specification: API Commons Rate Limits
specificationVersion: '0.1'
schema: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/interface-research/main/schema/api-commons.yml#/$defs/RateLimits
provider: sanctions.io
providerId: sanctions-io
created: '2026-07-11'
modified: '2026-07-11'
reconciled: false
tags:
- Anti-Money Laundering
- AML
- Sanctions Screening
- Rate Limiting
- Quotas
description: >-
  sanctions.io does not publish fixed numeric per-minute request-rate limits
  for the API. Consumption is governed primarily by plan volume - each plan
  includes a number of API calls/screenings that renews after twelve months or
  once consumed, and Enterprise plans start at 25,000+ monthly screenings. The
  screening endpoint averages roughly 500-600ms response time and supports
  real-time use cases; batch screening accepts up to 10,000 records per
  request. The API returns HTTP 429 (Too Many Requests) - for example on the
  database exporter endpoint when a plan does not permit the operation - and
  a screenings count endpoint (GET /searches/count) lets accounts track usage
  against plan volume.
notes: >-
  Numeric per-account or per-endpoint request-rate limits are not documented
  as of the review date. Size batch requests up to the 10,000-record cap
  instead of looping single searches for bulk jobs, and use webhooks rather
  than polling for batch results and monitoring alerts.
sources:
- https://api-docs.sanctions.io/
- https://help.sanctions.io/knowledge-base/pricing-plans
- https://www.sanctions.io/solutions/screening-api
responseCodes:
  throttled: 429
limits:
- name: API Requests
  scope: account
  metric: requests
  limit: not published
  notes: No fixed numeric request-rate limit is documented for the API.
- name: Plan Screening Volume
  scope: account
  metric: screenings
  limit: per plan (5,000 / 50,000 / 200,000 packages; Enterprise 25,000+ monthly)
  notes: Plans renew after twelve months or once included API calls are consumed, whichever comes first.
- name: Batch Screening Size
  scope: request
  metric: records
  limit: 10000
  notes: The batch endpoint accepts up to 10,000 names in a single API request.
- name: Screening Name Length
  scope: request
  metric: words
  limit: 15
  notes: The name parameter accepts a maximum of 15 words.
- name: Identifier Length
  scope: request
  metric: characters
  limit: 120
  notes: The identifier parameter accepts a single identifier of up to 120 characters.
- name: Database Export Access
  scope: plan
  metric: requests
  limit: plan-gated
  notes: The exporter endpoint requires a specific plan subscription and returns 429/permission errors otherwise.
policies:
- name: Usage Tracking
  description: Track consumed screenings against plan volume with GET /searches/count.
- name: Webhooks over Polling
  description: Register a webhook via the company config endpoint to receive batch-result and monitoring-alert events instead of polling the API.
- name: Webhook Failure Disabling
  description: Webhook endpoints that repeatedly fail delivery are automatically disabled and must be manually re-enabled.
- name: Backoff Strategy
  description: Clients should implement exponential backoff with jitter and honor 429 responses.
maintainers:
- FN: Kin Lane
  email: kin@apievangelist.com