// Free tool · v0.1 · Browser-only

OFAC General License Version Diff

Paste two OFAC General License texts (for example GL 13D and its successor GL 13E) and get a word-level inline diff. Removed wording is shown in rose-red strikethrough; added wording in signal-green highlight. No data is sent anywhere — everything runs in your browser. Companion to our OFAC General License methodology note.

Whitespace and capitalization differences are surfaced. The diff is whole-word and runs entirely client-side — nothing is uploaded.

Diff output will appear here. Paste two GL texts above and click Compare, or click Load GL 131D vs GL 131E example to see how amendments to the Lukoil wind-down license differ.

How this works

OFAC publishes General Licenses (GLs) as PDFs — when a license is amended, the original is reissued with a letter suffix (GL 13, 13A, 13B, …). Treasury does not provide a public diff, so compliance teams have to compare PDFs by eye to see what changed. This tool runs a word-level longest-common-subsequence (LCS) diff in your browser: tokenize both texts on whitespace and word boundaries, compute the LCS, then mark each token as same, added, or removed.

Typical GLs run 1–3k words and diff in well under 200 ms on commodity hardware. The tool handles inputs up to roughly 10k words per side comfortably; beyond that the quadratic LCS table becomes noticeable but the result is still correct. Whitespace runs are preserved so the output stays readable. No text is logged, persisted, or uploaded.

For methodology context and how to interpret amendments (wind-down extensions, scope narrowing, new conditions), see our General License methodology note and the related primer on EU crypto sanctions and CASP exposure.

When compliance teams use a General License diff

OFAC reissues active General Licenses frequently, and the practical question for a compliance team is rarely "is there a new version?" but "what exactly changed, and does it move my deadline or my permitted activity?" A wind-down license might extend its expiry by a few weeks, add a new prohibited category, or quietly remove an authorisation a counterparty was relying on. Reading two dense legal PDFs side by side to find those edits is slow and error-prone, and a missed clause can mean continuing a transaction that is no longer authorised. This OFAC General License version diff turns that manual comparison into a single highlighted view: paste the prior version on the left and the amendment on the right, and every added, removed, or moved word is marked, with running counts of additions and deletions. The output is an evidence base — a precise record of what the text now says versus what it used to say — that your legal team can attach to a determination memo. Because the comparison runs entirely in your browser, you can paste sensitive draft analysis or marked-up internal copies without any text leaving your machine.

FAQ

Is my pasted text uploaded anywhere?
No. The OFAC General License version diff runs entirely in your browser. The two texts are tokenized and compared in client-side JavaScript; nothing is logged, persisted, or sent to a server.

What changes does the diff catch?
It is a word-level comparison, so it surfaces every added, removed, or reordered word between the earlier and later General License — including the changes compliance teams care about most, such as new wind-down expiry dates, added authorisations or exclusions, and narrowed scope.

How do I get the General License text to paste?
OFAC publishes each General License as a PDF on the Treasury OFAC website. Open both versions, copy the body text, and paste the earlier version on the left and the later (amended) version on the right.

Does the tool tell me the legal effect of a change?
No. It shows you precisely what wording changed; interpreting the compliance impact is a legal judgement. Use the diff as the evidence base for that analysis.

Related