---
title: "Downloading the data and keeping it fresh"
summary: "We update our data regularly to ensure up-to-date sanctions and PEP lists are available."
url: "https://www.opensanctions.org/docs/bulk/updates/"
date_updated: "2026-09-24"
---

You can download bulk data extracts of the database directly from this website, without any login or API key. While the bulk data files are free to use for non-commercial users, commercial use of the data requires a [data license](/licensing/) and data delivery token. 

{% alert variant="info" %}
For commercial use, please see our [documentation](/docs/bulk/delivery-service/) on using the data delivery service with your data delivery token.
{% /alert %}

## Download URLs

Every export has a stable URL. To always fetch the most recent published version of a dataset or collection, use the `latest/` path:

```
https://data.opensanctions.org/datasets/latest/<dataset>/<format>
```

- Replace `<dataset>` with the name of the dataset or collection (e.g. `default`).
- Replace `<format>` with the file name of the format (e.g. `entities.ftm.json` or `targets.simple.csv`).

For example:

```
https://data.opensanctions.org/datasets/latest/default/entities.ftm.json
```

### Accessing historical data {% #historical-data %}

To fetch a specific past version, replace `latest` with a date in `YYYYMMDD` format:

```
https://data.opensanctions.org/datasets/20241001/default/entities.ftm.json
```

This fetches the version published on October 1, 2024. Historical data is available for most core sanctions lists from around July 2021 — check the "Date Added" on the dataset profile page for specific availability. Accessing data older than a few months requires a [data delivery token](/docs/bulk/delivery-service/).

## How often the data updates {% #update-frequency %}

**The [default collection](/datasets/default/) is republished about every 6 hours.** Updates happen in two phases:

* **Data sources** — sanctions lists are updated every 4 to 12 hours; other sources such as PEPs and regulatory watchlists are updated daily or weekly.
* **Collections** — aggregated [collections](/docs/glossary/#collection) are updated several times a day, roughly every 6 hours.

We cannot predict the specific time at which new exports are published; export cadences are available on the dataset overview page. Even when nothing has changed at the source, we re-export the data so you always have the most recent confirmed state.

{% alert variant="info" %}
For reference, our hosted API checks for new data every 30 minutes, and the self-hosted [yente](https://yente.followthemoney.tech) service checks hourly by default.
{% /alert %}

## Keeping your copy in sync

To perform regular data updates, you can use one of the following methods:

1. **Re-fetch on a schedule.** Re-download the stable `latest/` URL described above at a fixed interval (e.g. every 6 hours, or daily). This is the simplest option; re-fetch at most every 6 hours to avoid excessive data transfers.

2. **Poll the metadata index.** Fetch the [dataset metadata index](/docs/metadata/) and watch the `version` ID or `last_export` timestamp for a change. Compare the SHA1 `checksum` values in `dataset.resources` to confirm a file actually differs before downloading it. This detects new data promptly without re-fetching the full export — poll every ~30 minutes if you need timely updates. The index lives at:

   ```
   https://data.opensanctions.org/datasets/latest/<dataset>/index.json
   ```

3. **Apply delta files.** Use the [delta update mechanism](/docs/bulk/delta/) to retrieve incremental update files describing the additions, modifications, and removals of entities between data export versions.

## Detecting deletions, merges, and ID changes

When an entity is no longer present in the source data, it simply stops appearing in subsequent exports, and the total entity count in `entities.ftm.json` decreases accordingly — we do not emit explicit markers for deleted entities. We reflect deletions from source data typically within one week of the change. [Delta files](/docs/bulk/delta/) make removals explicit via `DEL` operations if you need to track them directly.

**Entity IDs** can also change over time, for several reasons:

- **Merging duplicates:** entities from multiple sources may be merged, resulting in a new cluster ID.
- **Source updates:** changes in source data or processing methods may alter entity IDs.

To stay consistent across these changes, track both an entity's primary `id` and its `referents` list. This helps you avoid duplicate alerts and ensures you keep referencing the correct entities. For detailed guidance, see our [identifiers documentation](/docs/identifiers/).