specification: API Commons Rate Limits
specificationVersion: '0.1'
schema: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/interface-research/main/schema/api-commons.yml#/$defs/RateLimits
provider: Charles Schwab
providerId: charles-schwab
created: '2026-05-04'
# Provenance stamped 2026-08-11: this artifact was written by the API Evangelist
# bulk sweep dated 2026-05-04, not harvested from the provider. See roadmap#35.
method: generated
modified: '2026-05-05'
reconciled: false
tags:
  - Rate Limiting
  - Brokerage
  - Trading
  - Market Data
description: Schwab rate limits are enforced per OAuth 2.0 application / user token across the Trader
  and Market Data APIs. Numeric per-second/per-minute limits are gated behind the Schwab Developer Portal
  login and not publicly published; consumers should expect 429 responses and use exponential backoff.
notes: Public rate-limit numbers are not posted; portal access required. Exchange data may carry redistribution
  / entitlement constraints separate from API throttling.
sources:
  - https://developer.schwab.com/
  - https://developer.schwab.com/user-guides/get-started
responseCodes:
  throttled: 429
  unauthorized: 401
  serviceUnavailable: 503
limits:
  - name: Trader API (per token / app)
    scope: oauth_token
    metric: requests_per_minute
    limit: see Schwab Developer Portal
  - name: Market Data API (per token / app)
    scope: oauth_token
    metric: requests_per_minute
    limit: see Schwab Developer Portal
  - name: Streaming connections
    scope: oauth_token
    metric: concurrent_connections
    limit: see Schwab Developer Portal
policies:
  - name: OAuth 2.0
    description: All endpoints require OAuth 2.0 access tokens. Refresh tokens have documented lifetimes
      requiring periodic re-auth.
  - name: Backoff Strategy
    description: Use exponential backoff on 429/503 and honor Retry-After when present.
  - name: Order throttling
    description: Order placement endpoints have lower limits than read-only balance/position queries
      to protect brokerage infrastructure.
  - name: Streaming entitlements
    description: Streaming and real-time market data are subject to exchange entitlement rules; NBBO
      vs Level 1/2 access depends on user agreements.
maintainers:
  - FN: Kin Lane
    email: kin@apievangelist.com