aid: cognito
name: Cognito
description: >-
  Cognito (cognitohq.com, operated by BlockScore, Inc.) is an identity
  verification, KYC, and AML compliance API provider that was backed by Y
  Combinator and Battery Ventures and acquired by Plaid in 2020. Its API turns a
  phone number, name, or ID document into a verified identity in under a minute,
  covering 209 countries and thousands of document types. Three developer
  products sit on one REST API: Identity (phone-first, frictionless
  verification), Flow (an all-in-one hosted / embeddable verification experience
  integrated in minutes with document and selfie checks), and Screening
  (watchlist, sanctions, and politically-exposed-person AML screening with daily
  re-scans across 20+ lists). The API is JSON:API (application/vnd.api+json),
  date-versioned via a Cognito-Version header, and authenticated with HTTP
  request signatures (HMAC-SHA256 over a digest of the body). It ships a sandbox
  host, signed webhooks, and client SDKs for seven languages.
url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/cognito/refs/heads/main/apis.yml
accessModel:
  pricing: unknown
  onboarding: self-serve
  trial: false
  try_now: false
  public: false
  label: Self-serve signup
  confidence: medium
  source:
  - authentication
  generated: '2026-07-22'
  method: derived
image: https://cognitohq.com/wp-content/themes/cognito/images/cognito-share.jpg
x-type: company
x-source: vc-portfolio
x-backed-by:
- battery-ventures
- y-combinator
x-tier: stub
x-tier-reason: portfolio-lead
x-acquired-by: plaid
specificationVersion: '0.20'
created: '2026-07-17'
modified: '2026-07-18'
tags:
- Company
- Identity
- Identity Verification
- KYC
- AML
- Compliance
- Fraud Prevention
- Onboarding
- Watchlist Screening
- Know Your Customer
apis:
- name: Cognito Identity Verification API
  description: >-
    REST API for identity verification, KYC, and AML watchlist/PEP screening.
    JSON:API media type (application/vnd.api+json), date-based versioning via the
    Cognito-Version header, and HTTP request-signature authentication
    (HMAC-SHA256). Core resources: profiles, identity_searches (and async search
    jobs), plus Flow sessions and Screening searches.
  humanURL: https://cognitohq.com/docs
  baseURL: https://api.cognitohq.com
  tags:
  - Identity Verification
  - KYC
  - AML
  properties:
  - type: APIReference
    url: https://cognitohq.com/docs/reference
  - type: GettingStarted
    url: https://cognitohq.com/docs/identity/id-verification-api-quickstart
  - type: Authentication
    url: authentication/cognito-authentication.yml
  - type: Webhooks
    url: asyncapi/cognito-flow-webhooks.yml
maintainers:
- FN: Kin Lane
  email: kin@apievangelist.com
- FN: APIs.json
  email: info@apis.io
common:
- type: DeveloperPortal
  url: https://cognitohq.com/docs
- type: Documentation
  url: https://cognitohq.com/docs
- type: APIReference
  url: https://cognitohq.com/docs/reference
- type: GettingStarted
  url: https://cognitohq.com/docs/identity/id-verification-api-quickstart
- type: Blog
  url: https://cognitohq.com/blog
- type: Pricing
  url: https://plaid.com/pricing/
- type: SignUp
  url: https://dashboard.plaid.com/signup/
- type: PrivacyPolicy
  url: https://cognitohq.com/privacy-statement
- type: StatusPage
  url: https://status.cognitohq.com/
- type: ChangeLog
  url: https://cognitohq.com/docs/guides/api-changelog
- type: Deprecation
  url: https://cognitohq.com/docs/guides/breaking-changes
- type: Webhooks
  url: asyncapi/cognito-flow-webhooks.yml
- type: Authentication
  url: authentication/cognito-authentication.yml
- type: Conventions
  url: conventions/cognito-conventions.yml
- type: Conformance
  url: conformance/cognito-conformance.yml
- type: Lifecycle
  url: lifecycle/cognito-lifecycle.yml
- type: ChangeLog
  name: Cognito changelog (artifact)
  url: changelog/cognito-changelog.yml
- type: Packages
  url: packages/cognito-packages.yml
- type: Sandbox
  url: sandbox/cognito-sandbox.yml
- type: ErrorCatalog
  url: errors/cognito-problem-types.yml
- type: VulnerabilityDisclosure
  url: security/cognito-vulnerability-disclosure.yml
- type: Security
  url: https://cognitohq.com/docs/guides/security
- type: DomainSecurity
  url: security/cognito-domain-security.yml
- type: MCPServer
  url: mcp/cognito-mcp.yml
- type: LLMsTxt
  url: llms/cognito-llms.txt
- type: Components
  url: components/cognito-components.yml
- type: DataModel
  url: data-model/cognito-data-model.yml
x-enrichment:
  date: '2026-07-19'
  status: backfilled
  pass: local-v1
  note: backfilled from .gitignore signal + verified work evidence