Overview
OpenSanctions provides open access to a consolidated database of sanctioned individuals, criminal entities, and politically exposed persons (PEPs) from over 100 official sources worldwide. No API key is needed for basic searches, making it easy to get started immediately. It is a valuable tool for compliance checks, investigative journalism, and anti-money-laundering (AML) applications.
Beginner Tip
Search for an entity by name using https://api.opensanctions.org/search/default?q=PERSON_NAME and parse the results array for matches. The free API works without authentication, though commercial use requires a license.
Available Data
The kind of data this API exposes, based on its documentation. We could not call the endpoint to confirm the exact field names.
Example Response
Illustrative shape only — we were not able to call this endpoint (it requires credentials or exposes no public sample URL), so the fields below show the kind of data this API returns rather than a recorded response.
{
"name": "Japan",
"capital": "Tokyo",
"population": 125800000,
"region": "Asia",
"languages": [
"Japanese"
],
"flag": "https://flagcdn.com/jp.svg",
"currencies": [
{
"code": "JPY",
"name": "Japanese yen"
}
]
} Field Reference
results List of matched entity objects from the sanctions database results[].id Unique OpenSanctions identifier for the entity results[].caption Primary display name of the entity results[].schema Entity type classification, e.g., "Person", "Organization", "Vessel" results[].properties.country List of country codes associated with the entity results[].datasets List of source dataset names where this entity appears (e.g., "us_ofac_sdn") Implementation Example
Calls a real endpoint of this API. Replace any placeholder credentials with your own key.
const url = "https://api.opensanctions.org/search/default?q=Vladimir+Putin&limit=5";
const response = await fetch(url);
if (!response.ok) throw new Error(`Request failed: ${response.status}`);
const data = await response.json();
console.log(data); What Can You Build?
Note: These code examples are AI-generated and unverified. Always refer to the official API documentation for accurate usage.
Common Errors & Troubleshooting
Generated guidance based on this API's documentation, not observed by us. Treat it as a starting point and check against the provider's own error reference.
Metadata Score Breakdown
Estimated from metadata — endpoint not independently tested
Metadata estimate · endpoint not independently tested
Technical Specifications
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