Does Cobalt Intelligence API Provide Access to Secretary of State Officer Information?

If a State Makes Officer Information Publicly Available, Is the API Able to Retrieve It?

Cobalt Intelligence employs a real-time approach, connecting directly to Secretary of State databases to retrieve the freshest data available. The core capability is designed to access "pretty much anything you find on there on the secretary of state site".

• The API automates the process of navigating state websites and submitting search queries, effectively mimicking manual lookups at scale.
• This direct-access methodology means that if officer information is publicly displayed and accessible on a state's standard business search page without requiring special requests or payments, the API is generally capable of retrieving it.
• The system is built to handle common website elements, including solving CAPTCHAs, which would otherwise impede automated access to public data.

However, it's important to note a few caveats based on the sources:

• If a state requires payment to access specific documents or detailed information, including some historical filings which might contain officer lists, the API typically does not retrieve these paid records as part of a standard public search.
• The API is limited by the functionality of the state's search form; if officer information is only searchable via a separate portal or requires specific, complex navigation not standard for a business lookup, it might not be retrievable through the standard API call.
• While rare, temporary state website issues or unexpected changes in site structure could potentially impact retrieval until adjustments are made.

Are There Any Specific States Where Officer Information is Known to Be Inaccessible Through the API?

Yes, while 28 states offer officer information via the API, California is specifically mentioned as a state where this data field is not currently included in the structured response, even though it contributes to the overall count of states covered for other data points.

• This highlights the variability in how states structure and expose public data, where some states explicitly expose officer information in the primary business details, while others may not.
• The API's retrieval is dependent on this state-level exposure; if a state does not present officer information on the standard search results page the API interacts with, that data cannot be retrieved through the API for that state.
• Understanding these state-specific nuances, like California's current limitation for officer data retrieval via the API, is important for setting expectations and designing your verification workflows.

Does the API Provide a List of Available Data Points for a Given Business, Including Officer Information?

Yes, the Cobalt Intelligence API returns a structured response that includes comprehensive information available for the specific business searched in the requested state, effectively listing the data points it was able to retrieve. This includes officer information if it is available for that business in that state and successfully retrieved.

• The API response is formatted for easy programmatic consumption, containing fields for various data points such as business name, status, filing date, address, registered agent, and officer information.
• By examining the presence and content of specific fields like the officers array within the response, your system can determine which data points were successfully retrieved for each lookup.
• This structured data return standardizes information across states, simplifying the parsing and utilization of data within your underwriting platform, regardless of the native format on the state's website.

Can the API Retrieve Historical Officer Information, or Only the Most Recent Data?

The Cobalt Intelligence API has capabilities that allow for the retrieval of historical business information if that history is made publicly available and accessible by the state's Secretary of State portal during a standard search. While the API primarily retrieves the current state of information as found on the live website, it can access historical context provided by the state.

• The API is designed to retrieve historical changes to business entities and provides access to historical filings and amendments.
• Many state websites include a "history" field or links to historical "documents" (like past annual reports or formation documents) that detail changes over time, including officer appointments at the time of filing. The API can access and return these historical documents where they are publicly available.
• This means you can potentially retrieve past lists of officers or identify when officer changes occurred based on the historical records provided by the state and captured by the API, such as through the documents array or history field in the response.

However, it's important to clarify that the API does not currently track and report deltas or changes in officer information over time internally across multiple lookups; it reports the historical information available on the state site for the entity at the time of the specific lookup.

Are There Situations Where a State May Have Officer Information, But It is Not Returned by the API?

Yes, there can be specific scenarios where officer information, despite potentially existing within a state's records, may not be returned by the Cobalt Intelligence API during a standard lookup:

• Paid Access: As mentioned, if a state requires a payment to access detailed records or specific documents where officer information is housed, the API will not typically retrieve this data as it focuses on publicly accessible information obtained through the standard search process.
• State Website Limitations/Structure: If the officer information is present but not readily accessible on the primary business lookup result page, or if it requires navigating through multiple non-standard pages or filling out complex forms beyond the API's standard automation scope for a simple business search, it might not be retrieved.
• Temporary State Site Issues: Although Cobalt's system is robust and handles common issues like CAPTCHAs and uses a cache as a backup, temporary downtime, unusual site errors, or unexpected changes on a state's website can occasionally impede live data retrieval, potentially affecting the return of all available fields, including officer information.
• Low Confidence Matching: If the business name or search query is inaccurate or results in multiple potential matches with low confidence scores, the API might return an alternative match or indicate low confidence, meaning the officer information returned might not correspond to the intended business entity. Using additional parameters like zip code or refining the search query can help improve match accuracy.

Conclusion: Transforming Underwriting with Granular Data Access

For alternative business lenders and institutional lending executives, the ability to reliably access granular data points like officer information directly from primary sources is indispensable. It strengthens due diligence, enhances fraud prevention, and allows for faster, more confident lending decisions. The Cobalt Intelligence API's capability to provide this information, where available across 28 states, coupled with its real-time data retrieval, comprehensive coverage, and structured responses, positions it as a powerful tool in automating and optimizing your underwriting workflow.

By integrating the Cobalt API, you move beyond manual, state-by-state checks to a streamlined process that delivers critical insights in seconds, not minutes, transforming data into actionable confidence.