Before you can use the Cognism API, your organisation must have API access enabled, available credits, and the appropriate API entitlements.
This article explains the requirements for using the Cognism API and how API entitlements determine the data available through API requests.
Prerequisites
Before you begin, ensure that:
- Your Cognism subscription includes API access.
- API access has been enabled for your organisation.
- You have available credits.
- API entitlements have been configured for your organisation.
- You have permission to generate API tokens.
- You have reviewed the Cognism Developer Portal documentation for the APIs you plan to use.
What are API entitlements?
API entitlements determine which Cognism data your organisation can access through the API.
The API only returns fields included in your organisation's entitlement. Depending on your subscription, these may include:
- Email addresses.
- Mobile phone numbers.
- Direct dial numbers.
- Job titles.
- Management level.
- Seniority.
- Job functions.
- Company information.
- Technologies.
- Hiring data.
- Skills.
- Education.
- Previous employment.
- Company revenue.
- Company size.
- Company locations.
Only entitled fields are returned when redeeming records through the API.
How API entitlements are configured
API entitlements are configured during your API implementation.
The fields available to your organisation depend on your subscription and business requirements.
If you need access to additional data fields, contact your Account Manager. Once approved, the Cognism Provisioning team will update your API entitlements.
How credits are used
Credits are consumed when you redeem contact records through the Redeem API.
The Search API and Enrich API allow you to preview matching records without consuming credits.
For more information, see API Authentication & Credits.
Developer requirements
To build an integration with the Cognism API, you will need:
- An API token for authentication.
- A system capable of making REST API requests.
- Access to the Cognism Developer Portal for endpoint documentation and examples.
You can use any programming language, ETL platform, or integration tool that supports REST APIs.
Before you start building
Before you begin development:
- Confirm that API access is enabled.
- Verify your API entitlements.
- Generate an API token.
- Review the relevant endpoint documentation in the Cognism Developer Portal.
- Test authentication before making production API requests.