About Grid inquiries
The first step in the Grid screening process is to submit an inquiry. Learn more about inquiries, including processing and data retention details.
The first step in the Grid screening process is to submit an inquiry. An inquiry is a request to search for a person, organization, or unknown party within Grid database records. Inquiries contain information about people and organizations, such as name or birth date, that Grid compares against entities in the database.
See the Submit inquiries and begin screening with Grid topic to learn how to submit inquiries.
Inquiry processing
The information supplied in an inquiry is used to search for potential profile matches within Grid adverse media, sanctions, watchlist, and PEP entities.
Grid applies name-matching rules, proprietary algorithms, scoring, and firm-specific filters to determine relevant match results for inquiries. If you subscribe to certain add-on services, for example, Analyst Review, these also run as part of inquiry screening.
When there are entities in the Grid database that match your inquiry and filter criteria, you receive match alerts by email, web, or SFTP.
You can also review inquiry results and view the full history of your inquiries and results in the Grid web interface.
Inquiry data retention
Moody's retains inquiry data within Grid production environments and related databases unless you take action to purge or erase inquiries.
Soft delete (batch purge)
A soft delete, or batch purge, removes a batch of inquiries from active processing. You can request a batch purge when a batch is uploaded incorrectly, for example, when it contains inquiries with the same tracking ID as earlier inquiries and unintentionally overwrites details like name, address, or date of birth.
Note
You must purge the entire batch. Individual inquiries cannot be purged.
The outcome of a batch purge depends on whether an inquiry has a historical version.
Inquiries with history:
The system restores previous versions of inquiry records with the same tracking ID.
The restored version becomes active, and the system now monitors the restored version.
The purged version is deactivated and removed from monitoring.
Inquiries without history are hidden along with the batch and are no longer accessible or usable within the system.
Purged batches cannot be viewed, accessed, or used within Grid. However, these batches are not permanently deleted and can be reinstated by requesting to reverse the purge through your Moody's representative.
Inquiry erasure
Inquiry erasure helps you to meet General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) right to erasure standards, but can also be used to remove flawed or duplicate inquiries from processing.
During erasure, inquiry‑specific data is irreversibly overwritten with
DELETEDvalues.This includes personally identifiable information (PII) such as name, address, and date of birth.
For audit and compliance purposes, the database keeps the Grid‑generated inquiry IDs and the overwritten records.
Once erased, inquiries cannot be identified or used in the Grid interface, including for firm functions like Client Alert Decisioning and Portfolio Monitoring.
To erase inquiries on demand, use the Grid API v2:
/v2/inquiry/{id}/erasefor single inquiries./v2/inquiry/trackingIds/erasefor multiple inquiries bytrackingId.
You can also make a request to your Moody's representative to erase one or more inquiries.