Skip to main content

Frequently Asked Questions

Authentication​

What are the available authentication methods for World-Check On Demand?​

World-Check On Demand only supports OpenID Connect (OIDC) with the following mechanisms for authentication:

  • Basic Authentication
  • Post Authentication

Mutual certificate authentication (e.g., mTLS) is not supported at this time.

Please check the Authentication & Authorisation section for details.

Data Delivery and Format​

Is World-Check On Demand offered as a file-based download?​

World-Check On Demand is only currently provided via a RESTful API synchronous JSON response. There are no immediate plans to offer the data in a file-based format.

Is World-Check On Demand available in XML or CSV?​

The only supported data format is JSON. There are no immediate plans to provide the data in other formats.

What is the encoding standard used by World-Check On Demand?​

All World-Check On Demand records and reference information are using the UTF-8 encoding standard.

When World-Check On Demand does not have any data on an object, that object is not present in the JSON response. Is this expected?​

World-Check On Demand does not return empty objects, keys, or arrays by design.

Records API Filters​

Why isn't there an option to return deactivated records when using most other filters?​

Most World-Check On Demand records API filters only return active records. This is by design since a vast majority of the data retrieval use-cases only involve active records, and excluding deactivated records improves performance and reduce potential confusion when other filters are used in combination. Once a record is deactivated, most record areas (e.g., keywordReferenceList, nameInformation, etc.) are removed, and using filters on those removed areas may create an impression that these records are not present in the system.

To retrieve deactivated records, the only supported approach is a combination of the recordStatus and lastPublishedDate filters. Please see the working example in the Postman collection.

Why is the subjectStatus filter not returning anything?​

The subjectStatus information has not been populated in World-Check On Demand records. This is part of the data enrichment plan.

Is there a feature to request for a limited number of fields per World-Check record?​

Currently, World-Check On Demand returns all fields or properties available on a record that meets the provider filter criteria. However, field projection or the ability to record properties that gets returned is part of the feature roadmap.

Can a query return records as they were at a given point in time in the past?​

World-Check On Demand only returns the most current state or snapshot of records. The Change History on each record provides a glimpse of the changes over time.

Is there a feature that will return the number of records rather than the actual record data?​

World-Check On Demand has a count mode. This takes in the usual filters but return the number of records meeting the criteria instead of the actual records. Please see the Mode feature for more details.

Using the same filter in the payload (or no filter at all), will the results be the same for every API request?​

The same query payload (or no filters) is not deterministic. A new record added or updated could cause additional records to appear in repeated queries, as will record deactivations. Deterministic results can only be guaranteed when cursors and queryHash are used in queries. Please see the Pagination section for details.

How long will cursors be valid?​

Cursors are valid for 1 hour.

How long is the queryHash valid for?​

The queryHash is valid for 48 hours.

References API Filters​

Can all the concepts be retrieved without having to iterate one scheme at a time?​

To retrieve all concepts without having to request for it one scheme at a time, the newSince query parameter should be used and providing a timestamp like 2000-01-01T00:00:00.000Z. This works because all concepts were published after that timestamp.

Date and Time​

What is the difference between Effective From/To and Current From/To?​

Effective From/To are timestamps gathered by our researchers from official or external sources. For example, it may be the date and time that an official source such as OFAC has published a new set of sanctions that a record subject is part of. It could also be when a politically exposed person ended a role according to information from the official government sources.

In contrast, Current From/To are system-generated timestamps within the World-Check curation system indicating that a certain condition is true or not at that point in time. For example, a sanctions notice for a record subject is known to be current and active but it is unclear when it was actually published. In this case, World-Check researchers will indicate that a record subject is currently sanctioned within that regime at this date and time.

Why do some timestamp entries contain 3 digits in milliseconds and sometimes just 1 or 2 digits or even no millisecond entry at all?​

World-Check On Demand datetime entries use the OpenAPI date-time data type. This format adheres to the RFC 3339, section 5.6, which allows the millisecond to be absent or have multiple digits. Applications should use the latest datetime libraries instead of parsing as strings.

Notifications​

Are email notifications of new keywords going to be sent out by World-Check On Demand?​

Notifications for actions considered as business-as-usual changes such as the creation of new keywords, cities, ID types, etc. will not be provided in emails or release notes. Since all these will appear as new or changed reference concepts, all integrations are expected to frequently retrieve deltas via the References API and monitor new or updated references and trigger internal notifications as necessary.

These are the reference schemes considered to be business-as-usual which may have new or changed concepts at any time:

  • wcSourceKwd
  • wcCityList
  • wcIdentificationType
  • wcStateProvince
  • wcFurtherInformation
  • wcTitlePrefix
  • wcCryptoAddressType
  • wcPepPosition
  • wcPepRole

Is World-Check On Demand going to provide early notifications for new fields that will be added?​

World-Check On Demand may not provide early notifications for new fields or properties that are added to records. This type of change is considered non-breaking and applications integrating with World-Check On Demand are expected to be resilient to all such changes. Please refer to the list of breaking and non-breaking changes.

Details on relevant client-facing changes will be reflected in the Release Notes and Product Change Notification at the earliest possible time.

Deactivated Records​

How does World-Check On Demand handle record deactivations?​

World-Check deactivate records that does not meet the inclusion criteria, such as when a record subject has been removed from all keywords and there are no remaining reasons to retain the entry. In these scenarios, an update to the record will be issued where the record is set as deactivated or soft-deleted. Within the record, the Record Status will be set to wcRecordStatus:DELETED. The deactivation timestamp will also be present in the recordDateInformation record area.

Clients should regularly retrieve newly deactivated records using the recordStatus filter. This allows the retrieval of records that had been deactivated by World-Check within a certain lookback period.

How long does World-Check On Demand retain deactivated records for retrieval?​

Deactivated records are retained for a period of seven years before being physically purged from the system. Once purged, the record is effectively unknown to the system and none of its details or attributes can be queried or returned.

What happens if a deactivated record subject becomes associated with an active keyword or financial crime?​

When new information about a deactivated record subject surfaces that causes it to again meet the World-Check inclusion criteria, the record will be reactivated. This will be reflected in the recordDateInformation:

"recordDateInformation": {
    "recordDateDetails": [
        {
            "type": "wcRecordDateType:REACTIVATION_DATE",
            "detail": {
                "role": "wcRecordDateRole:VALUE",
                "value": "2025-06-26",
                "valueDataType": "wcDataType:DATE"
            }
        },
        {
            "type": "wcRecordDateType:DELETION_DATE",
            "detail": {
                "role": "wcRecordDateRole:VALUE",
                "value": "2020-12-18",
                "valueDataType": "wcDataType:DATE"
            }
        }
    ]
},

The recordStatus of a reactivated record will become wcRecordStatus:ACTIVE, and the update category will be set as wcUpdateCategory:C0.

Will a deactivated record contain all the record subject details at the point of deactivation?​

World-Check On Demand removes most of the details from the record when it is deactivated. Only relevant details are retained:

  • Record UID
  • Record Type
  • Record Status
  • Record Date Information showing the deactivation date
  • Record Meta

World-Check Data File (WCDF)​

Do you have a mapping between World-Check Data File fields and World-Check On Demand objects?​

A comprehensive mapping guide between the fields of the two products are provided within the Field Mapping section.

Where are the "Special Interest Categories" in World-Check On Demand?​

The entries within the "Special Interest Categories" (SIC) field in the legacy World-Check Data File (WCDF) are now part of the new categorisation taxonomy that gives a high-level overview on why the record subject is in World-Check. Specifically, SICs are now Category 3 entries within this taxonomy. Please take a look at the relevant details in the Field Mapping section.

Where can I find the equivalent legacy values for some of the concepts in World-Check On Demand that are mapped from the legacy data file product?​

World-Check On Demand concepts that can be directly mapped from World-Check Data File have an extra attribute that show their equivalent value in the legacy product. Within these concepts, look for an attribute within the relateds array with a rel value of wcMdRelatedRel:hasLegacyDF1.0Value. The value of value in that object is the legacy equivalent.

A snippet from the wcCat2:CRIME_FINANCIAL concept showing the equivalent value in the legacy data.
"relateds": [
    {
        "created": "2022-05-12T00:00:00.000Z",
        "modified": "2025-05-02T07:43:10.582Z",
        "effectiveFrom": "2022-05-12T00:00:00.000Z",
        "rel": "wcMdRelatedRel:hasLegacyDF1.0Value",
        "value": "CRIME - FINANCIAL",
        "valueDataType": "wcDataType:STRING"
    },

Are the update categories in World-Check On Demand the same as with World-Check Data File?​

World-Check On Demand uses the same set of update category codes as the World-Check Data File. However, a new category has been introduced:

  • C0: this update category is assigned to new or re-activated records; in World-Check Data File, such records are not assigned any update category value

Change History​

Are the various changes in a record's Change History always listed from oldest to the most recent?​

Entries in Change History are not in any enforced order and any apparent sorting order is coincidental. If required, please use the publishedDate information as basis for determining the temporal order of changes.

Connections​

Why are some connections represented as UIDs and others as full names?​

Connections are shown as record UIDs if the party connected to the record subject is present in World-Check. However, if the connected entity or individual does not exist in World-Check then the name of that part is shown as a string value.

Please see the Connection Information data feature for more details.

Others​

World-Check On Demand is currently providing ISIN and Ticker identifiers for financial instruments. More identifiers may be added in the future.