Registry data API for government & research
Access normalized, source-tagged sex-offender registry data across every US jurisdiction for public-safety programs and research — with bulk-friendly, auditable results.
25 free searches, no card. $0.15 a call, no platform fee, no seats, no minimum. No code needed: search from your dashboard, or integrate the full API when you’re ready.
curl https://api.offendersearch.app/v1/search \ -H "X-API-Key: $OFFENDERSEARCH_KEY" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{"query": {"firstName": "Jordan", "lastName": "Sample", "dob": "1980-04-12", "ageTolerance": 1}}' // response { "status": "complete", "elapsedMs": 410, "counts": { "records": 0, "sourcesQueried": 58, "sourcesComplete": 58, "sourcesIncomplete": 0 }, "records": [] } // a match carries its reason { "matchState": "dob_match", "matchConfidence": 0.98, "matchBasis": ["lastName:exact", "firstName", "dob"] }
Screening challenges for government agencies and research teams
- Registry formats differ across every jurisdiction
- Research needs consistent, structured, source-tagged data
- Programs require an auditable data lineage
What sex offender screening gives government agencies and research teams
Work with one schema instead of dozens
Preserve source lineage on every record
Support large, periodic, auditable pulls
Government & Research sex offender check API: request and response. One POST per person, or the same search from the dashboard with no code.
curl https://api.offendersearch.app/v1/search \ -H "X-API-Key: $OFFENDERSEARCH_KEY" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{"query": {"firstName": "Jordan", "lastName": "Sample", "dob": "1980-04-12", "ageTolerance": 1}}' // response { "status": "complete", "elapsedMs": 410, "counts": { "records": 0, "sourcesQueried": 58, "sourcesComplete": 58, "sourcesIncomplete": 0 }, "records": [] } // a match carries its reason { "matchState": "dob_match", "matchConfidence": 0.98, "matchBasis": ["lastName:exact", "firstName", "dob"] }
Send what you have. Name and date of birth; age or birth year when that is all you hold. Date of birth drives matchState: dob_match, year_match, age_match or no_dob_age_year.
Read the counts. sourcesComplete against sourcesQueried says whether all 58 registries answered, so a partial search is never read as a clear one.
Branch on the score. matchConfidence and matchBasis on every record, with the registry cited.
| Person | Checked for | Result | Answered |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jordan Sample | program check | No match | 58 / 58 |
| Jordan A. Sample | program check | Match · dob_match | 58 / 58 |
| J. Sample | program check | Review · year_match | 58 / 58 |
Read the API docs › · Search from the dashboard › · Screen a CSV without code ›
Sex offender screening built for government & research. One key, one schema, one stored record of every check.
One normalized schema
Heterogeneous sources across every US jurisdiction mapped into a single consistent record shape.
Source lineage
Every record retains its source and when it was verified.
Bulk-friendly access
Async deep searches and metered pricing support large, periodic data pulls.
When government agencies and research teams run a sex offender check. Each moment, and the call that fits it.
Program eligibility and placement
Agencies that place children or vulnerable adults with sponsors, providers or households check every adult involved before placement, and again when the household changes.
Service and staffing for public programs
National-service and community programs screen members and staff before service begins, under the program’s own rules.
Policy research and oversight
Analysts and auditors measure registry populations by state, county and offense category to evaluate policy — aggregate work that needs consistent fields across jurisdictions.
Address and location reviews
Planning, licensing and housing teams look at registrants near a facility or address, using radius or ZIP search with the coverage stated on every response.
When a program adds a new site
A radius search around the site shows nearby registrations before the program opens.
When a dataset is refreshed for a study
Researchers re-run the same search across 58 registries to compare two points in time.
Government & Research screening workflow. Step by step, from the first call to the stored record.
Define the purpose and the rule you are applying. Write down which program rule or research question the search serves; it determines who is screened and what happens with a result.
Search by person or by place. Name and date of birth for people; ZIP, address or radius for locations; state-scoped or across all 58 US registries.
Read the per-source status. Every response lists which registries answered, so a partial search is never mistaken for a clear one in an audit file.
Export for review or analysis. Results come back as normalized JSON; batch and CSV output fit a case-management system or a research dataset.
Keep the evidence. Store the request, the response and the date. Each record links the official registry entry it came from.
Government & Research screening: what the law requires and what it doesn’t
Some federal programs name a registry search outright. Federal rules for sponsors of unaccompanied children require a search of the National Sex Offender Public Website for the sponsor and every adult in the household (45 CFR § 410.1202(c)), with fingerprints as a discretionary addition. AmeriCorps requires a nationwide registry check before service (45 CFR § 2540.204(a)). In both, the registry check is its own named step, not something a fingerprint result covers.
Many government screening regimes are something else entirely: fingerprint criminal-history checks under federal personnel vetting standards, where registry status is not a listed disqualifier. A registry search adds a safety signal there but does not satisfy those rules. For research, consistent field names across 58 registries — offense, tier or risk level, county, registration dates — are what make cross-state comparison possible.
Researchers and agencies also use location data. Address, ZIP and radius searches show registrations around a facility, a school zone or a program site, and per-county counts support analysis of where registrants live relative to residency restrictions. Every record carries the official registry link, so a finding can be traced back to the publishing agency rather than to a third-party summary — which matters when a report, a grant application or a court filing depends on it.
Sex offender screening for government & research, by the numbers. The same answer whichever registry holds the record.
Registry and criminal records for government & research, on one key. Most government agencies and research teams need more than one check, and running two vendors means two integrations, two contracts and two invoices.
Sex offender registry
58 US registries, continuously updated, with photographs, aliases, addresses and the official record citation on every match. 1.5M records in one schema.
Sex offender API ›Criminal records
1,408 county jail rosters, 53 state corrections systems, courts, warrants and federal custody, almost 50 million records in the same scored, source-cited schema. Same key, same price.
Criminal search API ›FCRA background checks
When a result decides a hire or a tenancy, the check runs as an FCRA order through FCRA Partner Access: consent, the check, disputes and adverse-action steps. Pricing is quoted per partner.
FCRA Partner Access ›Coverage today: 1,914 criminal jurisdictions catalogued, 1,564 live, 51 states + DC + federal. See what each state publishes, or the live list at /v1/criminal/sources.
What government & research screening costs per check. $0.15 a call, $0.11 past 2,000 a month. No platform fee, no seats, no minimum.
| Checks / month | Cost | Per check |
|---|---|---|
| 500 | $75.00 | $0.1500 |
| 5,000 | $630.00 | $0.1260 |
| 50,000 | $5,580.00 | $0.1116 |
A batch is billed per row, so bulk screening costs the same per person as a single lookup. No setup fee, no per-seat licence, no monthly minimum on search and no annual contract, so the price scales down with you as well as up. A fraction of what legacy screening platforms charge.
The background check API · screen a CSV without code. More for developers: the free background check API tier, background check API pricing, the employment screening API and tenant screening API, and the background check API in Python and background check API in Node.js tutorials.
Government & Research screening FAQ
For anything else, talk to sales or read the API docs.
Can we pull large datasets periodically?
Yes. Use the async endpoint, which queries every named jurisdiction live rather than serving from cache; metered pricing supports large recurring pulls.
Is the data lineage preserved?
Every normalized record retains its source, provenance, and lastCheckedAt timestamp.
Can a government program use this to satisfy a required registry check?
It depends on how the rule is written. Where a rule names a specific search (for example NSOPW for sponsor households), keep that search in your process; our search adds normalized detail from the state registries and per-source status. Check the program rule with counsel.
Is registry data usable for research?
Yes. Aggregate counts by state, county, city and offense category are published on our statistics pages, and the API returns consistent fields for analysis. Avoid publishing individual records.
How do we search around a facility address?
Send an address or coordinates with a radius. Radius matching sees only records we have geocoded, so pair it with a ZIP or city search when completeness matters.
Can agencies procure this without a long contract?
Billing is per search with no minimum, so a pilot or a single program can start small. Contact us with procurement questions.
Does the data include out-of-state registrations?
Yes. One search covers the 58 US registries, so a sponsor or household member registered in another state shows up in the same call.
Are field names consistent across states?
Yes. Offense, tier or risk level, county and registration dates are normalized to one schema, with the original registry record linked.
Can results be exported for analysis?
Yes. Search results and batch screening output come back as structured JSON that loads into any analysis tool, with each record’s source link preserved.
Related
Screen government agencies and research teams with one API
Access normalized, source-tagged sex-offender registry data across every US jurisdiction for public-safety programs and research — with bulk-friendly, auditable results.