Documentation · Commercial use
Commercial FAQ
Common questions from teams considering a licence. For the licences themselves, see data licensing; to get ready for a first conversation, work through the questions to prepare below.
Frequently asked
Is Crown Intelligence a complete screening system?
No. We provide the data, a search, and a matching API that scores and explains each candidate. We do not provide case management, alert queues, four-eyes review or audit workflow; those stay in your own systems or a screening platform built on top of the data.
Why pay when the lists are public?
You are right that the lists are public, and we do not claim to own them. The fee pays for the work around them: collecting more than a thousand feeds, cleaning and matching them, merging duplicates, refreshing them on each publisher's schedule, hosting the API and files, and support, together with the contractual commitments a licence gives you. See section 2 of the data licence.
Can I license only part of the data?
Yes, in two ways. The screening data is organized into collections (sanctions, PEPs, debarment, crime, maritime), and registry data is offered register by register through the store, where the publisher allows redistribution. To be confirmed: the minimum scope we license and whether custom extracts are offered.
Do you offer CRM or ERP integrations?
There are no ready-made connectors for CRM or ERP systems. Integration is through the API or the bulk files; spreadsheet users can use the reconciliation endpoint with tools such as OpenRefine.
Can I pay to use the website for screening?
No. The website's search is a free service for individual, non-systematic lookups. Production screening runs through the API or the files under a licence, not through the site.
Can we change the standard agreement?
Every licence is set out in an order form and the master licence agreement it incorporates, signed per licensee. Scope, permitted users, term and fees are fixed in the order form. To be confirmed: which terms of the master agreement are open to negotiation.
What do you need from us to invoice?
Licences are sold to businesses and organizations. To be confirmed: the business details we ask for at order (for example GST/HST or foreign tax registration) and how tax is applied for customers outside Canada.
Why is the pricing marked "proposed"?
The figures on the pricing page are proposed, based on published market rates, and are pending commercial sign-off. The order form fixes the actual fee for your scope and volume.
What is the difference between the screening and reseller licences?
A screening licence covers your own internal screening. A reseller / OEM licence also covers building the data, or results from it, into a product you offer to your own customers.
Is there a free tier for production use?
No. Production screening always needs a licence. Search, record views and the free downloads stay free: see free and non-commercial use.
Which law governs the licence?
The laws of Ontario and the federal laws of Canada applicable there, including for customers based in the United States.
Questions to prepare before you talk to us
You do not need a finished design before contacting sales. These questions help decide between the hosted API, an in-house screening licence and a reseller licence, and make the first call shorter.
Which sources do you need?
List the lists your regulator or policy names, then check them in the source register and the coverage pages. Tell us early about anything you cannot find.
How much screening will you do?
Estimate the names you check at onboarding each month, the size of the book you re-screen, and how often. Volume decides between metered and flat-rate pricing.
What information do you hold for matching?
Names alone produce more false positives. Dates of birth, nationality or country, and identifiers such as IMO numbers sharpen the score. Compare what you hold with the match parameters and the data dictionary.
Where does the data you screen live?
A core banking system, a CRM, an ERP, a data warehouse, spreadsheets? That decides whether you call an API in real time or load files in batch. There are no ready-made connectors, so plan who builds the integration.
Are you screening for yourselves or for your customers?
Screening your own customers, staff and suppliers fits a screening licence. If results go to your customers as part of a product you sell, you need a reseller / OEM licence: the screening licence does not allow results to be passed on as a data product.
Where should screening run?
Consider privacy, latency and who operates the service. The hosted API needs no infrastructure; bulk files or a self-hosted deployment keep the names you screen inside your own network.
Last updated 2026-10-03