Overview
- The Federal Trade Commission has for some years provided high-value datasets in various file formats to the public to support transparency, participation, and collaboration. The agency is committed to providing its data and information in a machine-readable and standard, open format to facilitate the widest possible dissemination of its content to the public and government agencies. This commitment aligns with the FTC’s Open Government Plan and Strategic Plan. The FTC identifies on an ongoing basis datasets that can be made available via an Application Programming Interface (API), which enables developers to query, gather, and manipulate the FTC’s data.
- The FTC’s most recent API endpoint is for Do Not Call (DNC) complaints and mirrors data provided in CSV format on the Do Not Call (DNC) Reported Calls Data page. This data, essentially a list of the phone numbers of unwanted calls reported by consumers, is typically updated each weekday by about noon Eastern time. Weekend data is updated on Monday and holiday data is updated on the next business day. The API endpoint provides access to more historical data than the CSV files. Get technical details for the Do Not Call (DNC) Reported Calls Data API Endpoint.
- The FTC also has an API endpoint is for Early Termination Notices, which are released most weekdays and are among the most popular content on FTC.gov. They are related to the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act’s requirements for companies concerning mergers and acquisitions. Learn more about the Premerger Notification Program and Early Termination Notices and get the technical details for the HSR Early Termination Notices API endpoint.
- Current FTC data sets are at FTC.gov and Data.gov. The FTC is on Github.
API
An API (or Application Programming Interface) allows a website or software program to accept requests from an external source and send back responses to those requests. While a dataset file may contain several thousand rows of data that needs to be manually searched, an API allows you to request only the data you're interested in (by including filter criteria, such as a date range, keyword or specific transaction number). The FTC API is a Web API, which means that requests are sent via URLs and responses are provided in the content at those URLs. You can find out more about APIs here: Introduction to APIs in Government
The FTC API is read-only and allows various types of data to be requested, including the content that appears throughout the FTC website. Each type of data or content is accessible through a dedicated URL, commonly referred to as an "API endpoint".
The URL path for the API is: https://api.ftc.gov/v0
The current API version is v0, indicating that the API is under active development - some aspects of the API may change, such as the filter syntax used in requests or the structure of response data. All API responses are in JSON format. The number of results included per response is limited to 50 or less. The actual number of requests allowed per minute for a given API user (aka "throttling") is controlled by the api.data.gov configuration.
Getting Started with the FTC API
1. Register for a Data.gov API key using the API Key. You will receive a confirmation email with your API key shortly after. In addition to allowing you to access the FTC API, this key can also be used to access other participating APIs listed on Data.gov.
2. Make an API call to one of the endpoints listed in the API Endpoints section below, with your Data.gov API key included as a URL query parameter. For example, the following URL will make an API call to the HSR Early Termination Notices API endpoint (replace DEMO_KEY with your Data.gov API key):
https://api.ftc.gov/v0/hsr-early-termination-notices?api_key=DEMO_KEY
NOTE: you may also provide your Data.gov API key in an X-Api-Key header or using HTTP Basic Auth - see the Data.gov API Key page for more details.
Endpoints
FTC will develop new endpoints on a gradual basis and welcomes suggestions.
| API Endpoint | Description of Endpoint |
| /v0/dnc-complaints | Do Not Call (DNC) Reported Calls Data - This endpoint allows you to pull data about Do Not Call and robocall complaints reported to the Federal Trade Commission. This data consists of information reported by consumers about unwanted calls, including the date/time the complaint was created. |
| /v0/hsr-early-termination-notices | HSR Early Termination Notices - This endpoint allows you to pull granted Early Terminations data in real-time and filter by multiple parameters. Under the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act, parties to certain large mergers and acquisitions must file premerger notification and wait for government review. The parties may not close their deal until the waiting period outlined in the HSR Act has passed, or the government has granted early termination of the waiting period. |
Datasets
FTC offers a variety of datasets for public use, including those related to merger filings, merger/nonmerger enforcement actions, civil penalty actions, and Do Not Call complaints. In general, files are provided in either CSV or XLS format. Datasets can be downloaded from the following pages:
GitHub
See FTC's code repositories.
Developer News & Updates
Contact Us
- Questions, comments or suggestions? Email us.