FAQs

ACSS is an international membership organization that provides career development, through certificate courses and certification, as well as professional networking for sanctions professionals. ACSS also acts as a resource for financial institutions, corporate entities, and related businesses to identify and locate sanctions specialists in this rapidly expanding field.

ACSS was created in September 2018, by founding sponsor Alert Media Group, LLC, a leading independent authority on sanctions compliance and training, and publisher of ACSS. ACSS is supported and guided by an Advisory Board of industry professionals.

We offer several benefits:

1. Targeted OFAC/sanctions training: As a member, you will have FREE access to our library of on-demand webinars on sanctions topics. You also have FREE access to all our live webinars, so you can ask our experts all the questions you wish.
2. Resources: In addition, members of ACSS have access to the member-only part of our website at www.sanctionsassociation.org, including the
   • OFAC Enforcement Actions Database, with 900+ enforcement actions that can be searched by industry, year and violation type.
   • Interactive Sanctions Map, showing sanctions imposed by UN, EU, OFAC, UK and Canada. Click on a country and find out if the UN, the EU, OFAC, the UK or Canada have imposed sanctions on it.
   • Official Guidance Library, with guidance document about sanctions from government agencies and international organizations around the world, including OFAC, UN, EU, BIS, OFSI and Canada.
3. Networking:
   • Volunteer for a Taskforce and network with your fellow members. For more information: https://sanctionsassociation.org/task-forces/
   • List serve – This is an email communication system for members. You can ask your fellow members and the ACSS Advisory Board real-world questions about sanctions.
4. Discounts: ACSS member get preferential pricing for our programs, including the ACSS International Sanctions Conference in New York City. All of this for only $195 per person per year. Register now

Your ACSS membership last for one year. At the end of your membership period, you can choose whether or not to renew your membership for a subsequent year.

Yes we do. We offer attractive multiple person packages for larger organizations. Contact us at helpdesk@sanctionsassociation.org

Members should have received their login details by email. If not, please email us at helpdesk@sanctionsassociation.org .

For a seamless user experience, we have created a “single sign on” system, so you only need one password to access your Member-only Resources on our website as well as gain access to our learning management system where you can find our on-demand webinars.

Follow these steps to access on-demand courses:

• Step 1: Go to sanctionsassociation.org
• Step 2: Click “member” and log in (top right)
• Step 3: Go to main menu on homepage, and click tab “resources”
• Step 4: From the dropdown, select “on demand webinars”
• Step 5: You now see a list of webinars. Click the webinar of your choice and it takes you to the learning management system
• Step 6: Watch the course. After watching you can download a Certificate of Attendance.

The OFAC Essentials Certificate Program is a 7-part course, consisting of approximately 6 training hours, across 4 weeks. The course is delivered in an online format. The material is available on ACSS Learning Management System and Part 3 and 5 are “live virtual classrooms” (similar to a webinar, but more interactive). The course can be completed online. It is NOT Self-paced. It consists of 7-parts, which you have to take in order: The cost is $495 for members and $595 for non-members. We offer multiple person discounts. At the end of 4 weeks, participants who successfully completed the program receive:

• A Certificate of Completion: Upon passing the assessment, participants will receive an electronic Certificate which denotes the completion of the course.
• Credit hours (CSS credits will be awarded. You can use this towards becoming eligible for the CSS Certification exam)

The OFAC Essentials Certificate Course will be offered several times per year. Check the Certificate Course page here https://sanctionsassociation.org/certificate-ofac/ Contact us for further questions: helpdesk@sanctionsassociation.org

You must then see the recording of the missed class on our platform.

No, only those who successfully pass the international CSS examination will be able to use the CSS designation behind their name.The OFAC Essentials Certificate Course is a course, with mandatory steps to complete, and a quiz at the end. If you successfully pass the quiz and completed all parts of the course, you will receive a Certificate of Completion.

In conjunction with a psychometric company, ACSS has developed an examination that addresses knowledge and skills common to all sanctions professionals in varied employment settings, including financial institutions, law firms, consulting companies, government, and international corporations.

The topic of the exam is US, EU, UN, Canada and other sanctions plus international standards on sanctions compliance.

It is a multiple-choice, proctored exam that can be taken in testing centers across the globe.

The objective of the CSS certification program is to set the standard for the sanctions profession, and to make Certified Sanctions Specialists (CSS) widely recognized as trained and credentialed specialists in the sanctions field.

We offer a self-study Exam Prep Guide, plus 6 LIVE Virtual Classroom Sessions of 2 hours each, covering all the areas of the exam. You can ask your questions live. We also offer an Exam Prep Seminar at the ACSS International Sanctions Conference in New York. https://sanctionsconference.com/css-seminar/

Yes. If you have multiple team members who can benefit from this program or wish to talk about enterprise packages, please contact for pricing and more information: helpdesk@sanctionsassociation.org or call +1-305-433-7187

The CSS Exam is offered 3 or times per year. You can take the Exam in any of 4000+ testing centers located around the globe.