# Cognito

**Canonical:** https://apis.io/providers/cognito/  
**Website:** https://cognitohq.com/docs  
**APIs profiled:** 1

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.

## Kin Score — 44.7 / 100 (developing)

Scored 2026-08-20 under rubric 0.12.0. Trend: flat (+0.0 from 44.7).

| Facet | Score |
|---|---|
| Discoverability | 75.9 |
| Contract Quality | 45.1 |
| Governance | 18.2 |
| Contract Governance | 18.2 |
| Operational Transparency | 57.9 |
| Developer Ergonomics | 59.5 |
| Commercial Clarity | 21.1 |
| Access Clarity | 21.1 |

## Agent readiness — 32.5 (agent-aware)

| Dimension | Value |
|---|---|
| Spec Presence | yes |
| Agentic Access | no |
| Reversibility Documented | no |
| MCP Server | no |
| Auth Clarity | yes |
| Idempotency | no |
| Error Semantics | documented |
| OpenAPI Examples | no |
| Rate Limit Signal | no |
| Event Surface Described | yes |
| Agent Skills | no |
| Well Known Catalog | no |
| Consent Identity | no |
| Agent Card | no |
| Dry Run Mode | no |

## Access

Self-serve signup — onboarding: self-serve, pricing: unknown, trial: no (confidence: medium).

## APIs (1)

- **Cognito Identity Verification API** — 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, a...

## MCP servers (1)

- **Cognito MCP Server** — Candidate MCP tool surface for the Cognito Identity Verification API, derived from documented operations. This is a governance starting point, not a published server.

## Security (3)

- **Cognito Authentication** — httpSignature · 1 scheme
- **Cognito Domain Security** — TLSv1.3 · HSTS · DMARC
- **Cognito Vulnerability Disclosure** — Hackerone · contact published

## Tags

Company, Identity, Identity Verification, KYC, AML, Compliance, Fraud Prevention, Onboarding, Watchlist Screening, Know Your Customer

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Profiled by [API Evangelist](https://apievangelist.com) and published on [APIs.io](https://apis.io/providers/cognito/). Scores are computed from the provider's own public artifacts under a published rubric.