Department of Transportation

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and its operating administrations - NHTSA, FMCSA, FAA, FRA, FTA, MARAD, PHMSA, and BTS - publish a number of public APIs covering vehicles, motor carriers, aviation, transit, freight, and transportation statistics.

Department of Transportation publishes 25 API contracts indexed on the APIs.io network, including Airport Status API, Authority API, Carriers API, and 22 more. Tagged areas include Federal Government, Transportation, Vehicles, Aviation, and Motor Carriers.

The Department of Transportation catalog on APIs.io includes 1 JSON-LD context and 2 Spectral governance rulesets.

Department of Transportation’s developer surface includes authentication, developer portal, documentation, and 7 more developer resources.

🌐 Visit website 📡 Profile data on GitHub

28.4/100 thin ▬ flat Agent 20/100 agent aware Full breakdown ↓
scored 2026-11-06 · rubric v0.27.0 · Show this score on your site →

AccessFreeSelf serve⚡ Free to try

5 published contracts

Federal Government Transportation Vehicles AviationMotor Carriers

What this lets a business do 2

Business capabilities this provider's published APIs can perform, derived from its own contracts. Browse all capabilities →

Permits, Licences & Authorisations Management

BC-3240

AuthorityInspections

GET /carriers/{dotNumber}/inspections GET /carriers/{dotNumber}/authority

Vehicle Aftersales & Warranty Management

BC-3450

Recalls

GET /recalls/recallsByVehicle GET /recalls/campaignNumber

Kin Score

Kin Score How this is scored →
scored 2026-11-06 · rubric v0.27.0

Composite quality — 28.4/100 · thin

Contract Quality 10.3 / 19

Developer Ergonomics 2.9 / 15

Access Clarity 2.0 / 15

Operational Transparency 0.8 / 10

Contract Governance 0.9 / 9

Discoverability 4.7 / 8

Regulatory Posture 2.5 / 15

Create-or-Update Ergonomics 0.0 / 10

Agent readiness — 20/100 · agent aware

Machine-Readable Contract 18 / 18

Agentic Access Contract 10 / 10

Documented Reversibility 0 / 6

MCP Server 0 / 12

Machine-Readable Auth 10 / 10

Idempotency 0 / 9

Stable Error Semantics 0 / 8

Request/Response Examples 7 / 7

Rate-Limit Signaling 7 / 7

Typed Event Surface 0 / 6

Agent Skills 0 / 5

Well-Known Catalog 0 / 4

Consent & Bot Identity 0 / 3

A2A Agent Card 0 / 8

Dry-Run / Simulate Mode 0 / 4

Delegated User Identity 0 / 6

Protected Resource Metadata 0 / 5

Registration Without a Human 0 / 6

Agentic Commerce Well-Known Document 0 / 5

Pagination 5 / 5

Distinct Operations 0 / 3

MCP Tool Quality 6 / 6

Regulatory Posture applies to this provider. Its tags matched the Government & Public Sector regime, so Regulatory Posture carries 15 points of the composite. If this regime is wrong for your business, say so on your provider repo — the applicability map is public and we will correct it.

Create-or-Update Ergonomics applies to this provider. This API accepts writes, so it carries 10 points of the composite. It is scored from the published contracts themselves: whether a caller can create-or-update in one call, whether the write accepts a key the caller already holds, and whether the response says which branch ran. Without that, every write needs a search-and-branch in front of it, and the first time that check is skipped a duplicate record is created. Scored against the observed mean rather than raw — a provider at the catalog average is unchanged by this facet, not penalised by it.

The six quality facets above are damped to 75 points between them, because the conditional facet above carries the other 25. That is why each facet's contribution is shown against a damped maximum: raising a quality facet moves the composite by 75% of its nominal weight, not 100%. The full arithmetic is at apis.io/rating/.

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Agent readiness — checks not met, largest first (exact, from this profile):

MCP Server +12 pts — deployment.mode + probe verdict on the mcp/ manifest, not the pointer; an unprobed slug falls back to authorship
Idempotency +9 pts — OpenAPI mutating operations declare an idempotency key — a header, a request-body property, or a named de-duplication token whose own description says so (verified); else common[].type matches /idempoten/i (documented)
Stable Error Semantics +8 pts — OpenAPI $refs a shared error schema across 4xx/5xx responses (verified), else common[].type includes ErrorCatalog / ErrorCodes / DeclineCodes
A2A Agent Card +8 pts — a2a/-a2a.yml manifest, graded on conformance.grade against A2A 1.0.0
Registration Without a Human +6 pts — a `registration_endpoint` in the served RFC 8414 / OIDC discovery document
Delegated User Identity +6 pts — a served discovery document listing authorization_code in grant_types_supported (served), else an oauth2 authorizationCode flow or openIdConnect declared in an OpenAPI (documented)

9 more unmet checks in the Agent Readiness table above.

Kin Score — facets with the most composite points still available (weight × headroom):

Access Clarity scores 13.2 — up to +17.4 composite points
Developer Ergonomics scores 19.0 — up to +16.2 composite points
Operational Transparency scores 7.9 — up to +12.0 composite points

Each check links to what satisfies it. Publish the artifact, or tell us where it already lives, and the score moves on the next scoring run.

Improve this rating by publishing the missing artifacts — every area above can be raised, and the full rubric is at apis.io/rating/. Every facet and dimension name above is a link: it opens that measurement's own page — what it means, the exact checks that feed it, how the whole catalog distributes on it, and the providers at the top of it. This rating is computed from the provider profile at artifacts.apis.io/department-of-transportation/apis.yml: open an issue on github.com/api-evangelist/department-of-transportation to ask a question or point us at an artifact you publish. Submit an artifact on GitHub — free → Manage your own listing — the Influence plan, $499/mo →

Markets this provider is in provisional

The Kin Score Market layer reads a provider inside its market: its position, and how deep its integrations go. Depth is only comparable within a position. Provisional and unweighted: not part of the Kin Score or agent readiness.

Market	Position	Depth	Registered MCP server	Declares compatibility
US Federal API Programs (api.data.gov, Login.gov, GSA MAS, FedRAMP)	undeclared	-	-	-

Registered MCP server and declares compatibility are report only — not weighted. Undeclared means we found nothing we can read, so there is no number: we never infer integrations.

Standards implemented 1

Standards this provider implements or carries. De facto ones are profiled and measured by the API Commons; formal ones come from the standards directory and are linked by the provider's own tags. The evidence column says how each claim was established — not that it was made.

OpenAPI

measured — observed by APIs.io (published)

APIs 25

Individual APIs this provider publishes, each with its own machine-readable definition.

Bureau of Transportation Statistics Data Portal

Public datasets and downloadable data products published by BTS.

Federal Railroad Administration Safety Data

FRA Office of Safety Analysis - rail incident, accident, and inspection data.

Federal Transit Administration National Transit Database

Public-transportation operating, financial, and asset data submitted by transit agencies under the National Transit Database.

PHMSA Pipeline Safety Data

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration incident, mileage, and operator data for U.S. pipelines.

Department of Transportation Airport Status API

The Airport Status API from Department of Transportation — 1 operation(s) for airport status.

Department of Transportation Authority API

Operating authority records

Department of Transportation Carriers API

Motor carrier lookups

Department of Transportation Complaints API

Consumer complaint data

Department of Transportation Crashes API

Crash data

Department of Transportation Inspections API

Roadside inspection data

Department of Transportation Makes API

Vehicle makes

Department of Transportation Manufacturers API

Vehicle manufacturers

Department of Transportation Models API

Vehicle models

Department of Transportation Ratings API

5-Star Safety Ratings

Department of Transportation Recalls API

Vehicle, equipment, child seat, and tire recalls

Department of Transportation Vehicle Variables API

Vehicle variable definitions

Department of Transportation VIN Decode API

Decode VINs into structured vehicle data

Department of Transportation WMI API

World Manufacturer Identifier (WMI) decoding

Department of Transportation Child Seats API

Child Seat search and list endpoints

Department of Transportation Equipment API

Equipment search and list endpoints

Department of Transportation Ewr API

Early Warning Report endpoints

Department of Transportation Foreign Campaigns API

Foreign Campaign search and list endpoints

Department of Transportation Safety Issues API

Recalls, Investigations, Complaints, and Manufacturer Communications

Department of Transportation Tires API

Tire search and list endpoints

Department of Transportation Vehicles API

Vehicle search and list endpoints

Scroll for all 25

Open Collections 18

Open, tool-agnostic API collections (OpenAPI-derived and Bruno).

FAA Airport Status API

OPEN COLLECTION

FAA Airport Status Authority API

OPEN COLLECTION

FAA Airport Status Carriers API

OPEN COLLECTION

FAA Airport Status Complaints API

OPEN COLLECTION

FAA Airport Status Crashes API

OPEN COLLECTION

FAA Airport Status Inspections API

OPEN COLLECTION

FAA Airport Status Makes API

OPEN COLLECTION

FAA Airport Status Manufacturers API

OPEN COLLECTION

FAA Airport Status Models API

OPEN COLLECTION

FAA Airport Status Ratings API

OPEN COLLECTION

FAA Airport Status Recalls API

OPEN COLLECTION

FAA Airport Status Vehicle Variables API

OPEN COLLECTION

FAA Airport Status VIN Decode API

OPEN COLLECTION

FAA Airport Status WMI API

OPEN COLLECTION

FAA Airport Status API

OPEN COLLECTION

FMCSA QCMobile API

OPEN COLLECTION

NHTSA Vehicle Safety API

OPEN COLLECTION

NHTSA vPIC (Vehicle Product Information Catalog) API

OPEN COLLECTION

Scroll for all 18

Department of Transportation API pricing

Not yet checked against Department of Transportation's own pricing page. Compiled by API Evangelist on 2026-05-05 from www.transportation.gov/digitalstrategy/datadissemination; confirm before you rely on a figure. A free plan or tier is listed.

Plan	Price
Public Free freemium	Free

Plan details, limits and sources →

Rate limits

api.data.gov default per-key limit: 1000 requests per hour
api.data.gov increased limit (raise via support): higher; request via api.data.gov support requests per hour
Open / fair-use throttle: fair-use; not published requests per minute

Compiled by API Evangelist, not yet checked against Department of Transportation's documentation. Rate-limit details →

Billed by: request · FinOps profile →

Pricing Plans 1

Published pricing tiers and plan structures.

Department Of Transportation Plans Pricing

1 plans

PLANS

Rate Limits 1

Documented rate limits and quota policies.

Department Of Transportation Rate Limits

3 limits

RATE LIMITS

Service Levels 1

Uptime the provider promises or reports, as SLA4OAI. Read from its own pages; APIs.io runs no monitors.

Department of Transportation

SLA

FinOps 1

Cost, billing, and metering signals for API financial operations.

Department Of Transportation Finops

FINOPS

Semantic Vocabularies 1

JSON-LD contexts and semantic vocabularies used across these APIs.

Dot Context

0 classes · 4 properties

JSON-LD

Spectral Rules 2

Spectral governance rulesets for linting and validating these APIs.

Department of Transportation — jsonschema rules

5 rules · 3 warnings 2 info

SPECTRAL

Department of Transportation — dot rules

0 rules ·

SPECTRAL

JSON Schema 3

Standalone JSON Schema definitions for this provider's data models.

Motor Carrier (FMCSA)

14 properties

JSON SCHEMA

NHTSA Vehicle Recall

12 properties

JSON SCHEMA

Vehicle (NHTSA vPIC)

21 properties

JSON SCHEMA

Examples 2

Example request and response payloads for these APIs.

Recall Example

3 fields

EXAMPLE

Vin Decode Example

4 fields

EXAMPLE

Security Posture 2

Authentication, domain security, vulnerability disclosure, and trust-center signals.

Department Of Transportation Authentication

apiKey · 1 scheme

SECURITY

Department Of Transportation Domain Security

TLSv1.3 · HSTS · DNSSEC · DMARC

SECURITY

Agentic Access 1

Recommended x-agentic-access execution contracts for AI agents.

Department Of Transportation Agentic Access

20 operations · 1 acting

AGENTIC

Resources

Get Started 1

Portal, sign-up, and the first successful call

Portal

Portal

Documentation 1

Reference material describing how the API behaves

Documentation

Documentation

Agent Surfaces 1

MCP servers, agent skills, and machine-readable catalogs

AgenticAccess

AgenticAccess

Access & Security 2

Authentication, authorization, and security posture

DomainSecurity

DomainSecurity

Authentication

Authentication

Operate 1

Status, limits, changes, and where to get help

RateLimits

RateLimits

Commercial 2

Pricing, plans, and the legal terms of use

Plans

Plans

FinOps

FinOps

Company 1

The organization behind the API

LinkedIn

Other 1

Properties that don't map to a standard resource type

CapabilityMap

CapabilityMap

Source (apis.yml)

aid: department-of-transportation
name: Department of Transportation
description: The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and its operating administrations - NHTSA, FMCSA, FAA, FRA, FTA,
  MARAD, PHMSA, and BTS - publish a number of public APIs covering vehicles, motor carriers, aviation, transit, freight, and
  transportation statistics.
url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/department-of-transportation/main/apis.yml
deliveryModel:
  model: unknown
  open_source: false
  commercial: false
  callable_host: false
  label: Delivery model not determined — needs a product licence on record
  confidence: low
  source:
  - openapi
  generated: '2026-08-28'
  method: derived
accessModel:
  pricing: free
  onboarding: self-serve
  trial: false
  try_now: true
  public: false
  gated: none
  gated_source:
  - onboarding
  label: Free · Self-serve signup
  confidence: medium
  source:
  - plans
  - authentication
  - security
  generated: '2026-11-06'
  method: derived
image: https://kinlane-images.s3.amazonaws.com/shared/apis-json/icons/department-of-transportation.png
created: '2024-12-03'
modified: '2026-05-19'
type: Index
position: Consuming
access: 3rd-Party
specificationVersion: '0.23'
tags:
- Federal Government
- Transportation
- Vehicles
- Aviation
- Motor Carriers
tags_raw:
- Federal Government
- Transportation
- Vehicles
- Aviation
- Motor Carriers
- Federal-Government
common:
- type: Plans
  url: plans/department-of-transportation-plans-pricing.yml
- type: RateLimits
  url: rate-limits/department-of-transportation-rate-limits.yml
- type: FinOps
  url: finops/department-of-transportation-finops.yml
- type: CapabilityMap
  url: capabilities/department-of-transportation-capability-edges.yml
  name: Department of Transportation Business Capability Map
- type: AgenticAccess
  url: agentic-access/department-of-transportation-agentic-access.yml
- type: DomainSecurity
  url: security/department-of-transportation-domain-security.yml
- type: Authentication
  url: authentication/department-of-transportation-authentication.yml
- type: LinkedIn
  url: https://www.linkedin.com/company/usdot
- url: https://www.transportation.gov/
  type: Portal
- url: https://www.transportation.gov/digitalstrategy/developer
  type: Documentation
apis:
- aid: department-of-transportation:bts-data-portal
  name: Bureau of Transportation Statistics Data Portal
  description: Public datasets and downloadable data products published by BTS.
  humanURL: https://www.bts.gov/data-portals
  tags:
  - BTS
  - Statistics
  properties:
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.bts.gov/data-portals
- aid: department-of-transportation:fra-safety-data
  name: Federal Railroad Administration Safety Data
  description: FRA Office of Safety Analysis - rail incident, accident, and inspection data.
  humanURL: https://safetydata.fra.dot.gov/
  tags:
  - FRA
  - Rail
  properties:
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://safetydata.fra.dot.gov/OfficeofSafety/Default.aspx
- aid: department-of-transportation:fta-ntd-api
  name: Federal Transit Administration National Transit Database
  description: Public-transportation operating, financial, and asset data submitted by transit agencies under the National
    Transit Database.
  humanURL: https://www.transit.dot.gov/ntd
  tags:
  - FTA
  - Transit
  properties:
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.transit.dot.gov/ntd
- aid: department-of-transportation:phmsa-pipeline-data
  name: PHMSA Pipeline Safety Data
  description: Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration incident, mileage, and operator data for U.S. pipelines.
  humanURL: https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/data-and-statistics
  tags:
  - PHMSA
  - Pipelines
  properties:
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/data-and-statistics
- aid: department-of-transportation:department-of-transportation-airport-status-api
  name: Department of Transportation Airport Status API
  description: The Airport Status API from Department of Transportation — 1 operation(s) for airport status.
  humanURL: https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/api/
  baseURL: https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/api
  tags:
  - Airport Status
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/department-of-transportation-airport-status-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/api/
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/vehicle-schema.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/vin-decode-example.json
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://api.nhtsa.gov/
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/recall-schema.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/recall-example.json
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://mobile.fmcsa.dot.gov/qc/services/getting-started
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/carrier-schema.json
  - type: Authentication
    url: https://mobile.fmcsa.dot.gov/qc/services/manage
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.faa.gov/data
- aid: department-of-transportation:department-of-transportation-authority-api
  name: Department of Transportation Authority API
  description: Operating authority records
  humanURL: https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/api/
  baseURL: https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/api
  tags:
  - Authority
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/department-of-transportation-authority-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/api/
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/vehicle-schema.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/vin-decode-example.json
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://api.nhtsa.gov/
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/recall-schema.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/recall-example.json
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://mobile.fmcsa.dot.gov/qc/services/getting-started
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/carrier-schema.json
  - type: Authentication
    url: https://mobile.fmcsa.dot.gov/qc/services/manage
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.faa.gov/data
- aid: department-of-transportation:department-of-transportation-carriers-api
  name: Department of Transportation Carriers API
  description: Motor carrier lookups
  humanURL: https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/api/
  baseURL: https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/api
  tags:
  - Carrier
  tags_raw:
  - Carriers
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/department-of-transportation-carriers-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/api/
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/vehicle-schema.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/vin-decode-example.json
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://api.nhtsa.gov/
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/recall-schema.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/recall-example.json
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://mobile.fmcsa.dot.gov/qc/services/getting-started
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/carrier-schema.json
  - type: Authentication
    url: https://mobile.fmcsa.dot.gov/qc/services/manage
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.faa.gov/data
- aid: department-of-transportation:department-of-transportation-complaints-api
  name: Department of Transportation Complaints API
  description: Consumer complaint data
  humanURL: https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/api/
  baseURL: https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/api
  tags:
  - Complaints
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/department-of-transportation-complaints-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/api/
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/vehicle-schema.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/vin-decode-example.json
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://api.nhtsa.gov/
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/recall-schema.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/recall-example.json
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://mobile.fmcsa.dot.gov/qc/services/getting-started
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/carrier-schema.json
  - type: Authentication
    url: https://mobile.fmcsa.dot.gov/qc/services/manage
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.faa.gov/data
- aid: department-of-transportation:department-of-transportation-crashes-api
  name: Department of Transportation Crashes API
  description: Crash data
  humanURL: https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/api/
  baseURL: https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/api
  tags:
  - Crashes
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/department-of-transportation-crashes-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/api/
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/vehicle-schema.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/vin-decode-example.json
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://api.nhtsa.gov/
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/recall-schema.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/recall-example.json
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://mobile.fmcsa.dot.gov/qc/services/getting-started
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/carrier-schema.json
  - type: Authentication
    url: https://mobile.fmcsa.dot.gov/qc/services/manage
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.faa.gov/data
- aid: department-of-transportation:department-of-transportation-inspections-api
  name: Department of Transportation Inspections API
  description: Roadside inspection data
  humanURL: https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/api/
  baseURL: https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/api
  tags:
  - Inspection
  tags_raw:
  - Inspections
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/department-of-transportation-inspections-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/api/
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/vehicle-schema.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/vin-decode-example.json
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://api.nhtsa.gov/
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/recall-schema.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/recall-example.json
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://mobile.fmcsa.dot.gov/qc/services/getting-started
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/carrier-schema.json
  - type: Authentication
    url: https://mobile.fmcsa.dot.gov/qc/services/manage
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.faa.gov/data
- aid: department-of-transportation:department-of-transportation-makes-api
  name: Department of Transportation Makes API
  description: Vehicle makes
  humanURL: https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/api/
  baseURL: https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/api
  tags:
  - Makes
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/department-of-transportation-makes-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/api/
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/vehicle-schema.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/vin-decode-example.json
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://api.nhtsa.gov/
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/recall-schema.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/recall-example.json
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://mobile.fmcsa.dot.gov/qc/services/getting-started
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/carrier-schema.json
  - type: Authentication
    url: https://mobile.fmcsa.dot.gov/qc/services/manage
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.faa.gov/data
- aid: department-of-transportation:department-of-transportation-manufacturers-api
  name: Department of Transportation Manufacturers API
  description: Vehicle manufacturers
  humanURL: https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/api/
  baseURL: https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/api
  tags:
  - Manufacturer
  tags_raw:
  - Manufacturers
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/department-of-transportation-manufacturers-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/api/
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/vehicle-schema.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/vin-decode-example.json
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://api.nhtsa.gov/
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/recall-schema.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/recall-example.json
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://mobile.fmcsa.dot.gov/qc/services/getting-started
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/carrier-schema.json
  - type: Authentication
    url: https://mobile.fmcsa.dot.gov/qc/services/manage
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.faa.gov/data
- aid: department-of-transportation:department-of-transportation-models-api
  name: Department of Transportation Models API
  description: Vehicle models
  humanURL: https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/api/
  baseURL: https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/api
  tags:
  - Models
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/department-of-transportation-models-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/api/
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/vehicle-schema.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/vin-decode-example.json
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://api.nhtsa.gov/
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/recall-schema.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/recall-example.json
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://mobile.fmcsa.dot.gov/qc/services/getting-started
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/carrier-schema.json
  - type: Authentication
    url: https://mobile.fmcsa.dot.gov/qc/services/manage
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.faa.gov/data
- aid: department-of-transportation:department-of-transportation-ratings-api
  name: Department of Transportation Ratings API
  description: 5-Star Safety Ratings
  humanURL: https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/api/
  baseURL: https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/api
  tags:
  - Ratings
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/department-of-transportation-ratings-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/api/
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/vehicle-schema.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/vin-decode-example.json
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://api.nhtsa.gov/
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/recall-schema.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/recall-example.json
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://mobile.fmcsa.dot.gov/qc/services/getting-started
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/carrier-schema.json
  - type: Authentication
    url: https://mobile.fmcsa.dot.gov/qc/services/manage
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.faa.gov/data
- aid: department-of-transportation:department-of-transportation-recalls-api
  name: Department of Transportation Recalls API
  description: Vehicle, equipment, child seat, and tire recalls
  humanURL: https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/api/
  baseURL: https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/api
  tags:
  - Recalls
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/department-of-transportation-recalls-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/api/
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/vehicle-schema.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/vin-decode-example.json
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://api.nhtsa.gov/
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/recall-schema.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/recall-example.json
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://mobile.fmcsa.dot.gov/qc/services/getting-started
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/carrier-schema.json
  - type: Authentication
    url: https://mobile.fmcsa.dot.gov/qc/services/manage
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.faa.gov/data
- aid: department-of-transportation:department-of-transportation-vehicle-variables-api
  name: Department of Transportation Vehicle Variables API
  description: Vehicle variable definitions
  humanURL: https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/api/
  baseURL: https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/api
  tags:
  - Vehicle Variables
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/department-of-transportation-vehicle-variables-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/api/
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/vehicle-schema.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/vin-decode-example.json
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://api.nhtsa.gov/
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/recall-schema.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/recall-example.json
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://mobile.fmcsa.dot.gov/qc/services/getting-started
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/carrier-schema.json
  - type: Authentication
    url: https://mobile.fmcsa.dot.gov/qc/services/manage
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.faa.gov/data
- aid: department-of-transportation:department-of-transportation-vin-decode-api
  name: Department of Transportation VIN Decode API
  description: Decode VINs into structured vehicle data
  humanURL: https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/api/
  baseURL: https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/api
  tags:
  - VIN Decode
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/department-of-transportation-vin-decode-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/api/
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/vehicle-schema.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/vin-decode-example.json
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://api.nhtsa.gov/
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/recall-schema.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/recall-example.json
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://mobile.fmcsa.dot.gov/qc/services/getting-started
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/carrier-schema.json
  - type: Authentication
    url: https://mobile.fmcsa.dot.gov/qc/services/manage
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.faa.gov/data
- aid: department-of-transportation:department-of-transportation-wmi-api
  name: Department of Transportation WMI API
  description: World Manufacturer Identifier (WMI) decoding
  humanURL: https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/api/
  baseURL: https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/api
  tags:
  - WMI
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/department-of-transportation-wmi-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/api/
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/vehicle-schema.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/vin-decode-example.json
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://api.nhtsa.gov/
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/recall-schema.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/recall-example.json
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://mobile.fmcsa.dot.gov/qc/services/getting-started
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/carrier-schema.json
  - type: Authentication
    url: https://mobile.fmcsa.dot.gov/qc/services/manage
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.faa.gov/data
- aid: department-of-transportation:department-of-transportation-childseats-api
  name: Department of Transportation Child Seats API
  description: Child Seat search and list endpoints
  humanURL: https://www.bts.gov/data-portals
  baseURL: https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/api
  tags: []
  tags_raw:
  - childSeats
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/department-of-transportation-childseats-api-openapi.yml
- aid: department-of-transportation:department-of-transportation-equipment-api
  name: Department of Transportation Equipment API
  description: Equipment search and list endpoints
  humanURL: https://www.bts.gov/data-portals
  baseURL: https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/api
  tags:
  - Equipment
  tags_raw:
  - equipment
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/department-of-transportation-equipment-api-openapi.yml
- aid: department-of-transportation:department-of-transportation-ewr-api
  name: Department of Transportation Ewr API
  description: Early Warning Report endpoints
  humanURL: https://www.bts.gov/data-portals
  baseURL: https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/api
  tags:
  - ewr
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/department-of-transportation-ewr-api-openapi.yml
- aid: department-of-transportation:department-of-transportation-foreigncampaigns-api
  name: Department of Transportation Foreign Campaigns API
  description: Foreign Campaign search and list endpoints
  humanURL: https://www.bts.gov/data-portals
  baseURL: https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/api
  tags: []
  tags_raw:
  - foreignCampaigns
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/department-of-transportation-foreigncampaigns-api-openapi.yml
- aid: department-of-transportation:department-of-transportation-safetyissues-api
  name: Department of Transportation Safety Issues API
  description: Recalls, Investigations, Complaints, and Manufacturer Communications
  humanURL: https://www.bts.gov/data-portals
  baseURL: https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/api
  tags: []
  tags_raw:
  - safetyIssues
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/department-of-transportation-safetyissues-api-openapi.yml
- aid: department-of-transportation:department-of-transportation-tires-api
  name: Department of Transportation Tires API
  description: Tire search and list endpoints
  humanURL: https://www.bts.gov/data-portals
  baseURL: https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/api
  tags:
  - Tires
  tags_raw:
  - tires
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/department-of-transportation-tires-api-openapi.yml
- aid: department-of-transportation:department-of-transportation-vehicles-api
  name: Department of Transportation Vehicles API
  description: Vehicle search and list endpoints
  humanURL: https://www.bts.gov/data-portals
  baseURL: https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/api
  tags:
  - Vehicles
  tags_raw:
  - vehicles
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/department-of-transportation-vehicles-api-openapi.yml
maintainers:
- FN: Kin Lane
  email: kin@apievangelist.com

Department of Transportation API — frequently asked questions

Does Department of Transportation have an API?

Yes. APIs.io lists 25 APIs from Department of Transportation, including Bureau of Transportation Statistics Data Portal, Federal Railroad Administration Safety Data and Federal Transit Administration National Transit Database, and 22 more.

Is there an OpenAPI specification for the Department of Transportation API?

Yes. APIs.io indexes 21 OpenAPI specifications for Department of Transportation, each linked for download from this page.

How do I authenticate with the Department of Transportation API?

Department of Transportation uses bearer-token authentication (apiKey · 1 scheme). The details are profiled on APIs.io as Department Of Transportation Authentication.

How much does the Department of Transportation API cost?

APIs.io lists 1 pricing plan for Department of Transportation, with each plan's price, limits and inclusions under Pricing on this page.

Is the Department of Transportation API ready for AI agents?

Department of Transportation has a Kin Score of 28.4 out of 100 (thin) and an Agent Readiness score of 19.8 (agent-aware), scored by API Evangelist on 2026-11-06.

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