Offender lookup across 58 US registries, in one API call.
A registered offender lookup means searching what the sex-offender registries publish about a person. Below is how to run one properly across every US jurisdiction at once — scoped, scored, de-duplicated, and cited.
How to look up a registered offender
1. Decide the scope before you search
A lookup restricted to one state answers a narrower question than most people think they are asking: it cannot surface someone who registered elsewhere. Omit the jurisdictions parameter and the search runs across all 58 registries at once; send an array only when you deliberately want a narrower, faster answer.
2. Search on the surname first, then narrow
Start with the last name alone and add a first name, city or ZIP only once you have seen the shape of the result set. Spelling variants and nicknames are the commonest reason a real registrant is missed, which is why first names are expanded against a nickname list and partial names are matched by prefix rather than dropped.
3. Add a date of birth to grade the match
Pass a dob and every record returns a matchState label saying which criteria the match was actually made on, alongside a matchConfidence score and a matchBasis array naming the individual signals. Set your own threshold on those values rather than treating every hit as equivalent — a common surname without a date of birth is a review queue, not an answer.
4. Read the coverage block before you read the records
Every response carries counts and a per-source status block naming which registries answered. Check it first. A result set is only evidence of absence if you know what was searched, and this is the field that tells you — an empty array with a complete status means something quite different from an empty array without one.
5. Keep the citation with the decision
Each record carries the registry that holds the person, that registry’s own permanent link to them, and the time we last read it. Store the link together with its jurisdiction: it is a durable key for that person, it is what you diff against on the next re-screen, and it is what you produce if the decision is ever questioned.
What a registry lookup can and cannot tell you
Registries are public-notification systems, not criminal-history databases. Knowing the difference is the difference between a defensible decision and an indefensible one.
A lookup does return
- Name, known aliases, date of birth or age, and physical description
- Residence, and where published, employment and school addresses
- Offence, statute, tier or risk level, and registration dates
- Absconder and predator flags where the registry publishes them
- The source registry and when we last read it
A lookup does not return
- County, state, or federal court records
- Arrests or charges that did not result in registration
- Credit, employment, education, or driving history
- Facial recognition —
faceIdis rejected with a 422 - A consumer report — we are not a consumer reporting agency
One call, every registry, scored
Omit jurisdictions and the search runs nationwide. Every record comes back with a match confidence score, the basis for the match, its source registry, and when we last read that source.
curl https://api.offendersearch.app/v1/search \
-H "X-API-Key: $OFFENDERSEARCH_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"query": { "lastName": "Doe", "firstName": "John" },
"jurisdictions": null
}'Offender lookup by state
Pick a jurisdiction for a reference page on searching it, and on the record detail a search there returns.
Offender lookup questions
What does an offender lookup cost?
Offendersearch is a metered API at $0.15 per call, dropping to $0.11 past 2,000 calls in a month, with no seats and no minimum. That buys the thing a manual lookup cannot give you: one call across every jurisdiction, people de-duplicated across registries, every match scored, and a citation on every record. It is built for teams screening at volume rather than for a one-off personal search.
Does one lookup cover every state?
A single-jurisdiction lookup answers for that jurisdiction only. An Offendersearch search sent with no jurisdictions runs across all 58 registries we cover — all 50 states, DC and the 5 US territories — in one call, which is how a prior out-of-state registration surfaces without anyone knowing to look for it.
Can I look up offenders near an address?
Yes. Pass a city, a ZIP, or a latitude/longitude with a radius, and matches come back with typed addresses and their coordinates. Radius search answers "who is registered in this area"; a name or ZIP search is the right tool when you are asking about a specific person, and both read the same addresses array.
Is an offender lookup the same as a criminal background check?
No. A registry lookup returns what sex-offender registries publish. It does not include county or federal court records, arrests that did not lead to registration, driving records, or credit history. Treat it as one signal inside a broader screening process, not as a substitute for one.
Can I use lookup results to make a hiring or housing decision?
Offendersearch is not a consumer reporting agency and results are not a consumer report, so they must not be used for FCRA-covered decisions without appropriate process. Some jurisdictions additionally restrict commercial use of registry data. Use is subject to our acceptable-use terms and applicable law.
Looking up more than a handful of people?
One authenticated call searches all 58 registries, de-duplicates people across them, and scores every match. $0.15 per call.