# Initiate Inquiry
source: https://developer.mastercard.com/onboard-risk-check/documentation/use-cases/orc/initiate-inquiry/index.md

The Onboard Risk Check Initiate Inquiry endpoint should be used when a customer wants to evaluate the risks when onboarding a new merchant.
By submitting the minimum amount of data -- Merchant Name \& [ICA](https://developer.mastercard.com/onboard-risk-check/documentation/glossary/index.md) -- customers will receive an Inquiry Reference Number (IRN) which then needs to be used in conjunction with the [Retrieve Inquiry endpoint](https://developer.mastercard.com/onboard-risk-check/documentation/use-cases/orc/retrieve-inquiry/index.md).

To ensure accurate results, the customer must provide:

* Merchant URL, Name and Requesting ICA must be provided to return a Cyber Risk assessment.
* Legal Name, Country and Requesting ICA must be provided for Entity scan to return an Entity Sanctions Screening assessment.
* Legal Name, Country and Requesting ICA for Entity scan and Last Name, Address, Country for Principal Business Owner scan must be provided to return an Entity and Principal Business Owner Sanctions Screening assessment.
* Business Name, Requesting ICA, City, Postal Code, Country, Business Identification Numbers/BRN (required for non-US only), National Tax ID/EIN (required for US only), Jurisdiction of Incorporation (required for US only) must be provided to return a Business Identity Verification assessment.
* First Given Name, Middle Name, Fist Surname, Second Surname, Full Name, Business Name and Address can be optionally provided to get the People of Significant Control data as part of Business Identity Verification assessment.

<br />

Diagram initiate-inquiry

To see the details about parameters expected in the request payload, please check [Acquirers: Parameters](https://developer.mastercard.com/onboard-risk-check/documentation/parameters/acquirers-parameters/index.md).

API Reference: `POST /inquiries`

To get a better understanding of the implementation and related error scenarios of this use case, please refer below sections:

* [Acquirers: Onboard Risk Check API onboarding](https://developer.mastercard.com/onboard-risk-check/tutorial/orc-inquiries/index.md).
* [Acquirers: Code and Formats](https://developer.mastercard.com/onboard-risk-check/documentation/code-and-formats/orc/index.md).

<br />

Note: Certain inquiry types are prohibited in certain countries. If your business/entity is located in a restricted country for an inquiry type, you will receive "null" in the results for that inquiry type.