US Enforcement & Disciplinary API

Base URL: https://api.techcompass.com.au — SEC litigation releases and FINRA BrokerCheck data with KYC risk signals.

About this Dataset

The US Enforcement & Disciplinary API aggregates regulatory enforcement and disciplinary action data from two independent US financial regulators: the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Together they cover the complete landscape of US securities law enforcement against individuals and firms.

SEC Enforcement — Litigation Releases

The SEC’s Litigation Releases are the formal public record of every civil enforcement action brought by the Commission in the US district courts. They cover securities fraud, insider trading, Ponzi schemes, unregistered offerings, and market manipulation — with electronic records dating back to 1995.

Each release includes: case title, respondent names, filing date, case type classification, and a direct URL to the full text on SEC.gov. Tech Compass indexes this data and provides full-text search against respondent names, enabling rapid cross-referencing of any individual or entity against the SEC’s enforcement history.

Use cases: Pre-engagement due diligence on investment managers, counterparty vetting, legal background checks, regulatory compliance screening.

FINRA BrokerCheck

FINRA BrokerCheck is the authoritative public database of all broker-dealers and individual financial professionals registered with FINRA — the self-regulatory organisation that oversees US broker-dealers under SEC oversight. It covers over 600,000 currently registered and 1.3 million formerly registered individuals.

Each record includes: registration status, current and past employers, licensing (Series 6, 7, 63, 65, 66, and 30+ other FINRA examinations), state registrations, and the complete disclosure history — customer complaints, regulatory actions, civil judgements, and criminal matters.

Use cases: Broker verification before account opening, ongoing registered representative monitoring, AML/KYC due diligence on financial intermediaries, regulatory compliance documentation.

Data Terms

SEC Enforcement data is US Government public domain. BrokerCheck data is provided under written confirmation from FINRA (Case #CAS-2946202-V7L1H3, 11 May 2026) — commercial redistribution permitted for compliance API platforms with source attribution. Attribution is included in data_lineage on every FINRA response.

Authentication

All endpoints require an API key in the Authorization header:

Authorization: ApiKey tc_live_<your_key>

Keys beginning with sk_live_ (issued before May 2026) remain valid. New keys use the tc_live_ prefix. Obtain a key at signup.

Tiers

Rate limit headers

Common Response Structure

All enforcement endpoints return a consistent envelope:

{
  "data": { ... },
  "meta": {
    "request_id": "a1b2c3d4-...",
    "cached": false,
    "timestamp": "2026-06-19T07:00:00Z"
  },
  "data_lineage": {
    "source": "FINRA BrokerCheck",
    "source_url": "https://brokercheck.finra.org/individual/128760",
    "license_url": "https://brokercheck.finra.org/terms",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-06-19T07:00:00Z",
    "compiled_at": "2026-06-19T06:00:00Z",
    "request_id": "a1b2c3d4-...",
    "downstream_use_restriction": "compliance and regulatory purposes only"
  },
  "kyc": {
    "overall_risk": "HIGH",
    "flags": ["BARRED"]
  }
}

SEC responses use a simpler lineage block (no compiled_at or downstream_use_restriction):

{
  "data_lineage": {
    "source": "SEC Enforcement — Litigation Releases",
    "source_url": "https://www.sec.gov/enforcement-litigation/litigation-releases",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-06-19T07:00:00Z",
    "request_id": "a1b2c3d4-..."
  }
}

KYC Signal Reference

Every FINRA endpoint returns a kyc block with overall_risk and flags. Use this to automate onboarding decisions.

Individual broker KYC signals

Firm KYC signals

FINRA Data Terms

Error Reference

SEC Enforcement Endpoints

GET /v1/us/enforcement/sec

Search SEC litigation releases by respondent name and/or date range. Returns up to 200 results ordered by date descending.

curl "https://api.techcompass.com.au/v1/us/enforcement/sec?entity=Enron&date_from=2001-01-01&date_to=2005-12-31" \
  -H "Authorization: ApiKey tc_live_<your_key>"

{
  "data": {
    "query": "Enron",
    "count": 14,
    "results": [
      {
        "release_number": "LR-18174",
        "release_date": "2003-06-25",
        "respondents": ["Enron Corp", "Jeffrey K. Skilling"],
        "summary": "SEC charges Enron Corp and former CEO Jeffrey Skilling...",
        "url": "https://www.sec.gov/litigation/litreleases/lr18174.htm",
        "fetched_at": "2026-06-19T06:00:00Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "meta": { "request_id": "a1b2c3d4-..." },
  "data_lineage": {
    "source": "SEC Enforcement — Litigation Releases",
    "source_url": "https://www.sec.gov/enforcement-litigation/litigation-releases",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-06-19T07:00:00Z",
    "request_id": "a1b2c3d4-..."
  }
}

Errors: 400, 401, 403, 429

GET /v1/us/enforcement/sec/{release_number}

Retrieve a specific SEC litigation release. Accepts any of these formats: LR-26551, 26551, lr-26551.

curl "https://api.techcompass.com.au/v1/us/enforcement/sec/LR-26551" \
  -H "Authorization: ApiKey tc_live_<your_key>"

Errors: 401, 403, 404, 429

FINRA BrokerCheck Endpoints

GET /v1/us/enforcement/finra/broker/{crd_number}

Look up an individual broker by FINRA CRD number. Returns registration status, all name aliases, disclosure count, and a KYC risk assessment.

curl "https://api.techcompass.com.au/v1/us/enforcement/finra/broker/4728166" \
  -H "Authorization: ApiKey tc_live_<your_key>"

{
  "data": {
    "crd_number": "4728166",
    "record_type": "individual",
    "individual_name": "Ernie Preston Simmons III",
    "other_names": [],
    "registration_status": "Not currently registered",
    "permanent_bar": true,
    "has_disclosures": true,
    "bc_scope": true,
    "ia_scope": false,
    "sec_number": null,
    "current_employments": []
  },
  "meta": { "request_id": "b2c3d4e5-..." },
  "data_lineage": {
    "source": "FINRA BrokerCheck",
    "source_url": "https://brokercheck.finra.org/individual/4728166",
    "license_url": "https://brokercheck.finra.org/terms",
    "compiled_at": "2026-06-19T06:00:00Z",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-06-19T07:00:00Z",
    "request_id": "b2c3d4e5-...",
    "downstream_use_restriction": "compliance and regulatory purposes only"
  },
  "kyc": {
    "overall_risk": "HIGH",
    "flags": ["BARRED"]
  }
}

Errors: 401, 403, 404, 429, 503

GET /v1/us/enforcement/finra/firm/{crd_number}

Look up a registered firm by FINRA CRD number. Returns registration status, name aliases, expelled date (if applicable), and KYC risk.

curl "https://api.techcompass.com.au/v1/us/enforcement/finra/firm/13992" \
  -H "Authorization: ApiKey tc_live_<your_key>"

{
  "data": {
    "crd_number": "13992",
    "record_type": "firm",
    "firm_name": "All-Tech Direct, Inc.",
    "other_names": ["All Tech Direct"],
    "registration_status": "Not currently registered",
    "expelled_date": "2001-07-31",
    "has_disclosures": true,
    "bc_scope": true,
    "ia_scope": false,
    "sec_number": "8-43302"
  },
  "kyc": {
    "overall_risk": "HIGH",
    "flags": ["EXPELLED"]
  }
}

Errors: 401, 403, 404, 429, 503

GET /v1/us/enforcement/search

Cross-source enforcement search. Searches both SEC litigation releases and FINRA BrokerCheck in a single call. For numeric queries, also attempts FINRA CRD lookup.

curl "https://api.techcompass.com.au/v1/us/enforcement/search?q=4728166&type=individual" \
  -H "Authorization: ApiKey tc_live_<your_key>"

Errors: 400, 401, 403, 404, 429, 503

Known Test CRDs & Release Numbers

Use these for integration testing. All values are real public FINRA and SEC records.

Common Use Cases

1. Pre-onboarding broker background check

Who uses this: Compliance teams at banks, fintechs, and asset managers screening financial professionals before engagement.

curl "https://api.techcompass.com.au/v1/us/enforcement/finra/broker/128760" \
  -H "Authorization: ApiKey YOUR_API_KEY"

2. Firm due diligence before counterparty engagement

Who uses this: Risk teams evaluating broker-dealers, RIAs, and investment firms before entering into business relationships.

curl "https://api.techcompass.com.au/v1/us/enforcement/finra/firm/7691" \
  -H "Authorization: ApiKey YOUR_API_KEY"

3. SEC enforcement action lookup for a specific entity

Who uses this: Legal teams and compliance officers checking whether a counterparty has been the subject of SEC enforcement action.

curl "https://api.techcompass.com.au/v1/us/enforcement/sec?entity=Enron&date_from=2001-01-01" \
  -H "Authorization: ApiKey YOUR_API_KEY"

4. Ongoing counterparty monitoring (cross-source)

Who uses this: AML and compliance teams monitoring known counterparties for new enforcement actions.

curl "https://api.techcompass.com.au/v1/us/enforcement/search?q=4728166" \
  -H "Authorization: ApiKey YOUR_API_KEY"

Data Sources