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Baselayer International

Two of Baselayer’s core US products - Business Search and Web Presence - have international counterparts for verifying businesses outside the United States.
  • International Business Search returns corporate registration data (name, registration number, status, legal form, and more) for businesses in 76 countries and territories, sourced from foreign corporate registries.
  • Web Presence works internationally out of the box: the same endpoint and response structure you already use for US businesses, with global coverage.
This is the Basics of Baselayer International. For the Business Verification product, see also the API Quickstart and Best Practices.

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At a Glance: US vs. International

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How It Works

International Business Search is available using a separate set of endpoints from the US Business Search. Data returned maintains a consistent structure across jurisdictions, though information depth varies by country. POST /international/searches accepts two ways to identify a business. Both require iso2_country_code.
  • Name + address: provide name and address. The standard approach, and all you need for the vast majority of searches.
  • Registration (filing) number: provide filing_number. A good optional input to offer: in many countries, owners and finance staff know their registration number by heart. When provided, the registry is searched by that number first; a name, if also included, is used as a fallback if no company matches the number.
With a filing_number, the name and address are both optional: you can send the number on its own, or with either or both. Without a filing_number, name and address are both required. Every input you send is matched and contributes to the scores (see Scores & Ratings below); inputs you leave out are simply excluded.
Tip: Label the registration-number field with the local term so users recognize it. In Spain, for example, it’s the CIF. If you want to smooth matching in a specific market, you can also look candidates up first with GET /international/registrations (see below). Both are optional, a plain name + address search works well on its own.

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Supported Countries

International Business Search is available for the following 76 jurisdictions.
★ = Enhanced Profile available (see Enhanced Profiles); all others return the core profile. 37 of the 76 jurisdictions offer Enhanced Profiles (★).
Note: Country availability reflects current registry access and may change over time. The iso2_country_code must be one of the supported jurisdictions above, submitting an unsupported code returns a validation error. Contact your account manager for the latest list.

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API Endpoints

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For the complete API reference, see Post International Search and Search International Registrations.

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Making a Request

A request always requires iso2_country_code, plus either name + address or filing_number (on its own, or with name and/or address).
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Optional fields include:
  • filing_number — the company registration number (see Two Ways to Search above)
  • officer_names — known officers or directors
  • website — business website URL
  • phone_number — business phone number
  • email — business or contact email
  • alternative_names — trading names or DBAs
  • reference_id — your internal ID for tracking this request
  • options — separately-billed add-ons (see Enhanced Profiles below)

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Enhanced Profiles (optional)

By default a search returns the core registration profile: name, file number, status, country and addresses. In supported jurisdictions (★ above), you can request an Enhanced Profile with the Order.Enhanced option, which adds directors, ultimate beneficial owners (UBOs), shareholders, and share capital where available.
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Enhanced Profiles are billed separately, per country, and coverage varies by jurisdiction. Contact your account manager for complete details. GET /international/registrations returns a list of matching registrations without running a full search. Its main use is to disambiguate before a precise search: look up candidates, let your user pick the right one, then search with that result’s filing_number.
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Query parameters: iso2_country_code, name, and/or filing_number. This is an optional add-on, most useful where several businesses share a similar name.

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Understanding the Response

When a search completes, the response includes a business object. The following fields are present across all countries:
  • name: the official registered name
  • file_number: the registration/filing number in the local registry
  • status: normalized to active, inactive, or unknown
  • country: the ISO2 country code of the registration
The response also reports how well your inputs matched the company found, the same match signals as the US Business Search:
  • business_name_match: EXACT, SIMILAR, or NO_MATCH (identical to the US)
  • business_address_match: EXACT, CITY, REGION, COUNTRY, or NO_MATCH (international granularity)
  • filing_number_match: a boolean specific to international search: true if the filing_number located the company, false if the search fell back to the name, null if no filing number was provided
Important: Data depth varies significantly by country. Most countries return the core fields above; some return more.

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Watchlist Screening

Every international search is screened against Baselayer’s watchlists: OFAC, the Consolidated Screening List (CSL), FBI, Canadian sanctions, and OIG. Screening covers the company’s registered name, any alternative_names you supply, and the company’s current officers and beneficial owners. PEP screening also runs when the search includes the Order.Pep option. Which lists run, and how closely a name must match before it’s reported as a hit, follow your organization’s Account Settings, the same settings that apply to US Business Search. Results appear in watchlist_hits on GET /international/searches/{id}, in the same shape as US watchlist results (code, name, count, details):
  • A list with a count of 0 was screened with no match.
  • A list that is absent was not screened (for example, it’s turned off in your settings, or PEP wasn’t ordered). Don’t read an absent list as a clean result.
A confirmed OFAC hit sets the search’s Risk score to 0 and its Risk grade to F, the same as US Business Search.

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Scores and Ratings

International Business Search returns KYB and Risk ratings on the same scale as the US product, so you can apply the same thresholds and decisioning logic you already use for US searches. See Scores & Ratings. Key factors influencing the international KYB score Only the inputs you send are scored: a filing-number-only search is not penalized for a missing name or address. Registry status always carries significant weight. KYB rating scale Only A and B ratings count as verified.

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Webhooks

International Business Search emits three webhook events:
  • InternationalBusinessSearch.submitted: accepted and processing
  • InternationalBusinessSearch.completed: results available
  • InternationalBusinessSearch.failed: no associated business found
These follow the same structure as US Business Search webhooks. See the Webhooks at Baselayer.
  • Separate API route: international searches use /international/searches, not /searches. The two are not interchangeable.
  • No TIN verification: IRS TIN matching is a US-only capability.
  • Online-presence add-ons: for website analysis, industry prediction, and other online-presence signals internationally, use the Web Presence endpoint (below).
  • Country-specific pricing: negotiated separately from your US contract.
  • API-only access: not available through the Console (yet).

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Web Presence (International)

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How It Works

Baselayer’s Web Presence endpoint works internationally using the same API route and response format as US requests. When you include a non-US iso2_country_code, Baselayer automatically routes the request through its international processing pipeline; the response structure is identical. Web Presence is available via both the API and the Baselayer Console.

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Supported Countries

Web Presence offers global coverage: any country with a valid ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code is supported. This is much broader than International Business Search because Web Presence relies on Baselayer’s AI-powered web intelligence rather than corporate registry access.

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API Endpoint

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This is the same endpoint used for US Web Presence. See Post Web Presence Request.

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Making a Request

Include the iso2_country_code field; the minimum required fields are name and address.
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Optional fields that improve results include website, officer_names, phone_number, email, alternative_names, reference_id, and options. See Online Presence: Basics.

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Understanding the Response

The response mirrors the US response. The request_type field is set to INTERNATIONAL (instead of UNITED_STATES), and you receive the same key data points. See the Online Presence: Best Practices.

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Webhooks

Web Presence uses the same webhook events for both US and international requests:
  • WebPresenceRequest.submitted: accepted and processing
  • WebPresenceRequest.completed: results available
  • WebPresenceRequest.failed: could not be completed

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Quick Reference

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International Business Search

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Web Presence (International)

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Where to Go Next