elibrary.ferc.gov APIelibrary.ferc.gov ↗
Access FERC eLibrary dockets, filings, and document metadata via API. Search by docket number, date range, or query text. Covers CP dockets and accession lookups.
curl -X POST 'https://api.parse.bot/scraper/8c295ce3-9094-4a7e-8fac-e15d4afa5636/general_search' \
-H 'X-API-Key: $PARSE_API_KEY' \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-d '{
"limit": "2",
"docket_number": "CP"
}'Search for documents in the FERC eLibrary with optional filters for docket number, date range, and query text. Returns paginated search results ordered by relevance score.
| Param | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| page | integer | Page number (0-based). |
| limit | integer | Maximum results per page. |
| query | string | Search query text. Omitting searches all documents. |
| end_date | string | End of filed-date range in YYYY-MM-DD format. |
| start_date | string | Start of filed-date range in YYYY-MM-DD format. |
| docket_number | string | Docket number or prefix to filter by. Short prefixes (4 chars or fewer) are automatically wildcarded (e.g. 'CP' becomes 'CP*'). Full docket numbers like 'CP21-470' search exactly. |
{
"type": "object",
"fields": {
"numHits": "integer number of results returned on this page",
"totalHits": "integer total number of matching documents across all pages",
"searchHits": "array of document objects with description, category, acesssionNumber, filedDate, docketNumbers, transmittals, affiliations, and score"
},
"sample": {
"data": {
"numHits": 5,
"success": true,
"totalHits": 648683,
"searchHits": [
{
"score": 85.35,
"category": "Submittal",
"filedDate": "05/13/2026",
"documentId": "F8EA1EAD-C4EF-C6E4-8726-9E2310400000",
"description": "Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company, LLC submits supplemental information...",
"docketNumbers": [
"CP17-101-007"
],
"acesssionNumber": "20260513-5163"
}
],
"errorMessage": null,
"searchResultId": null
},
"status": "success"
}
}About the elibrary.ferc.gov API
The FERC eLibrary API exposes 4 endpoints for searching and retrieving Federal Energy Regulatory Commission dockets and regulatory documents. The general_search endpoint accepts filters for docket number, date range, and free-text query, returning paginated results with accession numbers, filed dates, and affiliated parties. get_docket_details returns full docket sheets including applicant names, sub-dockets, and every associated filing.
What the API Covers
The FERC eLibrary API provides structured access to the public document repository maintained by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Four endpoints cover the main use cases: full-text and filtered document search, a convenience endpoint scoped to CP-prefixed dockets, detailed docket sheets, and single-document metadata lookup by accession number.
Searching Documents
The general_search endpoint accepts up to five optional parameters: query (free-text), docket_number (prefix or exact number), start_date and end_date (in YYYY-MM-DD format), and pagination controls (page is 0-based, limit sets page size). The response includes totalHits for the full result count across pages, and a searchHits array where each item carries accessionNumber, filedDate, category, description, docketNumbers, transmittals, affiliations, and a relevance score. Short prefixes of four characters or fewer are automatically wildcarded, so passing CP matches all CP-series dockets.
Docket and Document Detail
get_docket_details takes an exact docket_number (e.g. CP21-470) and returns five top-level fields: filings (a DataList of filing objects, each with DocumentsItem, AuthorsItem, and FedCitesItem), applicants (applicant names as HTML-formatted strings), description, sub_dockets, and an echo of the requested docket_number. get_document_details takes an accession_number in YYYYMMDD-NNNN format and returns a single-item searchHits array with the full document metadata, including transmittals and affiliations. get_cp_dockets is a no-parameter convenience wrapper that pre-filters general_search to the CP prefix and supports the same pagination inputs.
Coverage and Freshness
Coverage corresponds to what FERC eLibrary indexes publicly, which includes applications, interventions, orders, and correspondence across docket types such as CP (Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity), RM (rulemaking), and EL (electric). Results reflect documents as they appear in the FERC eLibrary at query time.
- Monitor new filings on a specific CP docket number by polling
get_docket_detailsand comparing thefilings.DataListlength over time. - Build a docket search tool filtered by filed-date range using
general_searchstart_dateandend_dateparameters. - Retrieve applicant names and sub-docket lists for a pipeline project to map related proceedings.
- Look up full document metadata by accession number to resolve citation references in regulatory analysis.
- Aggregate all CP-series dockets across pages using
get_cp_docketspagination for natural gas infrastructure research. - Cross-reference
affiliationsandtransmittalsfields from search results to identify parties active across multiple dockets. - Track rulemaking (RM) proceedings by filtering
general_searchwith theRMdocket prefix.
| Tier | Price | Credits/month | Rate limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0/mo | 100 | 5 req/min |
| Hobby | $30/mo | 1,000 | 20 req/min |
| Developer | $100/mo | 5,000 | 250 req/min |
One credit = one API call regardless of which marketplace API you call. Exceeding the rate limit returns a 429 response. Authenticate with the X-API-Key header.
Does FERC provide an official developer API for eLibrary?+
What does `get_docket_details` return beyond what `general_search` provides?+
get_docket_details returns fields that the search endpoints do not expose: a sub_dockets list, applicants (with HTML-formatted names), a docket-level description, and a full filings.DataList where each filing includes DocumentsItem, AuthorsItem, and FedCitesItem. Search endpoints return per-document fields like accessionNumber, score, and transmittals, but no applicant or sub-docket structure.Does the API return the full text or binary content of FERC documents?+
description, category, accessionNumber, filedDate, and transmittals — not the document binary or extracted full text. Document files themselves are hosted on FERC eLibrary and referenced by accession number. You can fork this API on Parse and revise it to add an endpoint that resolves accession numbers to download URLs if that capability is needed.How does pagination work in `general_search`?+
page parameter is 0-based, so the first page is page=0. totalHits in the response reflects the total count of matching documents across all pages, while numHits reflects the count in the current page. Use limit to control page size. Iterating page from 0 upward until the cumulative numHits equals totalHits retrieves the full result set.Can I filter searches by docket type other than CP?+
general_search endpoint accepts any docket prefix or full docket number in the docket_number parameter. Short prefixes (four characters or fewer) are automatically wildcarded, so passing RM, EL, or PF will match all dockets of that type. get_cp_dockets is a pre-configured shortcut only for the CP prefix; no equivalent convenience endpoints exist for other prefixes currently. You can fork the API on Parse and revise it to add convenience endpoints for other prefixes like RM or EL.