DataCite API Rate Limits

DataCite implements rate limits on requests to our APIs to improve communication with our users and support system performance and stability for all API activities.

API rate limits

Rate limits are applied in the following tiers:

Request Category	Qualifying Request	Rate Limit
Authenticated	The request contains: a valid `Authorization` header with DataCite credentials.	3000 requests per 5 minutes per IP address
Identified	The request contains: a `User-Agent` header with an email address; or a request URL with a `mailto=` query parameter containing an email address.	1000 requests per 5 minutes per IP address
Unidentified	The request does not contain: a valid `Authorization` header; or a `User-Agent` header with an email address; or a request URL with a `mailto=` query parameter containing an email address.	500 requests per 5 minutes per IP address

If your request has been rate limited, the API will return a 429 response code.

Content Negotiation

Requests that come via doi.org Content Negotiation have a rate limit of 1000 requests per 5 minutes per IP address.

Test system

When placing requests to the test system, please do not exceed 750 requests per 5 minutes window. See the Test Accounts Policy for more information.

Sustained request rates

For large-scale DOI registrations and updates (around 100,000+ POST or PUT requests to the /dois endpoint in a single day), we recommend 300-500 requests in a 5 minute window.

If you are planning a large number of DOI registrations or updates, please contact [email protected] for assistance.

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It is helpful to ensure that your script has incremental backoffs in the case of failure (i.e., the delay in retrying a failed request gets longer each time).