Death Verification API

Single endpoint for one-shot obituary lookups. Returns

found

possible_match

, or

not_found

with confidence and evidence.

Coverage / limitations

Results are based on searched obituary sources and web results. not_found is not proof of life or a death-registry result.

Endpoint

POST /api/v1/verify

Production base URL: https://obituarymonitor.com/api/v1/verify

Developer portal

API-primary customers sign in at /login and land on the developer portal:

Overview — quotas, monthly usage, quick links
Guide — integration walkthrough (getting started, search depth, results)
Test console — run live verify requests against your API key
Usage — volume charts, result breakdown, recent request log
API Keys — create and revoke keys (shown once at creation)

Account limits (max_lookback_years, monthly/daily quotas, extended concurrency) are configured by your administrator in api_customer_settings.

Authentication

Send your API key in the Authorization header:

Authorization: Bearer om_live_xxxxxxxx

Keys are created in the developer portal under API Keys. Your account must have api_access enabled.

Request schema

Field	Type	Notes
first_name	string	Required
last_name	string	Required
middle_name	string	Optional
dob.month	1–12	Optional; invalid values return 400
dob.year	1800–2100	Optional; invalid values return 400
address.city	string	Optional disambiguator
address.state	string	2-letter US state recommended
search_depth	enum	Optional. `recent` \| `standard` \| `extended`. If omitted, the API automatically chooses an appropriate depth based on stored obituary inventory, DOB compatibility, and account lookback limits. Customers can still force `recent`, `standard`, or `extended`.
client_ref	string	Your correlation id (echoed in response)
lookback_years	integer (1–20)	Extended depth only. Calendar years back from today to fan out web searches (e.g. 6 → 2026, 2025, …, 2021). Defaults to your account `max_lookback_years` when omitted. Cannot exceed that maximum.

search_depth

auto (omit search_depth)

If search_depth is omitted, the API automatically chooses an appropriate depth based on stored obituary inventory, DOB compatibility, and account lookback limits. Customers can still force recent, standard, or extended.

Typical auto-escalation to extended: indexed same-name obituaries exist but none match the submitted birth year, or the subject is age 55+ with no DOB-compatible stored match. Response search_scope.search_depth shows what was applied; search_depth_auto_reason explains why.

recent

Stored obituaries and funeral-home listing inventory only. No external web search. Fastest and lowest external query cost.

standard

Recent sources plus historical web search (~2-year fan-out). Use when you want to force a shallow web search regardless of stored inventory.

extended

Deeper multi-year web search. Set lookback_years to control how many calendar years back from today are searched on the web (up to your account's max_lookback_years). Each year adds one name/location query plus two site-specific queries (legacy.com and dignitymemorial.com) without a year filter. Subject to extended concurrency limits; may return 503 when capacity is saturated.

dob.year helps disambiguate matches but does not change which years are searched — use lookback_years to reach older deaths.

Result meanings

found

A qualifying obituary match was identified with sufficient confidence. Stored-index matches rank above web-only signals. Review match.evidence and scoring_reasons before automated action.

possible_match

Possible matches are returned when evidence exists but identity confidence is not high enough for found. review_recommended is typically true. Treat as a lead, not confirmation.

not_found

No qualifying obituary in the searched scope. Response includes not_proof_of_life: true and an interpretation string. Absence of an obituary is not evidence the person is alive.

negative_result_strength

Returned on not_found only.

weak — minimal identifiers; search coverage was narrow.
moderate — reasonable identifiers; standard scope searched.
strong — strong disambiguators (e.g. city+state, DOB) and broader search; higher confidence no obituary appeared in scope.

search_scope (response)

Every response includes search_scope describing what was searched. Use it to audit auto-depth decisions and web fan-out.

Field	Meaning
search_depth	Effective depth applied for this request
search_depth_requested	Client value; `null` when auto-detected
search_depth_auto_reason	Why auto chose this depth (e.g. `subject_age_55_plus_no_compatible_stored_match`)
years_searched	Calendar years used in web fan-out
lookback_years_applied	Extended depth year count (when applicable)
stored_name_match_count	Same-name hits in stored inventory for this request
has_dob_compatible_stored_match	Whether any stored hit matched submitted birth year
external_queries_count	External queries consumed (top-level response field)

Example request (auto — recommended)

Omit search_depth to let the API choose depth from stored inventory and DOB compatibility.

curl -X POST https://obituarymonitor.com/api/v1/verify \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer om_live_YOUR_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "first_name": "Jackie",
    "last_name": "Simmons",
    "dob": { "month": 11, "year": 1945 },
    "address": { "state": "TX" },
    "client_ref": "case-44201"
  }'

Example request (standard)

curl -X POST https://obituarymonitor.com/api/v1/verify \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer om_live_YOUR_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "first_name": "Margaret",
    "last_name": "Henderson",
    "dob": { "month": 3, "year": 1942 },
    "address": { "city": "Austin", "state": "TX" },
    "search_depth": "standard",
    "client_ref": "case-88421"
  }'

Example request (extended + lookback_years)

Use lookback_years to reach older deaths in web search. With lookback_years: 6 in 2026, the API searches death years 2026 through 2021.

curl -X POST https://obituarymonitor.com/api/v1/verify \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer om_live_YOUR_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "first_name": "Thomas",
    "last_name": "Plaskett",
    "dob": { "year": 1945 },
    "address": { "state": "PA" },
    "search_depth": "extended",
    "lookback_years": 6,
    "client_ref": "case-99102"
  }'

Example: found

{
  "result": "found",
  "confidence": 0.92,
  "review_recommended": false,
  "scoring_reasons": ["exact_name_match", "stored_obituary", "city_state_match"],
  "client_ref": "case-88421",
  "search_scope": {
    "stored_obituaries_checked": true,
    "listing_inventory_checked": true,
    "historical_web_search_checked": true,
    "search_depth": "standard",
    "search_depth_requested": "standard",
    "search_depth_auto_reason": null,
    "years_searched": [2025, 2026],
    "lookback_years_requested": null,
    "lookback_years_applied": null,
    "web_search_status": "completed"
  },
  "external_queries_count": 2,
  "checked_at": "2026-06-08T14:22:11.000Z",
  "match": {
    "matched_name": "Margaret Ann Henderson",
    "death_date": "2026-05-12",
    "location": "Austin, TX",
    "obituary_url": "https://example.com/obit/margaret-henderson",
    "source_trust": "stored",
    "evidence": {
      "name_match": "exact",
      "location_match": "city_state",
      "dob_match": "year_only"
    },
    "scoring_reasons": ["exact_name_match", "stored_obituary"]
  },
  "candidates": []
}

Example: possible_match

{
  "result": "possible_match",
  "confidence": 0.68,
  "review_recommended": true,
  "scoring_reasons": ["web_obituary_signal", "common_name_requires_review"],
  "client_ref": "case-88421",
  "search_scope": {
    "stored_obituaries_checked": true,
    "listing_inventory_checked": true,
    "historical_web_search_checked": true,
    "search_depth": "extended",
    "search_depth_requested": null,
    "search_depth_auto_reason": "subject_age_55_plus_no_compatible_stored_match;auto_lookback_years:3",
    "years_searched": [2026, 2025, 2024],
    "lookback_years_requested": null,
    "lookback_years_applied": 3,
    "stored_name_match_count": 0,
    "has_dob_compatible_stored_match": false,
    "web_search_status": "completed"
  },
  "external_queries_count": 5,
  "checked_at": "2026-06-08T14:22:11.000Z",
  "match": {
    "matched_name": "John Smith",
    "death_date": null,
    "location": "Dallas, TX",
    "obituary_url": "https://example.com/obit/john-smith-dallas",
    "source_trust": "extended",
    "evidence": {
      "name_match": "exact",
      "location_match": "state_only",
      "dob_match": "unknown"
    },
    "scoring_reasons": ["web_obituary_signal", "state_only_location"]
  },
  "candidates": [
    {
      "matched_name": "John Smith",
      "location": "Dallas, TX",
      "obituary_url": "https://example.com/obit/john-smith-dallas",
      "confidence": 0.68,
      "source_trust": "extended"
    }
  ]
}

Example: not_found

{
  "result": "not_found",
  "confidence": 0,
  "review_recommended": false,
  "not_proof_of_life": true,
  "interpretation": "No matching obituary was found in the searched sources for the provided identifiers. This is not proof the person is alive.",
  "negative_result_strength": "moderate",
  "scoring_reasons": ["no_qualifying_candidates"],
  "client_ref": "case-88421",
  "search_scope": {
    "stored_obituaries_checked": true,
    "listing_inventory_checked": true,
    "historical_web_search_checked": true,
    "search_depth": "standard",
    "search_depth_requested": null,
    "search_depth_auto_reason": "stored_coverage_sufficient",
    "years_searched": [2025, 2026],
    "lookback_years_requested": null,
    "lookback_years_applied": null,
    "web_search_status": "completed"
  },
  "external_queries_count": 2,
  "checked_at": "2026-06-08T14:22:11.000Z",
  "match": null,
  "candidates": []
}

Rate limits

Limits are configured per account: per-minute, daily, and monthly quotas. Extended-depth requests also respect a concurrent extended cap.

429 — rate_limited or quota_exceeded
503 — extended_capacity (retry later)

Error responses

Errors use:

{ "error": { "code": "invalid_request", "message": "…" } }

HTTP	code	When
400	invalid_request	Validation failure (missing name, bad DOB, `lookback_years` without `extended`, etc.)
400	lookback_exceeds_quota	`lookback_years` exceeds account `max_lookback_years`
401	unauthorized	Missing or invalid API key
403	forbidden	Key valid but api_access disabled
429	rate_limited / quota_exceeded	Account or key quota exceeded
503	extended_capacity	Extended search concurrency saturated
500	internal_error	Unexpected server error

Signed-in developers can test live requests in the test console and review volume charts in Usage.