Response structure

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
}

`meta`

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`, `error`, or `loading` (a still-running result fetched via `GET /search/{id}`)
`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
      },
      "match": {
        "score": 0.98,
        "baseline": "query",
        "fields": [
          { "field": "name", "label": "Name", "score": 0.98, "status": "matched" }
        ]
      },
      "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`	Name-only confidence that this result matches your query (0–1)
`match`	Aggregate identity match (0–1 `score`, `baseline`, per-field `fields`). Scored against your linked business record when the search was created with a `businessId`, otherwise against the query name. Richer than `legalName.matchScore`.
`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": [],
    "bankOfCanadaRps": [],
    "wsibClassifications": [],
    "onBusinessLicences": [],
    "torontoBusinessLicences": [],
    "vancouverBusinessLicences": [],
    "rbqLicences": []
  }
}

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
`bankOfCanadaRps`	Retail Payments Supervision (RPS)	Bank of Canada
`wsibClassifications`	Business classifications	WSIB (Ontario)
`onBusinessLicences`	Business licences & registrations	Ontario
`torontoBusinessLicences`	Business licences & permits	City of Toronto
`vancouverBusinessLicences`	Business licences	City of Vancouver
`rbqLicences`	Building contractor licences	Régie du bâtiment (Québec)

Each item includes 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", "roles": ["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 `roles`
`extracted.contactInfo`	Emails and phone numbers (E.164)
`industry.naicsCode`	6-digit NAICS classification code
`domain.createdAt`	Domain registration date

See Website analysis for full field documentation.

`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
    }
  }
}

Keys correspond to data sources: 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.

Overview

Guides

Concepts

API Reference

Changelog

Releases

Top-level shape

`meta`

`businesses`

`regulatory`

`sanctions`

`website`

`errors`

​Top-level shape

​meta

​businesses

​regulatory

​sanctions

​website

​errors

Top-level shape

`meta`

`businesses`

`regulatory`

`sanctions`

`website`

`errors`