Cognito

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
deliveryModel:
  model: saas
  open_source: false
  commercial: true
  callable_host: false
  label: Hosted service · you call their endpoint
  confidence: medium
  source:
  - pricing
  generated: '2026-08-28'
  method: derived
accessModel:
  pricing: unknown
  onboarding: unknown
  trial: false
  try_now: false
  public: false
  label: Unknown
  confidence: low
  source:
  - authentication
  - security
  - sandbox
  generated: '2026-09-03'
  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: '0.23'
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: Website
  url: https://www.cognitohq.com/
- type: ParentCompany
  url: https://apis.io/providers/plaid/
  name: Plaid
  x-relationship: acquired
  x-evidence: ) 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.
- 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: X-MCPServerCandidate
  url: mcp/cognito-mcp.yml
  note: 'Renamed from MCPServer 2026-09-03 (roadmap#247): the manifest self-describes as status: candidate — a tool list derived
    from the published API contracts, not an existing server. The scorer already read the manifest and reported mcp_server
    correctly; the MCPServer type was crediting the artifact-type surfaces with a server that does not exist.'
- 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