What is the Notification Alert System (NAS) and must DNFBPs subscribe to it?
The Notification Alert System (NAS) is the UAE Executive Office for Control and Non-Proliferation (EOCN) channel that pushes targeted financial sanctions updates to regulated entities. DNFBPs must subscribe to NAS to receive immediate notifications about additions to and removals from the UAE Local Terrorist List and UN Consolidated Sanctions List.
Subscription to NAS, together with the Automatic Reporting System (ARS), is mandatory for all DNFBPs. NAS works on a near real-time basis: when a new designation is published, subscribers receive an alert with the designated person or entity’s identifying details. The DNFBP must then screen its customer base without delay, identify any matches, freeze any matched assets, and submit a Confirmed Name Match Report (CNMR) on goAML for confirmed matches or a Partial Name Match Report (PNMR) where the match is plausible but not confirmed.
Failure to subscribe or act on alerts is treated as a serious AML compliance breach that carries administrative penalties under Cabinet Resolution 71/2024 and can include licence suspension or public naming. DNFBPs should integrate NAS alerts with their internal screening tool, document the screening cadence, retain match-resolution evidence, and test the workflow at least annually under the independent audit function. Smaller DNFBPs without enterprise screening tools must still complete manual screening and document the steps taken whenever a NAS alert is received.
Legal Reference (UAE):
- Cabinet Resolution No. 74 of 2020 — TFS regime and reporting duties
- Federal Decree-Law No. 10 of 2025, Article 17 — sanctions implementation duties
For more details, consult the full text of Cabinet Resolution 74/2020