---
title: "Getting started with the API"
summary: "You're using the API? How exciting! This page will get you started by linking to all the relevant resources."
url: "https://www.opensanctions.org/docs/api/"
date_updated: "2026-09-14"
---

{% cardgrid %}
{% linkcard title="Authentication" %}
[Send your API key with each request](/docs/api/authentication/)
{% /linkcard %}
{% linkcard title="The matching API" %}
[Screen an entity and interpret scored candidates](/docs/api/matching/)
{% /linkcard %}
{% linkcard title="The entities API" %}
[Look up and browse entities directly](/docs/api/entities/)
{% /linkcard %}
{% linkcard title="The search API" %}
[Full-text search across the database](/docs/api/search/)
{% /linkcard %}
{% /cardgrid %}

The [OpenSanctions API](/api/) does three things: [`/match`](/docs/api/matching/) screens people and companies against the database, [`/search`](/docs/api/search/) provides full-text search, and [`/entities`](/docs/api/entities/) returns the complete record for a single entity.

{% alert variant="info" heading="Don't have an API key yet?" %}
[Sign up](/account/) to create one. If you sign up with a **business email address**, we generate a free trial key for you.
We also issue [free API keys for public-interest work](/docs/commercial/exemption/): journalism, civil-society advocacy, and academic research.
{% /alert %}

## Make your first request

* The **[quickstart tutorial](/docs/api/quickstart/)** walks you through your first screening call and how to interpret the response.
* [Authentication](/docs/api/authentication/) explains how to send your API key with each request.
* Working in Python? The **[`yente-client` package](https://yenteclient.followthemoney.tech/)** provides a typed SDK for the API, the `yente-cli` command-line tool, and an MCP server that lets LLM agents run screening queries.
* For other languages, the [interactive API documentation](https://api.opensanctions.org) describes every endpoint in detail, and the [OpenAPI JSON spec](https://api.opensanctions.org/openapi.json) can be used to generate a client.

## The endpoints

* The **[matching API](/docs/api/matching/)** (`/match`) is the core of a screening workflow: you describe an entity in as much detail as you can, and it returns scored candidates from the database. Deep dives on the [request](/docs/api/request/) and the [response](/docs/api/response/) explain every field.
* The **[entities API](/docs/api/entities/)** (`/entities/<id>`) returns everything we know about one entity, with related records nested inline.
* The **[search API](/docs/api/search/)** (`/search`) is full-text search, like the search box on this website. It's built for user-facing search interfaces, [not for screening](/docs/api/faq/#match-or-search).

## Understand the results

* The [**data dictionary**](/reference/) lists all the [entity types](/docs/entities/), properties, and relationships used in the data.
* **[Risk topics](/docs/topics/)** and **[sanctions programs](/docs/programs/)** tell you why an entity is listed: whether a match is sanctioned, sanction-linked, a PEP, or some other category of risk.
* **[Nested entities](/docs/nested-entities/)** explains how related records such as sanction details, family relationships, and business relationships are embedded in API responses.

## Build a screening process

* Learn how to **[tune the matching algorithm](/docs/api/tuning/)** to fit your use case and reduce the number of false matches, and read up on the supported [matching algorithms](/matcher/).
* Set up a **[continuous monitoring workflow](/docs/monitoring/)** to re-screen your counterparties as the watchlist data changes, catching new designations after onboarding.
* Once you've integrated the API, check if **[running the service on-premise](/docs/on-premise/)** is a better option for you in terms of privacy, scaling, and pricing.

## Commercials

The [OpenSanctions API](/api/) uses simple, transparent pay-as-you-go metering: matching and reconciliation are billed per logical query, while search is billed per request. There is no contract lock-in.

* Find more details in the [commercial FAQ](/docs/commercial/faq/).
* [Set up a call with us](/sales/) to discuss volume discounts, which start at 20,000 requests per month.
* Visit your [customer portal](/account/) to view usage statistics, manage your API key, and configure billing.