Introduction

This documentation covers version 2.0 of the consolidated screening API. It's important to read through and understand each API parameter to avoid false positives and ensure your compliance plan is being implemented as designed.

The consolidated API allows POST and GET HTTP request types.
POST requests expect JSON parameter data. GET requests expect URL query params.

Swagger API documentation can be found at OFAC API v2 Swagger UI

Quick Start

To get started quickly, give this example API query a try
https://search.ofac-api.com/v2?apiKey=demo_key&format=json&includeAlias=false&name=GLOBAL IMPORT LTD&minScore=95&source=SDN,DPL&type=Entity
Note it is recommended to use HTTP POST requests in production.

About the Searches

This consolidated screening API was designed in coordination with the U.S Department of the Treasury, based on new guidelines which call for fuzzy logic name search. The search algorithm utilizes two matching techniques; Jaro-Winkler character similarity and Soundex phonetic matching. The search returns exact matches, as well as partial matches which meet a minimum threshold as defined by the user. The higher the threshold, the fewer results will be returned and the higher the likelihood of a match.

Searches may also target various ID numbers, for example passports or vessel IMO numbers.

Recommendations

The consolidated screening API is intended to help organizations meet their compliance obligations. Typical use cases include the screening of parties involved in remittance transactions, import or export commerce, ongoing screening phases of an organizational KYC/CDD procedure or in the execution of an AML plan.

Tip

It's recommended that your query be as specific as possible, which will increase the results accuracy and avoid false positives. Review the APIs parameters in order to customize your queries behavior and result set.