Clinical Trials Gov Authentication

generated: '2026-09-06'
method: probed
source: >-
  openapi/_original/clinical-trials-gov-openapi.yml (no securitySchemes) plus live
  unauthenticated probes of https://clinicaltrials.gov/api/v2/* on 2026-09-06
summary:
  authentication_required: false
  scheme_count: 0
  registration_required: false
  api_key_required: false
  oauth: false
schemes: []
finding: >-
  The ClinicalTrials.gov Data API v2 requires no authentication of any kind. No
  securityScheme is declared in the contract, no credential is requested anywhere on
  https://clinicaltrials.gov/data-api, and unauthenticated GETs against every documented
  path return 200 with data. There is no signup, no key issuance and no account.
evidence:
- url: https://clinicaltrials.gov/api/v2/studies?pageSize=1
  status: 200
  note: unauthenticated, returned a full study record (application/json)
- url: https://clinicaltrials.gov/api/v2/version
  status: 200
  note: unauthenticated
- url: https://clinicaltrials.gov/api/v2/studies/metadata
  status: 200
  note: unauthenticated, 175,633 bytes of field metadata
- url: https://clinicaltrials.gov/.well-known/oauth-authorization-server
  status: 200
  note: SPA HTML shell, not an authorization-server metadata document — no OAuth surface exists
transport:
  https_required: true
  tls_version: TLSv1.3
  hsts: true
  note: See security/clinical-trials-gov-domain-security.yml for the full TLS/DNS posture.
data_rights:
  note: >-
    Data is U.S. Government work in the public domain and available "to all requesters, both
    within and outside the United States, at no charge"
    (https://clinicaltrials.gov/about-site/terms-conditions). Some records may carry
    third-party copyright; the terms tell consumers to consult those entities directly.
    Attribution to NLM and ClinicalTrials.gov is requested.