FEC Campaign Finance API
api.open.fec.gov · Government
US Federal Election Commission data — campaign contributions, expenditures, candidate filings, PAC data, and election results. Free, API key from FEC.
Authentication
API Key authentication
Free API key at api.open.fec.gov. Pass as ?api_key= query parameter.
Sample Requests
GET
Search candidates
Search for federal election candidates.
https://api.open.fec.gov/v1/candidates/search?q=Biden&api_key=YOUR_KEY&per_page=5
Hover any highlighted part to learn what it does
curl -X GET "https://api.open.fec.gov/v1/candidates/search/?q=Biden&api_key=YOUR_KEY&per_page=5"
import requests
params = {
"q": "Biden",
"api_key": "YOUR_KEY",
"per_page": "5"
}
response = requests.get(
"https://api.open.fec.gov/v1/candidates/search/",
params=params,
)
print(response.json())const url = new URL('https://api.open.fec.gov/v1/candidates/search/');
url.searchParams.set('q', 'Biden');
url.searchParams.set('api_key', 'YOUR_KEY');
url.searchParams.set('per_page', '5');
const response = await fetch(url);
const data = await response.json();
console.log(data);package main
import (
"fmt"
"io"
"net/http"
"net/url"
)
func main() {
baseURL, _ := url.Parse("https://api.open.fec.gov/v1/candidates/search/")
q := baseURL.Query()
q.Set("q", "Biden")
q.Set("api_key", "YOUR_KEY")
q.Set("per_page", "5")
baseURL.RawQuery = q.Encode()
targetURL := baseURL.String()
req, _ := http.NewRequest("GET", targetURL, nil)
client := &http.Client{}
resp, _ := client.Do(req)
defer resp.Body.Close()
body, _ := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
fmt.Println(string(body))
}require "net/http"
require "json"
uri = URI("https://api.open.fec.gov/v1/candidates/search/")
uri.query = URI.encode_www_form({
"q" => "Biden",
"api_key" => "YOUR_KEY",
"per_page" => "5"
})
http = Net::HTTP.new(uri.host, uri.port)
http.use_ssl = uri.scheme == "https"
req = Net::HTTP::Get.new(uri)
res = http.request(req)
puts JSON.parse(res.body)<?php
$url = "https://api.open.fec.gov/v1/candidates/search/?" . http_build_query([
"q" => "Biden",
"api_key" => "YOUR_KEY",
"per_page" => "5"
]);
$opts = ["http" => [
"method" => "GET",
]];
$ctx = stream_context_create($opts);
$res = file_get_contents($url, false, $ctx);
print_r(json_decode($res, true));
GET
Get contributions
Get recent campaign contributions from New York.
https://api.open.fec.gov/v1/schedules/schedule_a?sort=-contribution_receipt_date&api_key=YOUR_KEY&per_page=5&contributor_state=NY
Hover any highlighted part to learn what it does
curl -X GET "https://api.open.fec.gov/v1/schedules/schedule_a/?sort=-contribution_receipt_date&api_key=YOUR_KEY&per_page=5&contributor_state=NY"
import requests
params = {
"sort": "-contribution_receipt_date",
"api_key": "YOUR_KEY",
"per_page": "5",
"contributor_state": "NY"
}
response = requests.get(
"https://api.open.fec.gov/v1/schedules/schedule_a/",
params=params,
)
print(response.json())const url = new URL('https://api.open.fec.gov/v1/schedules/schedule_a/');
url.searchParams.set('sort', '-contribution_receipt_date');
url.searchParams.set('api_key', 'YOUR_KEY');
url.searchParams.set('per_page', '5');
url.searchParams.set('contributor_state', 'NY');
const response = await fetch(url);
const data = await response.json();
console.log(data);package main
import (
"fmt"
"io"
"net/http"
"net/url"
)
func main() {
baseURL, _ := url.Parse("https://api.open.fec.gov/v1/schedules/schedule_a/")
q := baseURL.Query()
q.Set("sort", "-contribution_receipt_date")
q.Set("api_key", "YOUR_KEY")
q.Set("per_page", "5")
q.Set("contributor_state", "NY")
baseURL.RawQuery = q.Encode()
targetURL := baseURL.String()
req, _ := http.NewRequest("GET", targetURL, nil)
client := &http.Client{}
resp, _ := client.Do(req)
defer resp.Body.Close()
body, _ := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
fmt.Println(string(body))
}require "net/http"
require "json"
uri = URI("https://api.open.fec.gov/v1/schedules/schedule_a/")
uri.query = URI.encode_www_form({
"sort" => "-contribution_receipt_date",
"api_key" => "YOUR_KEY",
"per_page" => "5",
"contributor_state" => "NY"
})
http = Net::HTTP.new(uri.host, uri.port)
http.use_ssl = uri.scheme == "https"
req = Net::HTTP::Get.new(uri)
res = http.request(req)
puts JSON.parse(res.body)<?php
$url = "https://api.open.fec.gov/v1/schedules/schedule_a/?" . http_build_query([
"sort" => "-contribution_receipt_date",
"api_key" => "YOUR_KEY",
"per_page" => "5",
"contributor_state" => "NY"
]);
$opts = ["http" => [
"method" => "GET",
]];
$ctx = stream_context_create($opts);
$res = file_get_contents($url, false, $ctx);
print_r(json_decode($res, true));Postman Setup Guide
- Get a free API key at api.open.fec.gov
- Pass api_key=YOUR_KEY as query param
- Candidates: GET /candidates/search/?q=name&api_key=KEY
- Contributions: GET /schedules/schedule_a/?api_key=KEY&per_page=10
- Spending: GET /schedules/schedule_b/?api_key=KEY&per_page=10
What can you build with FEC Campaign Finance API?
FEC Campaign Finance API is a Government API. Developers commonly use government APIs for:
- surfacing public datasets in citizen-facing apps
- building transparency and civic engagement tools
- accessing legislation, court records, and official data
- powering research and journalism tools
- creating compliance and regulatory monitoring dashboards
API Key authentication. You'll receive a key after signing up. Send it with every request — in a header or query parameter. Keep it out of client-side code and never commit it to version control. FEC Campaign Finance API is free to use up to a usage limit, making it a low-risk choice to experiment with.
New to APIs? Read our beginner's guide