27 APIs in this category · last checked 2 October 2026
27
APIs listed
21
need no API key (78%)
3
CORS enabled (11%)
27
HTTPS (100%)
This directory lists 27 government APIs. 2 of them require no API key and support CORS, so you can call them directly from browser JavaScript with no backend and no sign-up. Every entry shows whether it needs authentication, serves over HTTPS and allows cross-origin requests, so you can pick one that fits your stack before you read a single doc page.
BrasilAPI aggregates Brazilian public data such as postal codes, CNPJ company records and bank holidays into one JSON API, built to fix missing CORS support in older government feeds.
No
✓
✓
City of Helsinki
Helsinki Region Infoshare publishes open datasets from Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa and Kauniainen covering transport, environment and city statistics, free to query with no account needed.
No
✓
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City of Berlin Open Data
Berlin's official open data portal lets you browse and download city datasets on mobility, environment and administration through a CKAN based catalog API, free and without an account.
No
✓
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Data.parliament.uk
UK Parliament's Dataset Explorer provides structured data on bills, members, Lords and petitions under the Open Parliament Licence, free to query without registration or a key.
No
✓
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Deutscher Bundestag DIP
Germany's Bundestag DIP API gives access to parliamentary documents, plenary protocols and activities, needs a free key requested by email and caps requests at 100 records per call.
apiKey
✓
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Census.gov
US Census Bureau API provides demographic, housing, economic and business statistics across geographies, free to use but needs a registered key once you pass 500 requests a day.
apiKey
✓
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Brazil Receita WS
ReceitaWS looks up Brazilian company registration details by CNPJ for free with no account, limited to three requests per minute and only returning data already cached from Receita Federal.
No
✓
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BCLaws
BCLaws exposes the consolidated statutes and regulations of British Columbia, Canada as structured XML and JSON documents, free and public with no key or account required.
No
✓
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City of Toronto Open Data
Toronto's CKAN based Open Data Portal offers a free API to hundreds of municipal datasets on transit, housing, health and permits, with no key or registration needed to read them.
No
✓
✓
Interpol Red Notices
This OpenAPI documented feed exposes Interpol's public Red Notices so you can search wanted persons by name, nationality or offence, free and without authentication required.
No
✓
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National Park Service
National Park Service API returns park details, alerts, events and visitor center information for every US national park unit, free with a signup key capped at 1,000 calls an hour.
apiKey
✓
✓
EPA
EPA's developer hub links to feeds like AirNow, AQS air quality, ECHO compliance and Envirofacts, most free without a key though the AQS air quality API needs separate registration.
No
✓
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City of New York Open Data
NYC Open Data runs on Socrata and exposes over 1,600 city datasets on crime, housing and transit through a free API, throttled to 1,000 daily calls unless you add a free app token.
No
✓
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Open Government, France
France's national open data catalog, data.gouv.fr, lets you search and pull tens of thousands of government datasets and files through a free API that needs no key for reading.
No
✓
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Federal Register
Federal Register REST API returns full text and metadata for proposed rules, notices and executive orders published daily in the US government's official journal, free and keyless.
No
✓
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Bank Negara Malaysia Open Data
Bank Negara Malaysia's apiKijang portal publishes the central bank's exchange rates, interest rates and financial statistics for free, with most read only endpoints needing no key.
No
✓
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Open Government, Italy
Italy's national open data catalog, dati.gov.it, run by AgID, provides a CKAN based API to search and download public administration datasets for free without registration.
No
✓
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UK Companies House
UK Companies House API returns live company registration records, filing history and officer data, free once you register a key, limited to 600 requests every five minutes.
apiKey
✓
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FBI Wanted
FBI Wanted API returns profiles, photos and case details for fugitives and missing persons across FBI program categories, free and public with no key or registration required.
No
✓
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Open Government, UK
data.gov.uk is the UK's central open data catalog covering business, environment, transport and government datasets, searchable through a free CKAN API under the Open Government Licence.
No
✓
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Gun Policy
GunPolicy.org API provides comparative statistics on firearm deaths, ownership rates and gun legislation across more than 230 countries and territories, needs a requested key to use.
apiKey
✓
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Data.gov
Data.gov's api.data.gov is the shared gateway for US federal agencies, used by services like the National Park Service, EPA AQS and USAspending, with one free signup key covering hundreds of APIs.
apiKey
✓
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Open Government, Germany
GovData.de aggregates open datasets from Germany's federal ministries, all sixteen states and major cities into one CKAN based catalog with a free public API and no published rate limit.
No
✓
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Brazil Central Bank Open Data
Banco Central do Brasil's open data portal exposes exchange rates, interest rates, Copom minutes and supervised institution records through free CKAN and Olinda APIs in JSON, XML or CSV.
No
✓
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USAspending.gov
USAspending.gov API returns detailed US federal spending records including contracts, grants, loans and agency budgets, maintained by the Treasury under the DATA Act, free with no key.
No
✓
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Open Government, USA
Data.gov is the central catalog for US federal open datasets across agriculture, climate, health and finance, searchable through a free CKAN based API with no registration needed.
No
✓
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Brazilian Chamber of Deputies Open Data
Brazilian Chamber of Deputies Open Data API provides legislative records on deputies, bills, votes and expenses in JSON and XML, free and public with no authentication required.
No
✓
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Best Government APIs for Developers
A government API allows developers to access public records, legislative data, census statistics, and civic information published by national and local government agencies. These APIs power transparency tools, civic tech applications, and policy research platforms.
Government data splits into broad national catalogs and narrow single purpose registries. Data.gov and data.gouv.fr are the best keyless entry points for wide country coverage. BrasilAPI suits instant, keyless lookups of Brazilian postal codes and company records. USAspending.gov fits anyone tracking federal contracts and grants, and UK Companies House gives live company filings once you register a free key. NYC Open Data covers one of the largest city datasets anywhere, though its free tier throttles hard until you add an app token.
The main pitfall here is licensing and freshness: most portals publish under an open license needing attribution, and city datasets update on inconsistent schedules, so check the last updated field before building anything time sensitive.
What to check before you pick one
Data freshness: Legislative and regulatory data changes frequently; prefer APIs that update in real time or near real time.
Documentation quality: Government APIs vary widely in documentation quality; check for example requests and response schemas before committing.
Bulk download support: For large-scale analysis, APIs with bulk export endpoints or data dump options are more efficient than paginated REST calls.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are government APIs?
Government APIs provide programmatic access to public records, legislative data, census statistics, economic indicators, court records, and other civic information published by government agencies.
Are government APIs free to use?
Most government APIs are free and open as part of open government data initiatives. Agencies like the US Census Bureau, data.gov, and the UK Office for National Statistics publish APIs with no cost.
What can I build with a government data API?
You can build civic information portals, legislative tracking tools, census data visualizations, public spending dashboards, and open government transparency platforms using these APIs.