---
title: "Format change: statements.csv"
url: "https://www.opensanctions.org/changelog/40/"
id: "40"
date_created: "2026-02-25T14:27:38.313Z"
date_effective: "2026-05-01"
breaking: false
categories: ["Export formats"]
---

# Format change: `statements.csv`

The [statement-level data export](https://www.opensanctions.org/docs/statements/) we publish for the `default` dataset currently includes metadata statements, identified by the `id` property name (which is not part of the [FollowTheMoney data model](/reference/)). These statements are not part of the data payload but rather entity checksums used internally by OpenSanctions for change detection. As they have caused some confusion, we are planning to remove them from the `statements.csv` export in May 2026.