 31 CFR § 558.206 — South Sudan sanctionsPart 558
- 31 CFR § 560.210 — Iranian Transactions sanctionsPart 560
- 31 CFR § 566.203 — Hizballah Financial sanctionsPart 566
- 31 CFR § 569.205 — Promoting Accountability for Assad and Regional Stabilization sanctionsPart 569
- 31 CFR § 570.206 — Libyan sanctionsPart 570
- 31 CFR § 576.209 — Iraq Stabilization and Insurgency sanctionsPart 576
- 31 CFR § 576.207 — Iraq Stabilization and Insurgency sanctionsPart 576
- 31 CFR § 578.206 — Cyber-Related sanctionsPart 578
- 31 CFR § 579.205 — Foreign Interference in U.S. Elections sanctionsPart 579
- 31 CFR § 582.205 — Nicaragua sanctionsPart 582
- 31 CFR § 583.206 — Global Magnitsky sanctionsPart 583
- 31 CFR § 584.206 — Magnitsky Act sanctionsPart 584
- 31 CFR § 585.205 — Hong Kong-Related sanctionsPart 585
- 31 CFR § 587.205 — Russian Harmful Foreign Activities sanctionsPart 587
- 31 CFR § 588.206 — Western Balkans Stabilization sanctionsPart 588
- 31 CFR § 589.214 — Ukraine-/Russia-Related sanctionsPart 589
- 31 CFR § 590.206 — Transnational Criminal Organizations sanctionsPart 590
- 31 CFR § 594.207 — Global Terrorism sanctionsPart 594
- 31 CFR § 599.205 — Illicit Drug Trade sanctionsPart 599