Entity Registry

A comprehensive database of 320,000+ government entities across 200+ countries – who governs what, and how to reach them.

Definitions

Entity

An organization or jurisdiction with independent public records obligations and its own designated leadership with decision-making authority.

Test: Does this body independently respond to public records requests and have a designated leader with decision-making authority? If yes, it's an entity.

Facility

A physical location operated by an entity. It has staff but no independent governance or public records obligations.

Test: If someone filed a public records request here, would it be redirected to the parent entity? If yes, it's a facility.

What We Track

The Entity Registry catalogs government entities at every level:

Entity Information

  • Identity – Official names, abbreviations, and aliases
  • Hierarchy – Parent-child relationships (state → county → city → district)
  • Contact – Addresses, phone numbers, websites, email addresses
  • Boundaries – Geographic service areas and jurisdictions
  • Classification – Entity type, function, and legal status

Entity Types

  • Federal agencies
  • State agencies
  • Counties
  • Cities and towns
  • Communes (FR, BE, LU)
  • Municipalities
  • Provinces and regions
  • Departments (FR)
  • Prefectures (JP)
  • School districts
  • Special districts
  • Courts
  • Elected offices
  • Tribal nations
  • Local authorities (IE, UK)
  • Councils (UK, AU)
  • National parks & monuments
  • National forests
  • Wildlife refuges
  • Military installations

Data Sources

Entity data comes from authoritative sources across 200+ countries:

  • US Census Bureau – TIGER boundaries, population data
  • Statistics Canada – Census subdivisions, municipal boundaries
  • European national registers – INSEE (France), Destatis (Germany), INE (Spain), ISTAT (Italy), and other national statistical offices
  • State and provincial databases – Official entity registries (e.g., California State Controller, NY OSC)
  • Federal registers – Agency listings, tribal nation recognition
  • Official websites – Contact information, service areas

We continuously update and verify entity information across all jurisdictions to maintain accuracy.

Use Cases

Jurisdiction Lookup

Given an address, find all government entities that serve that location.

Entity Discovery

Find government agencies by name, type, or location.

Hierarchy Navigation

Explore relationships between entities at different levels.