Every search returns a single JSON object. All top-level fields are always present — disabled features return null rather than being omitted.
Top-level shape
{
"meta": { ... },
"businesses": [ ... ],
"regulatory": { ... },
"sanctions": null, // null when sanctionsScreening is false
"website": null, // null when websiteAnalysis is false
"errors": null // null when all sources succeeded
}
Metadata about the search itself. Your original query is nested under submitted.
{
"meta": {
"searchId": "a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890",
"searchedBy": "user@example.com",
"searchedAt": "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z",
"submitted": {
"name": "Shopify Inc",
"website": "https://shopify.com",
"params": {
"businessRegistry": true,
"regulatoryRegistry": true,
"sanctionsScreening": false,
"sanctionsThreshold": 85,
"websiteAnalysis": false
}
},
"status": "completed",
"duration": 24318
}
}
| Field | Description |
|---|
searchId | UUID — use with GET /search/{id} to retrieve this result later |
searchedBy | Email of the user who ran the search (may be null for API keys) |
searchedAt | ISO 8601 timestamp of when the search was executed |
submitted.name | The company name you submitted |
submitted.website | Website URL if provided (null otherwise) |
submitted.params | The parameters that were used, with defaults applied |
status | completed, completed-with-errors, or error |
duration | Total time in milliseconds |
completed-with-errors means at least one data source succeeded. Check the
errors object to see which sources failed.
businesses
An array of business registry matches, sorted by match confidence.
{
"businesses": [
{
"legalName": {
"name": "Shopify Inc.",
"matchScore": 0.98
},
"entityType": "Corporation",
"jurisdiction": "Federal",
"status": "Active",
"incorporationDate": "2011-09-14",
"registrationNumbers": [
{ "label": "Federal Corporation Number", "value": "796223-2" },
{ "label": "Business Number (CRA)", "value": "837620872" }
],
"addresses": [
{
"label": "Registered Office Location",
"street": "151 O'Connor Street",
"city": "Ottawa",
"province": "Ontario",
"postalCode": "K2P 2L8",
"country": "Canada"
}
],
"alternateNames": ["Shopify", "Shopify Commerce"]
}
]
}
| Field | Description |
|---|
legalName.matchScore | Confidence that this result matches your query (0–1) |
jurisdiction | Federal, Ontario, British Columbia, etc. |
status | Active, Dissolved, Cancelled, etc. |
registrationNumbers | All registration IDs with human-readable labels |
alternateNames | Operating names, DBA names, and aliases |
regulatory
Flat arrays of regulatory registry matches. Empty arrays when no matches are found.
{
"regulatory": {
"craCharities": [],
"fintracMsb": [],
"agcoCannabis": [],
"healthCanadaCannabis": [],
"mohServiceProviders": []
}
}
| Key | Registry | Regulator |
|---|
craCharities | Registered charities | Canada Revenue Agency |
fintracMsb | Money Services Businesses | FINTRAC |
agcoCannabis | Cannabis retail licences | AGCO (Ontario) |
healthCanadaCannabis | Cannabis production licences | Health Canada |
mohServiceProviders | Health service providers | Ontario Ministry of Health |
legalName ({name, matchScore}), registrationNumber, status, addresses, and a sourceUrl linking to the official registry record.
sanctions
Always present in the response. null when sanctionsScreening is false. When enabled, an object with query, totalMatches, and matches. See Sanctions screening for full documentation.
This describes the sanctions field within a search response. For the standalone POST /sanctions endpoint, which has its own meta, screening, and sourceCounts structure, see Standalone screening. {
"sanctions": {
"query": "Shopify Inc",
"totalMatches": 1,
"matches": [
{
"legalName": {
"name": "SHOPIFY INC",
"matchScore": 0.91,
"matchedName": "SHOPIFY INC",
"nameScores": [{ "name": "SHOPIFY INC", "score": 0.91 }]
},
"alternateNames": [],
"addresses": [],
"details": {
"source": "us-sanctions-ofac-sdn",
"datasets": ["us-sanctions-ofac-sdn"],
"countries": ["US"],
"programs": [],
"identifiers": [],
"listingDate": null,
"dateOfBirth": null,
"remarks": null
},
"sourceUrls": []
}
]
}
}
website
Always present in the response. null when websiteAnalysis is false and no website URL was provided.
{
"website": {
"status": "success",
"url": "https://shopify.com",
"scrapedAt": "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z",
"extracted": {
"legalName": "Shopify Inc.",
"descriptions": ["Shopify is a commerce platform..."],
"addresses": [],
"people": [{ "name": "Tobias Lütke", "title": "CEO" }],
"contactInfo": { "emails": [], "phoneNumbers": [] },
"registrations": []
},
"industry": {
"naicsCode": "454110",
"naicsDescription": "Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses"
},
"domain": {
"url": "https://shopify.com",
"createdAt": "1996-04-28T00:00:00Z"
}
}
}
| Field | Description |
|---|
status | success, skipped, error, or empty |
extracted.legalName | Legal name found on the website |
extracted.people | Named individuals with titles |
extracted.contactInfo | Emails and phone numbers (E.164) |
industry.naicsCode | 6-digit NAICS classification code |
domain.createdAt | Domain registration date |
errors
Always present in the response. null when all sources succeeded. The search can still succeed (completed-with-errors) even if some sources fail.
{
"errors": {
"businessRegistry": {
"code": "TIMEOUT",
"message": "Business registry request timed out",
"retryable": true
}
}
}
businessRegistry, regulatoryRegistry, sanctionsScreening, websiteAnalysis. Only failed sources appear — a key’s absence means that source succeeded.
See Error handling for the full list of error codes. 
