AML Screening API: Sanctions, PEP, and Watchlist Checks

The LumiID AML Screening API lets you screen individuals and businesses against over 40 sanctions lists, PEP registers, adverse media databases, and local watchlists in a single API call. Run it during customer onboarding, before high-value transactions, or as part of scheduled re-screening to satisfy your KYC and AML due-diligence obligations. The API returns a clear HIT, REVIEW, or CLEAR risk signal alongside matched records, match confidence levels, and source URLs for your compliance audit trail.

What this endpoint screens

Sanctions lists — OFAC (US), UN Security Council Consolidated List, EU Consolidated List, UK HMT, and other national sanctions authorities
PEP registers — Politically exposed persons and their known associates
Adverse media / crime and conviction records — Where available per jurisdiction
Local watchlists — Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, South Africa, and other supported jurisdictions

Endpoint

POST https://api.lumiid.com/v1/aml/screening/

Headers

Header	Value
`Authorization`	`Bearer YOUR_API_KEY`
`Content-Type`	`application/json`

Request body

string

required

Full name of the individual or business to screen.

string

required

Entity type. Accepted values: individual or business.

array

One or more countries associated with the entity. Providing this field improves match precision and reduces false positives.

string

Gender of the individual. Accepted values: male or female. Narrows candidate matches for individuals and reduces false positives.

string

Date of birth in YYYY-MM-DD format. Improves match precision and reduces false positives significantly.

string

A unique client-generated key for this request. Reuse the same key when retrying a failed request to prevent duplicate billing or re-screening.

Always provide optional fields like date_of_birth, gender, and country when you have them. They significantly reduce false positives against common names and improve the quality of the matches returned.

Example request

{
  "entity_name": "John Doe",
  "type": "individual",
  "country": ["Nigeria"],
  "gender": "male"
}

cURL

curl -X POST https://api.lumiid.com/v1/aml/screening/ \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "entity_name": "John Doe",
    "type": "individual",
    "country": ["Nigeria"],
    "gender": "male"
  }'

Success response

{
  "success": true,
  "code": "AML_SCREENING_COMPLETE",
  "message": "Screening completed",
  "summary": {
    "overall_risk": "HIT",
    "verification_type": "AML_SCREENING"
  },
  "data": {
    "screening_id": "a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890",
    "entity": {
      "name": "Abubakar Shekau",
      "type": "individual",
      "country": ["Nigeria"]
    },
    "overall_risk": "HIT",
    "review_required": true,
    "categories": [
      { "category": "SANCTIONS", "hits_found": 38 },
      { "category": "NIGERIA_WATCHLIST", "hits_found": 2 },
      { "category": "PEP", "hits_found": 0 },
      { "category": "ADVERSE_MEDIA", "hits_found": 0 }
    ],
    "matches": [
      {
        "matched_name": "Abubakar Mohammed Shekau",
        "category": "SANCTIONS",
        "list_name": "UN Security Council Consolidated Sanctions List",
        "authority": "United Nations Security Council",
        "country": "Nigeria",
        "match_confidence": "HIGH",
        "aliases": ["Shekau", "Shehu", "Imam Darul Tauhid"],
        "source_url": "https://www.un.org/securitycouncil/sanctions/1267/aq_sanctions_list"
      },
      {
        "matched_name": "Shehu Abubakar",
        "category": "NIGERIA_WATCHLIST",
        "list_name": "NAPTIP Sexual Offenders List",
        "authority": "National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons",
        "country": "Nigeria",
        "match_confidence": "MEDIUM",
        "aliases": [],
        "source_url": "https://nsod.naptip.gov.ng/result.php"
      }
    ],
    "lists_screened": 40
  },
  "meta": {
    "request_id": "req_9f8e7d6c5b4a",
    "timestamp": "2026-07-31T05:08:52Z",
    "api_version": "1.0"
  }
}

Response fields

boolean

Indicates whether the screening request completed successfully.

string

Machine-readable result code. See Response codes below.

string

Human-readable result message.

object

High-level screening summary.

Show summary fields

string

Top-level risk outcome: CLEAR, REVIEW, or HIT. See overall_risk values for guidance on each outcome.

string

Always AML_SCREENING.

object

Full screening result.

Show data fields

string

Unique identifier for this screening run. Store for audit and re-screening workflows.

object

The entity that was screened, echoing back name, type, and country from your request.

string

Top-level risk outcome: CLEAR, REVIEW, or HIT.

boolean

true when the result is REVIEW or HIT, indicating that a human compliance reviewer should assess the result before you proceed.

array

Hit counts broken down by screening category. Each entry contains a category (e.g. SANCTIONS, PEP, NIGERIA_WATCHLIST, ADVERSE_MEDIA) and a hits_found integer.

array

Individual matched records — deduplicated, one entry per distinct list.

Show matches[n] fields

string

The name as it appears on the source list.

string

Screening category the match was found in (e.g. SANCTIONS, NIGERIA_WATCHLIST).

string

The specific list on which the match was found.

string

The authority or body that maintains the list.

string

Country associated with the matched record.

string

Bucketed match strength: HIGH, MEDIUM, or LOW.

array

Known aliases for the matched entity as recorded on the source list.

string

Public URL of the source list entry. Use this in your compliance audit trail.

integer

Total number of lists checked during this screening run. Useful for audit and reporting purposes.

object

Request metadata.

Show meta fields

string

Unique request identifier. Store this for audit and support purposes.

string

ISO 8601 timestamp of when the screening was completed.

string

API version that produced this response.

`overall_risk` values

Value	Meaning	Recommended action
`CLEAR`	No hits found across all screened lists.	Safe to proceed with normal onboarding.
`REVIEW`	Low or ambiguous confidence matches found.	Do not proceed automatically. Route to a human compliance reviewer before making a decision.
`HIT`	One or more high-confidence matches found.	Escalate immediately. Apply enhanced due diligence (EDD) and do not proceed without a compliance decision.

When review_required is true, your workflow should pause and route the case to a human reviewer before taking any onboarding or transaction action. Automated approval of REVIEW or HIT results is not recommended.

Response codes

Code	Meaning
`AML_SCREENING_COMPLETE`	Screening ran successfully. Check `overall_risk` for the outcome.
`AML_ENTITY_NOT_FOUND`	Insufficient identifying information to run a screen. Provide more entity details.
`AML_SCREENING_TIMEOUT`	An upstream list provider timed out. No charge is applied — it is safe to retry.
`AML_INVALID_REQUEST`	Missing or malformed required fields. Check `entity_name` and `type`.

Best practices

Provide date_of_birth, gender, and country whenever you have them. These optional fields significantly reduce false positives, especially for common names.

When review_required is true on a REVIEW result, trigger your manual review workflow rather than proceeding automatically.
Use idempotency_key every time you retry a failed request to avoid double billing or duplicate screening records.
Store screening_id, request_id, lists_screened, and source_url values from each response to build a defensible compliance audit trail.
Run AML screening not only at onboarding but also before high-value transactions and as part of scheduled periodic re-screening of your existing customer base.

Get Started

General

Government Verification

Business Verification

Biometric & AML

SDKs & Integration

Reference

AML Screening API: Sanctions, PEP, and Watchlist Checks

What this endpoint screens

Endpoint

Headers

Request body

Example request

Success response

Response fields

`overall_risk` values

Response codes

Best practices

​What this endpoint screens

​Endpoint

​Headers

​Request body

​Example request

​Success response

​Response fields

​overall_risk values

​Response codes

​Best practices

What this endpoint screens

Endpoint

Headers

Request body

Example request

Success response

Response fields

`overall_risk` values

Response codes

Best practices