NHTSA Complaints & Recalls API

api.nhtsa.gov · Government

Government No Auth Free & Open Automotive Safety Recalls

Access NHTSA safety data — vehicle recalls, consumer complaints, investigations, and 5-star safety ratings by make, model, and year. Free, no API key required.

Authentication

No authentication requiredFree to use with no key needed.

Sample Requests

GET Get recalls for a vehicle

Get all safety recalls for a specific make/model/year.

https://api.nhtsa.gov/recalls/recallsByVehicle?make=toyota&model=camry&modelYear=2020

Hover any highlighted part to learn what it does

curl -X GET "https://api.nhtsa.gov/recalls/recallsByVehicle?make=toyota&model=camry&modelYear=2020"

import requests
params = {
    "make": "toyota",
    "model": "camry",
    "modelYear": "2020"
}
response = requests.get(
    "https://api.nhtsa.gov/recalls/recallsByVehicle",
    params=params,
)
print(response.json())

const url = new URL('https://api.nhtsa.gov/recalls/recallsByVehicle');
url.searchParams.set('make', 'toyota');
url.searchParams.set('model', 'camry');
url.searchParams.set('modelYear', '2020');

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.nhtsa.gov/recalls/recallsByVehicle")
	q := baseURL.Query()
	q.Set("make", "toyota")
	q.Set("model", "camry")
	q.Set("modelYear", "2020")
	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.nhtsa.gov/recalls/recallsByVehicle")
uri.query = URI.encode_www_form({
  "make" => "toyota",
  "model" => "camry",
  "modelYear" => "2020"
})

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.nhtsa.gov/recalls/recallsByVehicle?" . http_build_query([
    "make" => "toyota",
    "model" => "camry",
    "modelYear" => "2020"
]);
$opts = ["http" => [
    "method" => "GET",
]];
$ctx = stream_context_create($opts);
$res = file_get_contents($url, false, $ctx);
print_r(json_decode($res, true));

GET Get complaints

Get consumer safety complaints for a vehicle.

https://api.nhtsa.gov/complaints/complaintsByVehicle?make=ford&model=f-150&modelYear=2021

Hover any highlighted part to learn what it does

curl -X GET "https://api.nhtsa.gov/complaints/complaintsByVehicle?make=ford&model=f-150&modelYear=2021"

import requests
params = {
    "make": "ford",
    "model": "f-150",
    "modelYear": "2021"
}
response = requests.get(
    "https://api.nhtsa.gov/complaints/complaintsByVehicle",
    params=params,
)
print(response.json())

const url = new URL('https://api.nhtsa.gov/complaints/complaintsByVehicle');
url.searchParams.set('make', 'ford');
url.searchParams.set('model', 'f-150');
url.searchParams.set('modelYear', '2021');

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.nhtsa.gov/complaints/complaintsByVehicle")
	q := baseURL.Query()
	q.Set("make", "ford")
	q.Set("model", "f-150")
	q.Set("modelYear", "2021")
	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.nhtsa.gov/complaints/complaintsByVehicle")
uri.query = URI.encode_www_form({
  "make" => "ford",
  "model" => "f-150",
  "modelYear" => "2021"
})

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.nhtsa.gov/complaints/complaintsByVehicle?" . http_build_query([
    "make" => "ford",
    "model" => "f-150",
    "modelYear" => "2021"
]);
$opts = ["http" => [
    "method" => "GET",
]];
$ctx = stream_context_create($opts);
$res = file_get_contents($url, false, $ctx);
print_r(json_decode($res, true));

GET Get safety ratings

Get 5-star crash safety ratings for a vehicle.

https://api.nhtsa.gov/SafetyRatings/modelyear/2022/make/honda/model/civic

Hover any highlighted part to learn what it does

curl -X GET "https://api.nhtsa.gov/SafetyRatings/modelyear/2022/make/honda/model/civic"

import requests
response = requests.get(
    "https://api.nhtsa.gov/SafetyRatings/modelyear/2022/make/honda/model/civic",
)
print(response.json())

const url = 'https://api.nhtsa.gov/SafetyRatings/modelyear/2022/make/honda/model/civic';

const response = await fetch(url); 
const data = await response.json();
console.log(data);

package main

import (
	"fmt"
	"io"
	"net/http"
)

func main() {
	targetURL := "https://api.nhtsa.gov/SafetyRatings/modelyear/2022/make/honda/model/civic"
	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.nhtsa.gov/SafetyRatings/modelyear/2022/make/honda/model/civic")

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.nhtsa.gov/SafetyRatings/modelyear/2022/make/honda/model/civic";
$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 Postman ↗

No API key needed
Try recalls: GET https://api.nhtsa.gov/recalls/recallsByVehicle?make=chevrolet&model=silverado&modelYear=2019
Try complaints: GET https://api.nhtsa.gov/complaints/complaintsByVehicle?make=tesla&model=model+3&modelYear=2021
Safety ratings: GET https://api.nhtsa.gov/SafetyRatings/modelyear/2023/make/toyota/model/rav4

What can you build with NHTSA Complaints & Recalls API?

NHTSA Complaints & Recalls 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

No authentication required. This API is open — no signup or key needed. Ideal for quick prototypes and public-facing features. NHTSA Complaints & Recalls API is free to use, making it a low-risk choice to experiment with.

New to APIs? Read our beginner's guide

Open documentation ↗