ACMA Registrations API

openapi: 3.2.0
info:
  title: ACMA Spectrum Licensing Registrations API
  version: '1.0'
  summary: Public, anonymous read access to the Australian Communications and Media Authority's Register of Radiocommunications Licences.
  description: 'The ACMA Spectrum Licensing API is an application programming interface which allows members of the public to query the ACMA''s spectrum licensing data. This data can be queried programmatically so that it can be used by external application developers to produce mobile or web applications.


    The service exposes both a REST endpoint (browser-consumable, XML or JSON per operation suffix) and a SOAP endpoint over the same operations. Every operation is a read; there are no writes, no authentication, no API key and no registration. A single query returns at most 2,000 records, deliberately, to discourage bulk extraction through the API - the full dataset is published as a daily zip download instead.


    PROVENANCE: this OpenAPI is an API Evangelist reconstruction of an API that ACMA documents but does not describe in OpenAPI. Paths, parameters, enumerated values and operation semantics are taken verbatim from ACMA''s published guide ''Spectrum Licensing API'' v1.0 (17/06/2016) and from the live WSDL at OuterService.svc?wsdl; response schemas are derived from live responses captured on 2026-07-25. Every operation carries an x-evidence block naming the documentation source and the live URL that was probed.'
  contact:
    name: ACMA
    email: info@acma.gov.au
    url: https://www.acma.gov.au/contact-us
  license:
    name: Licence to use the Register of Radiocommunications Licences
    url: https://www.acma.gov.au/radiocomms-licence-data#terms-and-conditions
  termsOfService: https://www.acma.gov.au/radiocomms-licence-data#terms-and-conditions
  x-source: https://www.acma.gov.au/sites/default/files/2019-11/Spectrum%20licensing%20API.docx
  x-wsdl: https://api.acma.gov.au/SpectrumLicensingAPIOuterService/OuterService.svc?wsdl
  x-generated-by: API Evangelist enrichment pipeline
  x-generated-on: '2026-07-25'
servers:
- url: https://api.acma.gov.au/SpectrumLicensingAPIOuterService/OuterService.svc
  description: Production REST endpoint (HTTPS). The guide publishes the same path over HTTP; HTTPS is live and verified.
security: []
tags:
- name: Registrations
  description: Device registrations and frequency assignments.
paths:
  /RegistrationSearchXML:
    get:
      operationId: registrationSearchXML
      summary: Search device registrations / assignments (XML)
      description: 'Returns an XElement containing all registrations for the specified search terms.


        A single query returns at most 2,000 records; page with the offset parameter to retrieve more. For the whole dataset, ACMA publishes a same-day full RRL extract as a zip download rather than serving it through this API.'
      tags:
      - Registrations
      parameters:
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/searchTextQuery'
      - name: searchField
        in: query
        required: false
        description: The field to search.
        schema:
          type: string
          enum:
          - CLIENT_NO
          - LICENCE_NO
          - ACCESS_ID
          - EFL_ID
          - DEVICE_REGISTRATION_IDENTIFIER
          - Frequency (MHz)
          - Frequency (GHz)
          - Frequency (Hz)
          - Frequency (KHz)
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/searchOption'
      - name: sortBy
        in: query
        required: false
        description: The field to sort the results by.
        schema:
          type: string
          enum:
          - id
          - emission_desg
          - frequency
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/offset'
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/resultsLimit'
      responses:
        '200':
          description: Matching records. The service returns HTTP 200 with an empty result array when nothing matches.
          content:
            application/xml:
              schema:
                type: string
                description: An XElement document. The element structure mirrors the JSON envelope of the matching *JSON operation; the XML Schema for the SOAP projection of this service is published at https://api.acma.gov.au/SpectrumLicensingAPIOuterService/OuterService.svc?xsd=xsd0 and harvested to wsdl/acma-spectrum-licensing-xsd0.xsd.
        '400':
          description: Malformed request - an unparseable URI template, or a parameter value the WCF service cannot bind (for example a non-numeric offset).
          content:
            text/html:
              schema:
                type: string
        '404':
          description: Unknown web method - the leading path segment does not match a published operation name.
          content:
            text/html:
              schema:
                type: string
        '500':
          description: Service fault. The WCF endpoint returns an HTML fault page rather than a structured error body; there is no RFC 9457 problem+json envelope.
          content:
            text/html:
              schema:
                type: string
      x-evidence:
        documented_in: https://www.acma.gov.au/sites/default/files/2019-11/Spectrum%20licensing%20API.docx
        verified_live: https://api.acma.gov.au/SpectrumLicensingAPIOuterService/OuterService.svc/RegistrationSearchXML?searchText=123&searchField=Frequency%20(MHz)&resultsLimit=1
        verified_on: '2026-07-25'
        verified_status: 200
  /RegistrationSearchJSON:
    get:
      operationId: registrationSearchJSON
      summary: Search device registrations / assignments (JSON)
      description: 'Returns a JSON string containing all registrations for the specified search terms.


        A single query returns at most 2,000 records; page with the offset parameter to retrieve more. For the whole dataset, ACMA publishes a same-day full RRL extract as a zip download rather than serving it through this API.'
      tags:
      - Registrations
      parameters:
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/searchTextQuery'
      - name: searchField
        in: query
        required: false
        description: The field to search.
        schema:
          type: string
          enum:
          - CLIENT_NO
          - LICENCE_NO
          - ACCESS_ID
          - EFL_ID
          - DEVICE_REGISTRATION_IDENTIFIER
          - Frequency (MHz)
          - Frequency (GHz)
          - Frequency (Hz)
          - Frequency (KHz)
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/searchOption'
      - name: sortBy
        in: query
        required: false
        description: The field to sort the results by.
        schema:
          type: string
          enum:
          - id
          - emission_desg
          - frequency
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/offset'
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/resultsLimit'
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/isJSONP'
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/jsonpCallback'
      responses:
        '200':
          description: Matching records. The service returns HTTP 200 with an empty result array when nothing matches.
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/RegistrationSearchResponse'
              examples:
                live:
                  summary: Live response captured 2026-07-25 from https://api.acma.gov.au/SpectrumLicensingAPIOuterService/OuterService.svc/RegistrationSearchJSON?searchText=123&searchField=Frequency%20(MHz)&resultsLimit=1
                  value:
                    Registration:
                    - TOTAL_RESULT: 16.0
                      RESULTS_INDEX: 1.0
                      ID_SORT_FIELD: '1056349'
                      DEVICE_REGISTRATION_IDENTIFIER: null
                      EFL_ID: 1056349
                      EMISSION_DESIG: '6K00A3E  '
                      FREQ: 123000000.0
                      LICENCE_NO: 1928018/1
                      CLIENT_NO: '401054'
                      SITE_ID: 15842.0
                      DEVICE_TYPE_TEXT: Receiver
                      FORMER_DEVICE_IDENTIFIER: 8275423-8302951
        '400':
          description: Malformed request - an unparseable URI template, or a parameter value the WCF service cannot bind (for example a non-numeric offset).
          content:
            text/html:
              schema:
                type: string
        '404':
          description: Unknown web method - the leading path segment does not match a published operation name.
          content:
            text/html:
              schema:
                type: string
        '500':
          description: Service fault. The WCF endpoint returns an HTML fault page rather than a structured error body; there is no RFC 9457 problem+json envelope.
          content:
            text/html:
              schema:
                type: string
      x-evidence:
        documented_in: https://www.acma.gov.au/sites/default/files/2019-11/Spectrum%20licensing%20API.docx
        verified_live: https://api.acma.gov.au/SpectrumLicensingAPIOuterService/OuterService.svc/RegistrationSearchJSON?searchText=123&searchField=Frequency%20(MHz)&resultsLimit=1
        verified_on: '2026-07-25'
        verified_status: 200
  /AssignmentRangeXML:
    get:
      operationId: assignmentRangeXML
      summary: Search assignments by postcode, frequency and date range (XML)
      description: 'Returns an XElement containing all assignments that are in the specified postcode and frequency range.


        A single query returns at most 2,000 records; page with the offset parameter to retrieve more. For the whole dataset, ACMA publishes a same-day full RRL extract as a zip download rather than serving it through this API.'
      tags:
      - Registrations
      parameters:
      - name: strLowerPostCode
        in: query
        required: false
        description: The lower post code in the post code range.
        schema:
          type: string
      - name: strUpperPostCode
        in: query
        required: false
        description: The upper post code in the post code range.
        schema:
          type: string
      - name: strLowerFreq
        in: query
        required: false
        description: The lower frequency in the frequency range.
        schema:
          type: string
      - name: strUpperFreq
        in: query
        required: false
        description: The upper frequency in the frequency range.
        schema:
          type: string
      - name: strLowerDate
        in: query
        required: false
        description: The lower date in the date range, formatted DD-MM-YYYY.
        schema:
          type: string
          examples:
          - 01-01-2010
      - name: strUpperDate
        in: query
        required: false
        description: The upper date in the date range, formatted DD-MM-YYYY.
        schema:
          type: string
          examples:
          - 01-01-2016
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/strOffset'
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/strLimit'
      - name: sortBy
        in: query
        required: false
        description: The field to sort the results by.
        schema:
          type: string
          enum:
          - id
          - frequency
          - emission_desg
          - date
          - rownum
      responses:
        '200':
          description: Matching records. The service returns HTTP 200 with an empty result array when nothing matches.
          content:
            application/xml:
              schema:
                type: string
                description: An XElement document. The element structure mirrors the JSON envelope of the matching *JSON operation; the XML Schema for the SOAP projection of this service is published at https://api.acma.gov.au/SpectrumLicensingAPIOuterService/OuterService.svc?xsd=xsd0 and harvested to wsdl/acma-spectrum-licensing-xsd0.xsd.
        '400':
          description: Malformed request - an unparseable URI template, or a parameter value the WCF service cannot bind (for example a non-numeric offset).
          content:
            text/html:
              schema:
                type: string
        '404':
          description: Unknown web method - the leading path segment does not match a published operation name.
          content:
            text/html:
              schema:
                type: string
        '500':
          description: Service fault. The WCF endpoint returns an HTML fault page rather than a structured error body; there is no RFC 9457 problem+json envelope.
          content:
            text/html:
              schema:
                type: string
      x-evidence:
        documented_in: https://www.acma.gov.au/sites/default/files/2019-11/Spectrum%20licensing%20API.docx
        verified_live: https://api.acma.gov.au/SpectrumLicensingAPIOuterService/OuterService.svc/AssignmentRangeXML?strLowerDate=01-01-2010&strUpperDate=01-01-2016&strLimit=10
        verified_on: '2026-07-25'
        verified_status: 200
  /AssignmentRangeJSON:
    get:
      operationId: assignmentRangeJSON
      summary: Search assignments by postcode, frequency and date range (JSON)
      description: 'Returns a JSON string containing all assignments that are in the specified postcode and frequency range.


        A single query returns at most 2,000 records; page with the offset parameter to retrieve more. For the whole dataset, ACMA publishes a same-day full RRL extract as a zip download rather than serving it through this API.'
      tags:
      - Registrations
      parameters:
      - name: strLowerPostCode
        in: query
        required: false
        description: The lower post code in the post code range.
        schema:
          type: string
      - name: strUpperPostCode
        in: query
        required: false
        description: The upper post code in the post code range.
        schema:
          type: string
      - name: strLowerFreq
        in: query
        required: false
        description: The lower frequency in the frequency range.
        schema:
          type: string
      - name: strUpperFreq
        in: query
        required: false
        description: The upper frequency in the frequency range.
        schema:
          type: string
      - name: strLowerDate
        in: query
        required: false
        description: The lower date in the date range, formatted DD-MM-YYYY.
        schema:
          type: string
          examples:
          - 01-01-2010
      - name: strUpperDate
        in: query
        required: false
        description: The upper date in the date range, formatted DD-MM-YYYY.
        schema:
          type: string
          examples:
          - 01-01-2016
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/strOffset'
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/strLimit'
      - name: sortBy
        in: query
        required: false
        description: The field to sort the results by.
        schema:
          type: string
          enum:
          - id
          - frequency
          - emission_desg
          - date
          - rownum
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/isJSONP'
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/jsonpCallback'
      responses:
        '200':
          description: Matching records. The service returns HTTP 200 with an empty result array when nothing matches.
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/AssignmentRangeResponse'
              examples:
                live:
                  summary: Live response captured 2026-07-25 from https://api.acma.gov.au/SpectrumLicensingAPIOuterService/OuterService.svc/AssignmentRangeJSON?strLowerDate=01-01-2010&strUpperDate=01-01-2016&strLimit=10
                  value:
                    Assignment:
                    - TOTAL_RESULT: 207879.0
                      RESULTS_INDEX: 1.0
                      ID_SORT_FIELD: '9002048'
                      DEVICE_REGISTRATION_IDENTIFIER: '9002048'
                      EFL_ID: null
                      EMISSION_DESIG: 4M90G7WEC
                      FREQ: 1937500000.0
                      LICENCE_NO: '10143466'
                      CLIENT_NO: '1104504'
                      BANDWIDTH: 4900000.0
                      OP_MODE: R
                      SITE_ID: '9000862'
                      AREA_ID: null
                      AUTHORISATION_DATE: '2011-03-24T00:00:00'
                    - TOTAL_RESULT: 207879.0
                      RESULTS_INDEX: 2.0
                      ID_SORT_FIELD: '9002053'
                      DEVICE_REGISTRATION_IDENTIFIER: '9002053'
                      EFL_ID: null
                      EMISSION_DESIG: 4M90G7WEC
                      FREQ: 1937500000.0
                      LICENCE_NO: '10143466'
                      CLIENT_NO: '1104504'
                      BANDWIDTH: 4900000.0
                      OP_MODE: R
                      SITE_ID: '9000862'
                      AREA_ID: null
                      AUTHORISATION_DATE: '2011-03-24T00:00:00'
        '400':
          description: Malformed request - an unparseable URI template, or a parameter value the WCF service cannot bind (for example a non-numeric offset).
          content:
            text/html:
              schema:
                type: string
        '404':
          description: Unknown web method - the leading path segment does not match a published operation name.
          content:
            text/html:
              schema:
                type: string
        '500':
          description: Service fault. The WCF endpoint returns an HTML fault page rather than a structured error body; there is no RFC 9457 problem+json envelope.
          content:
            text/html:
              schema:
                type: string
      x-evidence:
        documented_in: https://www.acma.gov.au/sites/default/files/2019-11/Spectrum%20licensing%20API.docx
        verified_live: https://api.acma.gov.au/SpectrumLicensingAPIOuterService/OuterService.svc/AssignmentRangeJSON?strLowerDate=01-01-2010&strUpperDate=01-01-2016&strLimit=10
        verified_on: '2026-07-25'
        verified_status: 200
components:
  schemas:
    AssignmentRangeResponse:
      type: object
      title: AssignmentRangeResponse
      description: Frequency assignment range results.
      properties:
        Assignment:
          type: array
          items:
            $ref: '#/components/schemas/Assignment'
    Registration:
      type: object
      title: Registration
      description: A device registration / frequency assignment record.
      properties:
        TOTAL_RESULT:
          type:
          - number
          - 'null'
        RESULTS_INDEX:
          type:
          - number
          - 'null'
        ID_SORT_FIELD:
          type:
          - string
          - 'null'
        DEVICE_REGISTRATION_IDENTIFIER:
          type:
          - string
          - 'null'
        EFL_ID:
          type:
          - integer
          - 'null'
        EMISSION_DESIG:
          type:
          - string
          - 'null'
        FREQ:
          type:
          - number
          - 'null'
        LICENCE_NO:
          type:
          - string
          - 'null'
        CLIENT_NO:
          type:
          - string
          - 'null'
        SITE_ID:
          type:
          - number
          - 'null'
        DEVICE_TYPE_TEXT:
          type:
          - string
          - 'null'
        FORMER_DEVICE_IDENTIFIER:
          type:
          - string
          - 'null'
    Assignment:
      type: object
      title: Assignment
      description: A frequency assignment record within a postcode, frequency and date range.
      properties:
        TOTAL_RESULT:
          type:
          - number
          - 'null'
        RESULTS_INDEX:
          type:
          - number
          - 'null'
        ID_SORT_FIELD:
          type:
          - string
          - 'null'
        DEVICE_REGISTRATION_IDENTIFIER:
          type:
          - string
          - 'null'
        EFL_ID:
          type:
          - string
          - 'null'
        EMISSION_DESIG:
          type:
          - string
          - 'null'
        FREQ:
          type:
          - number
          - 'null'
        LICENCE_NO:
          type:
          - string
          - 'null'
        CLIENT_NO:
          type:
          - string
          - 'null'
        BANDWIDTH:
          type:
          - number
          - 'null'
        OP_MODE:
          type:
          - string
          - 'null'
        SITE_ID:
          type:
          - string
          - 'null'
        AREA_ID:
          type:
          - string
          - 'null'
        AUTHORISATION_DATE:
          type:
          - string
          - 'null'
    RegistrationSearchResponse:
      type: object
      title: RegistrationSearchResponse
      description: Device registration search results.
      properties:
        Registration:
          type: array
          items:
            $ref: '#/components/schemas/Registration'
  parameters:
    searchTextQuery:
      name: searchText
      in: query
      required: true
      description: 'The text to search for. Mandatory, and must always be supplied on the query string (documented exception in the ACMA guide: it is passed as a query parameter rather than a path segment so it may itself contain ''/'', which appears in many licence numbers).'
      schema:
        type: string
    searchOption:
      name: searchOption
      in: query
      required: false
      description: 'How searchText is matched: matches, begins with, or sounds like.'
      schema:
        type: string
        enum:
        - matches
        - begins with
        - sounds like
    isJSONP:
      name: isJSONP
      in: query
      required: false
      description: true or false, depending on whether JSONP is used.
      schema:
        type: boolean
    strOffset:
      name: strOffset
      in: query
      required: false
      description: The number of records to skip over.
      schema:
        type: integer
        minimum: 0
    jsonpCallback:
      name: jsonpCallback
      in: query
      required: false
      description: The callback function name to wrap the response in for JSONP.
      schema:
        type: string
    resultsLimit:
      name: resultsLimit
      in: query
      required: false
      description: The number of records to return after the offset. The service caps any single query at 2,000 records.
      schema:
        type: integer
        minimum: 1
        maximum: 2000
    offset:
      name: offset
      in: query
      required: false
      description: The number of records to skip over. Used with resultsLimit to page beyond the 2,000-record cap (0, 2000, 4000, ...).
      schema:
        type: integer
        minimum: 0
    strLimit:
      name: strLimit
      in: query
      required: false
      description: The number of records to return after the offset. The service caps any single query at 2,000 records.
      schema:
        type: integer
        minimum: 1
        maximum: 2000
externalDocs:
  description: ACMA Spectrum Licensing API guide (DOCX, v1.0, 17/06/2016)
  url: https://www.acma.gov.au/sites/default/files/2019-11/Spectrum%20licensing%20API.docx