A new endpoint lets you search any combination of watchlists by name — without running a full business verification:

GET /watchlists?q={name}&watchlists=OFAC&watchlists=PEP

Available lists: OFAC, PEP, CSL, FBI, CNS, OIG. Pass any subset via the watchlists parameter; one billable order is written per list requested.

Results are grouped by source. Every requested watchlist returns an entry in the response — including lists with zero matches — so you can confirm exactly which lists were searched. Each match includes a similarity_score and source-specific details.

Two optional params: similarity_threshold (0.0–1.0, defaults to 0.9) and limit (up to 50 matches per list, defaults to 5).

Request

GET https://api.baselayer.com/watchlists?q=Rafael+Sarria&watchlists=OFAC&watchlists=OFAC&watchlists=CSL

Response

{
  "results": [
    {
      "source": "OFAC",
      "matches": [
        {
          "name": "SARRIA DIAZ, Rafael Alfredo",
          "similarity_score": 1,
          "details": {
            "name": "SARRIA DIAZ, Rafael Alfredo",
            "alternative_names": [
              "SARRIA-DIAZ, Rafael A",
              "SARRIA, Rafael"
            ],
            "program": "VENEZUELA",
            "title": " ",
            "remarks": "DOB 11 Nov 1965; Gender Male; Cedula No. 6974302 (Venezuela); Passport 114910699 (Venezuela) expires 02 Feb 2020; alt. Passport F0018546 (Venezuela) expires 02 Jul 2014; Linked To: CABELLO RONDON, Diosdado.",
            "source": "SDN",
            "entity_number": "24427",
            "type": "individual",
            "addresses": [
              ", Miranda, Venezuela,  | La Moraleja, Madrid, Spain,  | 5599 NW 23rd Ave, Boca Raton, FL 33496, United States,  | 480 Park Avenue, Apt. 10B, New York, NY 10022, United States,  | Calle de la Pena Pintada, 11, Madrid, Comunidad de Madrid 28034, Spain,  | Calle Los Malabares, Quinta Anauco, Valle Arriba, Caracas, Miranda 1080, Venezuela, "
            ],
            "source_list_url": "https://sanctionslist.ofac.treas.gov/Home/SdnList",
            "source_information_url": "https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/financial-sanctions/specially-designated-nationals-and-blocked-persons-list-sdn-human-readable-lists"
          }
        }
      ],
      "count": 1
    },
    {
      "source": "CSL",
      "matches": [
        {
          "name": "SARRIA DIAZ, Rafael Alfredo",
          "similarity_score": 1,
          "details": {
            "source": "SDN",
            "csl_id": "24427",
            "entity_number": "24427",
            "type": "Individual",
            "programs": "VENEZUELA",
            "name": "SARRIA DIAZ, Rafael Alfredo",
            "title": null,
            "addresses": [
              "Miranda, VE",
              "La Moraleja, Madrid, ES",
              "5599 NW 23rd Ave, Boca Raton, FL, 33496, US",
              "480 Park Avenue, Apt. 10B, New York, NY, 10022, US",
              "Calle de la Pena Pintada, 11, Madrid, Comunidad de Madrid, 28034, ES",
              "Calle Los Malabares, Quinta Anauco, Valle Arriba, Caracas, Miranda, 1080, VE"
            ],
            "alt_names": [
              "SARRIA-DIAZ, Rafael A",
              "SARRIA, Rafael"
            ],
            "source_list_url": "https://sanctionslist.ofac.treas.gov/Home/SdnList",
            "source_information_url": "https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/financial-sanctions/specially-designated-nationals-and-blocked-persons-list-sdn-human-readable-lists"
          }
        }
      ],
      "count": 1
    }
  ],
  "total_matches": 2
}

OFAC Match Details at Parity with CSL

At the same time, the details object returned for OFAC matches in watchlist responses has been updated to match the structure already returned for CSL matches. No integration changes required, but if you're parsing OFAC details fields directly, review your mapping against the updated response shape.

The similarity threshold for PEP (Politically Exposed Person) name matching has been raised from 0.90 to 0.95, following feedback from customers seeing high volumes of false positives on partial name overlaps.

The updated threshold reduces noise on ambiguous matches while preserving coverage on genuine hits.
No integration changes required, the adjustment applies automatically to all Person Search and watchlist results that include PEP screening.

You can now pass known social media profile handles, URLs or names as inputs to the web presence request.

Baselayer will parse those profiles, scrape/verify them during discovery, and report back whether each one matched.

{
  "name": "Ray's Pizza",
  "address": "123 Main St, Anytown, USA",
  "iso2_country_code": "US",
  "social_profiles": [
    {
      "site": "linked_in:company",
      "value": "https://www.linkedin.com/company/rays-pizza-anytown"
    },
    {
      "site": "instagram",
      "value": "@rayspizza_anytown"
    },
    {
      "site": "facebook",
      "value": "RaysPizzaAnytown"
    }
  ]
}

When profiles are provided, they're used to validate and improve the confidence of the returned website and social profile data.

Request-side additions:

• input_social_profiles field on WebPresenceRequest - a list of {site, value} pairs where value can be a URL, handle, or free text

Response-side additions:

• input_social_profiles field on both US and International Web Presence response, containing scraped social profiles derived from the caller's input
• social_profiles_match field returning a list ofInputSocialProfileMatch records indicating which input profiles were successfully independently discovered, scraped and verified by Baselayer

The behavior is additive - existing users don't need to change anything.

Watchlist searches now check business and person names against a broader set of alternative names and aliases - including DBAs, maiden names, and transliterations.

We've also updated our OFAC screening methodology to align with how OFAC.gov itself performs name matching. This improves precision (fewer false positives on partial name overlaps) and recall (better coverage on transliterated, abbreviated, or hyphenated names).

No integration changes required - improvements apply automatically to all Business Search, Person Search, and OFAC Batch results.

Baselayer now screens against the FinCEN Section 311 Special Measures list, which identifies foreign financial institutions designated as primary money laundering concerns under the USA PATRIOT Act.

FinCEN 311 designations surface automatically in watchlist results alongside existing sanctions checks. No integration changes required - the new source is included automatically under the OFAC results.

The Consolidated Sanctions List (CSL) now includes records from two additional sources: the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) Entity List and the State Department's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) Debarred Parties List.

No integration changes required - the new sources are included automatically in all Business Search results as part of the Consolidated Screening List (CSL) watchlist hits.

Business search responses now include a sec_registrations field when the searched entity has filings with the SEC. This surfaces the entity's CIK number, ticker symbol(s), and the name as registered with the SEC.

Useful for identifying publicly traded companies, SEC-registered investment advisers, and broker-dealers as part of your KYB flow - without a separate lookup.

A new employee verification endpoint is now available:

• POST /employee_verification_requests - submit a verification request
• GET /employee_verification_requests/{id} - retrieve results

Employee verification checks whether a given individual is an active employee of the specified business, based on public and proprietary data sources.

{
  "person_name": "Juan Escrig",
  "business_name": "Osiris Ratings",
  "business_address": null,
  "alternative_names": null,
  "result": {
    "verified": true,
    "person_name": "Juan Escrig Martínez de Salinas",
    "business_name": "Baselayer (Osiris Ratings Inc.)",
    "role_title": "Product & Solutions / Solutions Engineering",
    "department": null,
    "tenure_info": "Since approximately October 2024",
    "evidence_summary": "Juan Escrig Martínez de Salinas is listed on multiple LinkedIn profiles as holding the role of 'Product & Solutions' or 'Solutions Engineering' at Baselayer. Baselayer is identified as the operating name for Osiris Ratings Inc. Additionally, Baselayer's changelog features an entry from 'Juan Escrig' regarding expanded sanctions coverage.",
    "sources": [
      {
        "url": "https://www.linkedin.com/in/juanescrigmds/en",
        "description": "Juan Escrig Martínez de Salinas's LinkedIn profile, showing his role at Baselayer.",
        "reliability": "social"
      },
      {
        "url": "https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/company/2623907D:US",
        "description": "Bloomberg profile for Osiris Ratings Inc. confirming it operates as Baselayer.",
        "reliability": "official"
      },
      {
        "url": "https://docs.baselayer.com/changelog",
        "description": "Baselayer's changelog, attributing an update to Juan Escrig.",
        "reliability": "official"
      },
      {
        "url": "https://www.zoominfo.com/p/Juan-Escrig/7109345587",
        "description": "ZoomInfo entry for Juan Escrig, listing his role at Baselayer.",
        "reliability": "third_party"
      }
    ],
    "contradictory_evidence": null
  }
}

Contact your Baselayer representative for details on coverage, inputs, and pricing.

The filing_type field in lien filing responses is now normalized to a consistent set of values across all states. Previously, the raw value from each state's system was returned - which varied widely (e.g. "1", "UCC FINANCING STATEMENT", "Original", "Amendment" depending on the state).

filing_type now returns a standardized value making cross-state filtering and classification reliable without custom state-by-state handling on your end.

You can read more about the enums and structure in our Lien Search: Basics guide.

Federation partners can now register a single webhook endpoint at the Federation level, receiving events across all organizations and environments under their Federation.

Previously, webhook endpoints could only be registered per Organization - requiring partners to manage a separate endpoint and signing secret for each customer. The new Federation-level endpoint eliminates this overhead: one endpoint, one signing secret, all events.

Each event payload includes an enriched __event__ envelope with external_id, organization_id, application_id, and application_type fields so you can route events to the correct customer in your system.

To pre-filter delivery before events reach your endpoint, you can configure channels at creation time. Available filters include production, sandbox, Organization.<organization_id>, and Application.<application_id>. Filters can be combined.

Federation webhook endpoints can be created via the console under My Federation > Webhooks & Logs, or programmatically via POST /webhooks using your Federation API key.

For full implementation details, see the Organization Management guide.