Developer Guide
Sanctions Screening API
How to integrate a sanctions screening API into your compliance workflow — from first request to production audit trail.
What a sanctions screening API does
A sanctions screening API checks a person or entity name against official watchlists — OFAC SDN, UN Security Council, EU Consolidated, UK HM Treasury, PEP datasets, and more. It returns structured match results with confidence scores, source attribution, and decision rationale so your compliance team can review, escalate, or clear.
Integration checklist
- Define which sanctions lists your policy requires (OFAC, UN, EU, UK, PEP, etc.)
- Choose integration path: REST API directly, or official SDK (Node.js, Python, Go, Rust)
- Implement API key storage using environment variables or a secrets manager
- Add retry logic with exponential backoff for 429 (rate limit) and 503 (service unavailable)
- Store the request_id and evidence_capsule_id from every screening response
- Log verdict, risk_score, and recommended_action for audit review
- Set up webhook endpoint for continuous monitoring alerts (Pro/Enterprise)
- Schedule quarterly benchmark review using your own test cases
Core endpoints
/v1/screenScreen a single entity. Returns matches, risk level, verdict, and Evidence Capsule ID.
/v1/screen/batchScreen up to 100 entities in one call. Requires Pro plan or above.
/v1/usageCheck remaining quota and current plan usage.
/v1/healthCheck API status. No authentication required.
Compliance caveat: A sanctions screening API is decision-support infrastructure, not a legal compliance determination. Final screening decisions, policy enforcement, and regulatory documentation remain your responsibility.