NHTSA Safety API (recalls, complaints, safety ratings)

The NHTSA public safety API that powers the dynamic search applications on nhtsa.gov. Three families: /recalls for safety recalls by vehicle or campaign number, /complaints for consumer complaints filed with NHTSA (each with ODI number, crash and fire flags, injury and death counts and incident dates), and /SafetyRatings for the New Car Assessment Program 5-Star Safety Ratings walked by model year, make and model. Verified anonymously with HTTP 200 on 2026-07-28 — complaintsByVehicle for a 2020 Honda Accord returned 341 records and /SafetyRatings returned 37 model years. No API key. Governed by the NHTSA API Use Policy published at the base host.

Work with this as data

Every API here is available over the APIs.io API and to AI agents over MCP.

MCP server

One button, every client — Claude, Cursor, VS Code and the rest.

https://apis.io/mcp

Tools for apis

7 MCP tools reach this
  • find_apisBrowse and filter every API in the catalog.
  • get_api_artifactsOne API's artifacts, grouped by type.
  • get_openapiThe primary OpenAPI for this API.
  • find_similar_apisAPIs that look like this one.
  • apis_io_searchSTART HERE — APIs, providers and tags for one query, each with its total.
  • resolveTurn a domain, URL or GitHub org into the provider it belongs to.
  • find_cohortsEvery scored population of providers in the catalog.
All 92 tools →

Call it yourself

curl for this page
This API
curl "https://apis.io/api/v1/apis/nhtsa-safety-api"
All apis
curl "https://apis.io/api/v1/apis?limit=25"

Discovery needs no key. Ratings and market analysis are Pro.

Get an API key

Free tier, no form to fill in. Signing in shares your email address with us — we store it to create your key and to recognise you if you sign in with another provider. See our Privacy Policy and Terms.

A second provider on the same verified email joins the account you already have.

API entry from apis.yml

apis.yml Raw ↑
aid: us-dot:nhtsa-safety-api
name: NHTSA Safety API (recalls, complaints, safety ratings)
description: 'The NHTSA public safety API that powers the dynamic search applications on nhtsa.gov. Three
  families: /recalls for safety recalls by vehicle or campaign number, /complaints for consumer complaints
  filed with NHTSA (each with ODI number, crash and fire flags, injury and death counts and incident dates),
  and /SafetyRatings for the New Car Assessment Program 5-Star Safety Ratings walked by model year, make
  and model. Verified anonymously with HTTP 200 on 2026-07-28 — complaintsByVehicle for a 2020 Honda Accord
  returned 341 records and /SafetyRatings returned 37 model years. No API key. Governed by the NHTSA API
  Use Policy published at the base host.'
humanURL: https://www.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa-datasets-and-apis
baseURL: https://api.nhtsa.gov
tags:
- Automotive
- Recalls
- Safety
- Consumer Protection
- NHTSA
- Open Data
properties:
- type: Documentation
  url: https://www.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa-datasets-and-apis
- type: TermsOfService
  url: https://api.nhtsa.gov/