openFDA API

FDA · Health

Health API Key Free & Open Healthcare Life Sciences Insurance FDA Drug Labels Adverse Events

FDA open data API providing access to drug labels, adverse events (FAERS), drug recalls, medical device reports, food enforcement, and tobacco product registrations. Essential for pharmacovigilance, drug safety research, and NDC lookups.

Authentication

API Key Optional API key for higher rate limits (240/min vs 40/min). Register free at https://open.fda.gov/apis/authentication/

Sample Requests

GET Drug label search

Search FDA drug labels by active ingredient

https://api.fda.gov?limit=5&search=active_ingredient:metformin

Hover any highlighted part to learn what it does

curl -X GET "https://api.fda.gov?limit=5&search=active_ingredient%3Ametformin"

import requests
params = {
    "limit": "5",
    "search": "active_ingredient:metformin"
}
response = requests.get(
    "https://api.fda.gov",
    params=params,
)
print(response.json())

const url = new URL('https://api.fda.gov');
url.searchParams.set('limit', '5');
url.searchParams.set('search', 'active_ingredient:metformin');

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.fda.gov")
	q := baseURL.Query()
	q.Set("limit", "5")
	q.Set("search", "active_ingredient:metformin")
	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.fda.gov")
uri.query = URI.encode_www_form({
  "limit" => "5",
  "search" => "active_ingredient:metformin"
})

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.fda.gov?" . http_build_query([
    "limit" => "5",
    "search" => "active_ingredient:metformin"
]);
$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 key needed for basic use (40 req/min); register free at https://open.fda.gov/apis/authentication/ for 240/min
Drug labels: GET https://api.fda.gov/drug/label.json?search=active_ingredient:metformin
Adverse events: GET https://api.fda.gov/drug/event.json?search=patient.drug.medicinalproduct:aspirin
Drug recalls: GET https://api.fda.gov/drug/enforcement.json?search=status:Ongoing
Add &api_key={your_key} to any query for higher limits

What can you build with openFDA API?

openFDA API is a Health API. Developers commonly use health APIs for:

accessing medical reference data and drug information
building patient-facing health tracking apps
integrating with EHR and telemedicine platforms
looking up ICD codes and clinical terminology
powering wellness and fitness applications

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. openFDA API is free to use, making it a low-risk choice to experiment with.

New to APIs? Read our beginner's guide · Learn about API keys · What is REST?

Open documentation ↗