Every search returns a single JSON object. Most fields are always present; a few are only included when the corresponding feature is enabled.
Top-level shape
{
"meta": { ... },
"businesses": [ ... ],
"regulatory": { ... },
"sanctions": [ ... ], // only when sanctionsScreening: true
"website": { ... }, // only when websiteAnalysis: true (or website provided)
"errors": { ... } // only when one or more sources failed
}
Metadata about the search itself.
{
"meta": {
"searchId": "a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890",
"name": "Shopify Inc",
"website": "https://shopify.com",
"searchedAt": "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z",
"duration": 24318,
"status": "completed",
"params": {
"businessRegistry": true,
"regulatoryRegistry": true,
"sanctionsScreening": false,
"sanctionsThreshold": 85,
"websiteAnalysis": false
}
}
}
| Field | Description |
|---|
searchId | UUID — use with GET /search/{id} to retrieve this result later |
name | The query you submitted |
status | completed, completed-with-errors, or error |
duration | Total time in milliseconds |
params | The parameters that were used, with defaults applied |
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
Only present when sanctionsScreening: true. A flat array of matches — empty when no matches are found. See Sanctions screening for full documentation.
{
"sanctions": [
{
"legalName": { "name": "SHOPIFY INC", "matchScore": 0.91 },
"alternateNames": [],
"addresses": [],
"details": {
"datasets": ["us_ofac_sdn"],
"countries": ["US"],
"topics": ["sanction"],
"legalForm": null
},
"sourceUrls": ["https://opensanctions.org/entities/ofac-12345/"]
}
]
}
website
Only present when websiteAnalysis: true or a 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
Present only when one or more data sources encountered an error. 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. 