A background screening API for sex offender registries.
One REST call searches 58 US sex-offender registries and returns scored, de-duplicated, source-tagged records. It is the registry layer of a background screening stack — not a criminal-records search, and we would rather say so on the first screen than in the fine print.
curl https://api.offendersearch.app/v1/search \
-H "X-API-Key: $OFFENDERSEARCH_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"query": {
"firstName": "John",
"lastName": "Doe",
"dob": "1980-04-12"
},
"jurisdictions": null,
"freshness": "daily"
}'Exactly what this API covers
“Background check API” covers a dozen different products. Here is which one this is, so you can tell in thirty seconds whether it solves your problem.
In scope
- Sex-offender registry records from all 50 states, DC, the 5 US territories and NSOPW
- Names, aliases, DOB, physical description, and published addresses
- Offence, statute, tier or risk level, and registration dates
- Absconder, predator and incarcerated flags where a registry publishes them
- A match confidence score and the basis for every match
- Per-source provenance with the record URL and a lastCheckedAt timestamp
Not in scope
- County, state, or federal criminal court records
- Arrests, charges, or dispositions that did not result in registration
- Employment, education, or professional-licence verification
- Credit reports, eviction records, or motor-vehicle records
- Global watchlist, sanctions, or PEP screening
- Facial recognition — faceId returns 422
One layer, done properly
Where it fits
Most screening stacks assemble several sources: a criminal-records vendor, an identity check, sometimes a credit or MVR pull. This API is the sex-offender registry layer of that stack — the one component that has to be nationwide, because a registrant can move states and the local check will not see it.
Why teams replace their own integration
Fifty-seven registries publish fifty-seven formats, change layouts without notice, and fail silently. Maintaining that in-house is a permanent tax on an engineering team that would rather ship product. One endpoint replaces it, and every record still tells you which source it came from.
How you migrate
POST /v1/compat/sexoffender accepts the exact parameters and returns the exact envelope of legacy sex-offender search APIs, so an existing integration switches by changing a base URL and a key — no re-mapping, no re-testing your parser.
$0.15 a call, metered, no seats
Every call is $0.15, dropping to $0.11 past 2,000 in a month. Daily freshness — the default — adds $0.01 per call; weekly freshness carries no surcharge. A verification PDF is $0.02 per document and only when you ask for one.
Questions developers actually ask
Is this a criminal background check API?
No, and the distinction matters. This API returns what US sex-offender registries publish. It does not search county, state, or federal criminal court records, and it will not surface an arrest, charge, or conviction that did not result in registration. If you need criminal history, you need a criminal-records provider in addition to this — treat sex-offender registry data as one layer of a screening stack, not the whole stack.
Is there a free background check API?
You get 25 free searches when you sign up — real national data, no card, no sales call — and after that it is metered at $0.15 a call. There is no permanent free tier and no floor either: no seat licences, no annual commitment, no minimum spend, so a proof of concept costs a few dollars rather than a procurement cycle. Free public search pages are websites rather than APIs — one jurisdiction at a time, no scoring, no de-duplication across state lines and no provenance you can put in a file — which is exactly the work a metered API is doing for the $0.15.
Can I run a sexual predator background check with it?
You can search the registries that publish predator designations, and where a registry publishes the flag we carry it, and tens of thousands of records currently carry one. What "predator" means is defined by each state, not by us, so the flag is only as consistent as the registry that issued it. Records also carry tier and risk level where published.
How fast is a call, and how is it priced?
The synchronous endpoint answers from our current snapshot rather than dialling out to every registry, and every response reports its own elapsedMs so you can measure it against your own traffic. Pricing is $0.15 per call, dropping to $0.11 past 2,000 calls in a month; daily freshness — the default — adds $0.01 per call, and each verification PDF adds $0.02.
Can I use it for employment or tenant decisions?
Offendersearch is not a consumer reporting agency and its results are not a consumer report, so they must not be used for FCRA-covered decisions without appropriate process. Several jurisdictions separately restrict commercial use of registry data. Use is subject to our acceptable-use terms and applicable law, which you accept at onboarding.
Do you offer a sandbox or test key?
Sign up and create a key — it works immediately on the free trial, no payment method needed. Adding a card lifts the trial limits and nothing about the key changes. Keys are pure credentials with no entitlements attached — any key can request any freshness tier and call the report endpoint — so you can issue separate keys per environment and rotate or revoke any one of them independently.
Ship the registry layer this week
Self-serve signup, metered pricing, and a drop-in compatibility endpoint if you are migrating from another provider.