OpenSanctions
Data on international sanctions, crime and politically exposed persons.
About OpenSanctions
OpenSanctions provides an API for screening people and companies against a database of sanctions lists, politically exposed persons (PEPs), and related risk data. The API exposes three endpoints: /match, which screens a described entity and returns scored candidates; /search, which offers full-text search across the database; and /entities, which returns the complete record for a single entity, including nested related records such as sanction details and business relationships. A Python SDK (yente-client), a command-line tool (yente-cli), and an MCP server for LLM agents are available, along with an OpenAPI spec for generating clients in other languages.
The service is aimed at organizations building screening or compliance workflows, including know-your-business (KYB) checks, and supports tuning of the matching algorithm to reduce false matches and continuous monitoring to re-screen counterparties as watchlist data changes. An on-premise deployment option is available for users with privacy or scaling requirements.
Access requires an API key. The underlying data is free for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons 4.0 Attribution NonCommercial license; commercial use requires a data license. API usage is billed pay-as-you-go, with matching and reconciliation billed per logical query and search billed per request, with no contract lock-in; volume discounts are available starting at 20,000 requests per month. Free API keys are issued for public-interest work such as journalism, civil-society advocacy, and academic research, and business email signups receive a free trial key.
Key features
- Match API screens people and companies against sanctions/PEP database with scored candidates
- Search API provides full-text search across the database
- Entities API returns complete record for a single entity with related records nested inline
- Continuous monitoring workflow re-screens counterparties as watchlist data changes
- Tunable matching algorithms to reduce false matches
- yente-client Python SDK, CLI tool, and MCP server for LLM agents
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free tier?
OpenSanctions is free for non-commercial users, and signing up with a business email generates a free trial API key. Free API keys are also issued for public-interest work such as journalism, civil-society advocacy, and academic research.
How is the API priced?
The API uses pay-as-you-go metering with matching and reconciliation billed per logical query and search billed per request, with no contract lock-in. Volume discounts are available starting at 20,000 requests per month.
What languages or platforms are supported?
A typed Python SDK (yente-client) and CLI tool are provided, along with an MCP server for LLM agents; other languages can use the interactive API documentation and OpenAPI JSON spec to generate a client.
Who is OpenSanctions for?
It is aimed at businesses building sanctions and PEP screening workflows, as well as non-commercial users like journalists, civil-society advocates, and academic researchers.
Can it be deployed on-premise?
Yes, OpenSanctions offers on-premise deployment as an alternative to the hosted API for privacy, scaling, or pricing reasons.
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