> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.compliapi.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Search

> Free fuzzy search across every enabled list — names, companies, and identifiers

Unauthenticated and free. Fuzzy search across every enabled list, matching listed parties' names and aliases as well as identifier values (crypto addresses, emails, websites, government IDs) and sanctioned countries. This is the endpoint behind the free [SDN search tool](https://compliapi.com/tools/sdn-search).

Searches are burst-limited per client IP (a `429` response carries a `Retry-After` header) and are never metered or audit-logged — searched values are not stored. For production screening with exact-match semantics, audit history, and a `sanctioned`/`flagged` verdict, use the [screening endpoints](/api/screen).

<ParamField query="q" type="string" required>
  Name, company, or identifier to search for (3–100 characters). Matching is substring and trigram similarity — near-misses rank lower, and typos beyond trigram range don't match.
</ParamField>

<ParamField query="lists" type="string">
  Comma-separated [list slugs](/api/screen/lists) to narrow the scope (default: all enabled lists).
</ParamField>

<ParamField query="limit" type="integer" default="10">
  Number of results to return (1–25).
</ParamField>

```json Example response theme={null}
[
  {
    "entity_type": "government_id",
    "value": "RC 1555604",
    "match": "partial",
    "similarity": 0.412,
    "list": "ofac",
    "list_name": "US OFAC SDN",
    "list_type": "sanctions",
    "metadata": {
      "type": "Registration Number",
      "id_country": "Nigeria",
      "sdn_name": "GENERATION CURRENCY BUREAU DE CHANGE LIMITED",
      "sdn_type": "Entity",
      "programs": "SDGT"
    },
    "source_url": "https://sanctionssearch.ofac.treas.gov/Details.aspx?id=...",
    "removed_at": null
  }
]
```

Results are ranked active-before-delisted, then exact-before-partial, then by similarity. Unlike the screening endpoints, delisted entities are included (ranked last) with `removed_at` set — formerly-listed parties are useful review signal. `match` is `exact` when the query equals the identifier value or the listed party's name; `list_type` is `sanctions`, `crime`, or `risk`.