Register for an OpenCorporates API key at opencorporates.com and include it on every request either as a query parameter api_token or in the X-API-TOKEN request header
Search for companies with GET /v0.4/companies/search?q={company_name}&jurisdiction_code={code} where jurisdiction_code is an ISO 3166-2-style code (e.g., us_de for Delaware, gb for UK); results are paginated
Inspect the companies array in the response; each result includes company_number, jurisdiction_code, name, company_type, current_status, and incorporation_date
Fetch the full company record with GET /v0.4/companies/{jurisdiction_code}/{company_number} to retrieve registered address, officers, filings, and corporate_groupings
For beneficial ownership and corporate structure, call the corporate_groupings endpoint or download the supplemental relationships file available separately for bulk use
Known gotchas
Free and self-service API plans have monthly query limits; bulk compliance screening workflows should use a commercial plan to avoid rate-limit errors mid-run
Company data is sourced from public registries and may lag official filings by days to weeks; do not rely solely on OpenCorporates for real-time status in regulated KYB workflows
jurisdiction_code values follow an OpenCorporates-specific convention (e.g., us_de, gb, fr) that differs from standard ISO codes in some cases; check the jurisdictions reference endpoint for the correct codes
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