GOV.UK Notify website screenshot

GOV.UK Notify

GOV.UK Notify is a UK government notification service operated by the Government Digital Service (GDS) that enables central government, local authorities, NHS organisations, and other eligible public bodies to send emails, text messages, and letters to citizens on behalf of government services. The platform provides a REST API, a web-based sending interface, and official client libraries for Python, Java, .NET, Node.js, PHP, and Ruby. Emails are free and unlimited; SMS messages include an annual free allowance by organisation type with per-message overage at 2.4p; physical letters are priced by postage class and page count with print and postage included. The API uses JWT-based authentication, supports template-driven personalisation, and enforces a throughput limit of 3,000 messages per minute per API key type.

GOV.UK Notify publishes 3 APIs on the APIs.io network: Notifications API, Received Text Messages API, and Templates API. Tagged areas include Notifications, Email, SMS, Text Messages, and Letters.

The GOV.UK Notify catalog on APIs.io includes 1 Spectral governance ruleset.

GOV.UK Notify’s developer surface includes authentication, documentation, pricing, status page, support, engineering blog, and 8 more developer resources.

43.5/100 developing ▬ flat Agent 34/100 agent aware Full breakdown ↓
scored 2026-07-28 · rubric v0.6
AccessFreeSelf serve⚡ Free to try
9 APIs
NotificationsEmailSMSText MessagesLettersGovernmentUnited KingdomPublic SectorGDSREST

Kin Score

Kin Score Kin Score How this is scored →
scored 2026-07-28 · rubric v0.6
Composite quality — 43.5/100 · developing
Contract Quality 15.7 / 25
Developer Ergonomics 5.2 / 20
Commercial Clarity 10.0 / 20
Operational Transparency 0.0 / 13
Governance 7.0 / 12
Discoverability 7.4 / 10
Agent readiness — 34/100 · agent aware
Machine-Readable Contract 18 / 18
Agentic Access Contract 10 / 10
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
Improve this rating by publishing the missing artifacts — every area above can be raised, and the full rubric is at apis.io/rating/. This rating is computed from github.com/api-evangelist/gov-uk-notify: open an issue to ask a question, or submit a pull request to add artifacts. Want it done for you? Prioritized profiling — $2,500 →

APIs 9

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

GOV.UK Notify Python Client

Official Python client library for the GOV.UK Notify API. Wraps the REST API with idiomatic Python methods for sending SMS, email, and letter notifications; retrieving notificat...

GOV.UK Notify Java Client

Official Java client library for the GOV.UK Notify API, providing methods for sending emails, SMS messages, and letters, as well as retrieving notification statuses and managing...

GOV.UK Notify .NET Client

Official .NET client library for the GOV.UK Notify API supporting C# and other .NET languages for sending government notifications via email, SMS, and letters.

GOV.UK Notify Node.js Client

Official Node.js client library for the GOV.UK Notify API for sending government notifications via email, SMS, and letters from JavaScript and TypeScript applications.

GOV.UK Notify PHP Client

Official PHP client library for the GOV.UK Notify API for sending government notifications via email, SMS, and letters from PHP applications.

GOV.UK Notify Ruby Client

Official Ruby client library for the GOV.UK Notify API for sending government notifications via email, SMS, and letters from Ruby and Ruby on Rails applications.

GOV.UK Notify Notifications API

Send and retrieve notifications (email, SMS, letters)

GOV.UK Notify Received Text Messages API

Retrieve inbound text messages

GOV.UK Notify Templates API

Retrieve and preview notification templates

Scroll for all 9

Pricing Plans 1

Published pricing tiers and plan structures.

Plans

8 plans

PLANS

Rate Limits 1

Documented rate limits and quota policies.

Rate Limits

0 limits

RATE LIMITS

FinOps 1

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

Finops

FINOPS

Spectral Rules 1

Spectral governance rulesets for linting and validating these APIs.

GOV.UK Notify API Rules

5 rules · 4 warnings 1 info

SPECTRAL

JSON Schema 3

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

Notification

23 properties

JSON SCHEMA

Send Email Request

7 properties

JSON SCHEMA

Send SMS Request

5 properties

JSON SCHEMA

Examples 3

Example request and response payloads for these APIs.

Send Email

4 fields

EXAMPLE

Send Letter

4 fields

EXAMPLE

Send Sms

4 fields

EXAMPLE

Security Posture 3

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

Gov Uk Notify Authentication

http · 1 scheme

SECURITY

Gov Uk Notify Domain Security

TLSv1.3 · HSTS · DMARC

SECURITY

Gov Uk Notify Vulnerability Disclosure

Hackerone · security.txt · contact published

SECURITY

Agentic Access 1

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

Gov Uk Notify Agentic Access

11 operations · 4 acting

11 operations · 4 acting

AGENTIC

Resources

Documentation 1

Reference material describing how the API behaves

Agent Surfaces 1

MCP servers, agent skills, and machine-readable catalogs

Build 1

SDKs, sample code, and the tooling you integrate with

Access & Security 3

Authentication, authorization, and security posture

Operate 3

Status, limits, changes, and where to get help

Commercial 3

Pricing, plans, and the legal terms of use

Company 2

The organization behind the API

Source (apis.yml)

apis.yml Raw ↑
aid: gov-uk-notify
name: GOV.UK Notify
description: GOV.UK Notify is a UK government notification service operated by the Government Digital Service (GDS) that enables
  central government, local authorities, NHS organisations, and other eligible public bodies to send emails, text messages,
  and letters to citizens on behalf of government services. The platform provides a REST API, a web-based sending interface,
  and official client libraries for Python, Java, .NET, Node.js, PHP, and Ruby. Emails are free and unlimited; SMS messages
  include an annual free allowance by organisation type with per-message overage at 2.4p; physical letters are priced by postage
  class and page count with print and postage included. The API uses JWT-based authentication, supports template-driven personalisation,
  and enforces a throughput limit of 3,000 messages per minute per API key type.
kind: government
accessModel:
  pricing: free
  onboarding: self-serve
  trial: false
  try_now: true
  public: false
  label: Free · Self-serve signup
  confidence: high
  source:
  - plans
  - authentication
  generated: '2026-07-22'
  method: derived
image: https://kinlane-images.s3.amazonaws.com/shared/apis-json/icons/gov-uk-notify.png
url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/gov-uk-notify/refs/heads/main/apis.yml
tags:
- Notifications
- Email
- SMS
- Text Messages
- Letters
- Government
- United Kingdom
- Public Sector
- GDS
- REST
created: '2026-06-13'
modified: '2026-06-13'
specificationVersion: '0.19'
apis:
- aid: gov-uk-notify:python-client
  name: GOV.UK Notify Python Client
  description: Official Python client library for the GOV.UK Notify API. Wraps the REST API with idiomatic Python methods
    for sending SMS, email, and letter notifications; retrieving notification status; listing notifications with filtering;
    fetching templates and previewing them; and handling inbound received text messages. Available on PyPI as notifications-python-client.
  humanURL: https://docs.notifications.service.gov.uk/python.html
  baseURL: https://api.notifications.service.gov.uk
  tags:
  - Python
  - SDK
  - Client Library
  - Notifications
  properties:
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://docs.notifications.service.gov.uk/python.html
  - type: x-github
    url: https://github.com/alphagov/notifications-python-client
- aid: gov-uk-notify:java-client
  name: GOV.UK Notify Java Client
  description: Official Java client library for the GOV.UK Notify API, providing methods for sending emails, SMS messages,
    and letters, as well as retrieving notification statuses and managing templates.
  humanURL: https://docs.notifications.service.gov.uk/java.html
  baseURL: https://api.notifications.service.gov.uk
  tags:
  - Java
  - SDK
  - Client Library
  - Notifications
  properties:
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://docs.notifications.service.gov.uk/java.html
  - type: x-github
    url: https://github.com/alphagov/notifications-java-client
- aid: gov-uk-notify:dotnet-client
  name: GOV.UK Notify .NET Client
  description: Official .NET client library for the GOV.UK Notify API supporting C# and other .NET languages for sending government
    notifications via email, SMS, and letters.
  humanURL: https://docs.notifications.service.gov.uk/net.html
  baseURL: https://api.notifications.service.gov.uk
  tags:
  - .NET
  - C#
  - SDK
  - Client Library
  - Notifications
  properties:
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://docs.notifications.service.gov.uk/net.html
  - type: x-github
    url: https://github.com/alphagov/notifications-net-client
- aid: gov-uk-notify:nodejs-client
  name: GOV.UK Notify Node.js Client
  description: Official Node.js client library for the GOV.UK Notify API for sending government notifications via email, SMS,
    and letters from JavaScript and TypeScript applications.
  humanURL: https://docs.notifications.service.gov.uk/node.html
  baseURL: https://api.notifications.service.gov.uk
  tags:
  - Node.js
  - JavaScript
  - SDK
  - Client Library
  - Notifications
  properties:
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://docs.notifications.service.gov.uk/node.html
  - type: x-github
    url: https://github.com/alphagov/notifications-node-client
- aid: gov-uk-notify:php-client
  name: GOV.UK Notify PHP Client
  description: Official PHP client library for the GOV.UK Notify API for sending government notifications via email, SMS,
    and letters from PHP applications.
  humanURL: https://docs.notifications.service.gov.uk/php.html
  baseURL: https://api.notifications.service.gov.uk
  tags:
  - PHP
  - SDK
  - Client Library
  - Notifications
  properties:
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://docs.notifications.service.gov.uk/php.html
  - type: x-github
    url: https://github.com/alphagov/notifications-php-client
- aid: gov-uk-notify:ruby-client
  name: GOV.UK Notify Ruby Client
  description: Official Ruby client library for the GOV.UK Notify API for sending government notifications via email, SMS,
    and letters from Ruby and Ruby on Rails applications.
  humanURL: https://docs.notifications.service.gov.uk/ruby.html
  baseURL: https://api.notifications.service.gov.uk
  tags:
  - Ruby
  - SDK
  - Client Library
  - Notifications
  properties:
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://docs.notifications.service.gov.uk/ruby.html
  - type: x-github
    url: https://github.com/alphagov/notifications-ruby-client
- aid: gov-uk-notify:gov-uk-notify-notifications-api
  name: GOV.UK Notify Notifications API
  description: Send and retrieve notifications (email, SMS, letters)
  humanURL: https://docs.notifications.service.gov.uk/rest-api.html
  baseURL: https://api.notifications.service.gov.uk
  tags:
  - Notifications
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/gov-uk-notify-notifications-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://docs.notifications.service.gov.uk/rest-api.html
  - type: Website
    url: https://www.notifications.service.gov.uk/
- aid: gov-uk-notify:gov-uk-notify-received-text-messages-api
  name: GOV.UK Notify Received Text Messages API
  description: Retrieve inbound text messages
  humanURL: https://docs.notifications.service.gov.uk/rest-api.html
  baseURL: https://api.notifications.service.gov.uk
  tags:
  - Received Text Messages
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/gov-uk-notify-received-text-messages-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://docs.notifications.service.gov.uk/rest-api.html
  - type: Website
    url: https://www.notifications.service.gov.uk/
- aid: gov-uk-notify:gov-uk-notify-templates-api
  name: GOV.UK Notify Templates API
  description: Retrieve and preview notification templates
  humanURL: https://docs.notifications.service.gov.uk/rest-api.html
  baseURL: https://api.notifications.service.gov.uk
  tags:
  - Templates
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/gov-uk-notify-templates-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://docs.notifications.service.gov.uk/rest-api.html
  - type: Website
    url: https://www.notifications.service.gov.uk/
common:
- type: AgenticAccess
  url: agentic-access/gov-uk-notify-agentic-access.yml
- type: VulnerabilityDisclosure
  url: security/gov-uk-notify-vulnerability-disclosure.yml
- type: DomainSecurity
  url: security/gov-uk-notify-domain-security.yml
- type: Authentication
  url: authentication/gov-uk-notify-authentication.yml
- type: Website
  url: https://www.notifications.service.gov.uk/
- type: Documentation
  url: https://docs.notifications.service.gov.uk/
- type: Pricing
  url: https://www.notifications.service.gov.uk/pricing
- type: Status
  url: https://status.notifications.service.gov.uk/
- type: Support
  url: https://www.notifications.service.gov.uk/support
- type: Blog
  url: https://gds.blog.gov.uk/category/gov-uk-notify/
- type: x-github
  url: https://github.com/alphagov/notifications-api
- type: Plans
  url: plans/plans.yml
- type: RateLimits
  url: rate-limits/rate-limits.yml
- type: FinOps
  url: finops/finops.yml
maintainers:
- FN: Kin Lane
  email: kin@apievangelist.com