DataCite API Rate Limit Changes

DataCite is planning changes to our rate limits to improve communication with our users and support system performance and stability for all API activities. Rate limits for authenticated requests will not change. See the "Rate limits" section below for changes. Rate limits will go into effect in Q3 2025. You can find information about our current rate limits here.

Rate limit changes

• Authenticated Users: Authenticated users will have a rate limit of 3000 requests per 5 minutes per IP address. This is unchanged from the current DataCite rate limit and reflects existing rate limiting behavior.
• Identified Users: Unauthenticated users that provide email address information in their User Agent header or provide a mailto= query parameter in their request URL will have a rate limit of 1000 requests per 5 minutes per IP address.
• Unidentified Users: Unauthenticated users that do not provide identifying information will have a rate limit of 500 requests per 5 minutes per IP address.

What users can expect from the API rate limit changes

• Authenticated Users (i.e. users authenticating with Member or Repository credentials) will not be affected by this change.
• According to DataCite’s analysis of DataCite API usage, only a small handful of users in the Identified Users and Unidentified Users categories will be rate limited in any capacity by these changes.
• Unidentified Users (i.e. users that do not provide identifying email address information) may need to make changes to include email address information to increase their rate limit.
• Identified Users may need to make changes to respond to a reduced rate limit ceiling.
• Rate limits outlined for the test system and sustained request rates remain unchanged.