specification: API Commons Lifecycle
specificationVersion: '0.1'
provider: Department of Justice
providerId: department-of-justice
generated: '2026-09-06'
method: searched
source: >-
  Searched every DOJ developer surface for a versioning policy, a deprecation policy, an SLA and
  a status page: https://www.justice.gov/developer,
  https://www.justice.gov/developer/api-documentation/api_v1, https://www.foia.gov/developer/,
  https://www.foia.gov/swagger.html, the FOIA Portal contract itself, and the BJS NCVS and NIBRS
  API pages. Also derived from the contract's own info.version.
versioning:
  scheme: path-segment (partial)
  detail: >-
    Two of the five surfaces carry a version in the path and nothing else states a policy. The DOJ
    News API is served under /api/v1/ and its documentation page is titled "Version api_v1". The
    BJS datasets sit under /bjsdataset/v1/. The FARA feed is under /api/v1/. The FOIA Portal
    contract is explicit that it has no scheme at all: info.version reads "Versioning not
    supported". No DOJ surface documents how a new version would be introduced, how long an old
    one would run, or how a consumer would be told.
  current:
    - api: DOJ News API
      version: api_v1
      url: https://www.justice.gov/developer/api-documentation/api_v1
    - api: National FOIA Portal JSON:API
      version: none declared
      url: https://www.foia.gov/swagger.html
      note: 'info.version is the literal string "Versioning not supported".'
    - api: BJS NCVS / NIBRS National Estimates
      version: v1
      url: https://bjs.ojp.gov/national-crime-victimization-survey-ncvs-api
deprecation:
  policy_published: false
  sunset_header: false
  deprecation_header: false
  rfc8594: false
  detail: >-
    No deprecation policy, no Sunset or Deprecation response header, and no advance-notice
    commitment on any surface. There is direct evidence of the cost of this: both BJS API pages
    carry the standing note "In July of 2025, changes were made to specific endpoints. All
    datasets remain available using modified endpoint locations described in the access
    instructions below." The endpoints moved, the old locations stopped answering, and the only
    notice is a sentence on the HTML page — no dated changelog entry, no header, no versioned
    alias. The DOJ News API documentation likewise no longer lists a speeches resource even
    though the developer page still describes speeches as part of the API; GET
    /api/v1/speeches.json returned 404 on 2026-09-06.
  deprecated_operations: []
  deprecated_operations_note: >-
    The FOIA contract marks no operation deprecated. Derived from
    openapi/department-of-justice-foia-api-swagger.json.
observed_drift:
  - surface: BJS NCVS / NIBRS
    change: Endpoints relocated to https://api.ojp.gov/bjsdataset/v1/
    when_stated: July 2025
    old_location_status: 'https://bjs.ojp.gov/api/* returns 404 (probed 2026-09-06)'
    notice: HTML note on the API documentation page only
  - surface: DOJ News API
    change: No speeches resource in the current documented resource list
    old_location_status: 'https://www.justice.gov/api/v1/speeches.json returns 404 (probed 2026-09-06)'
    notice: none
  - surface: DOJ Open Data Catalog
    change: CKAN Action API v3 no longer served at catalog.data.gov/api/3
    old_location_status: 'https://catalog.data.gov/api/3/action/package_search returns 404 (probed 2026-09-06)'
    notice: none from DOJ; catalog.data.gov is operated by GSA, which now serves an OpenAPI 3.1 "Datagov Catalog" API at /api
status_page:
  published: false
  detail: >-
    No status page for any DOJ API. Probed https://www.foia.gov/api/status (404) and looked for a
    status link on every developer page; none exists. The FOIA and BJS surfaces sit behind shared
    federal gateways (api.data.gov and a WSO2 API Manager on api.ojp.gov) whose availability DOJ
    does not report on.
sla:
  published: false
  detail: >-
    No service level agreement or availability commitment is published. The DOJ News API
    documentation instead asks developers to "keep the stability of the API and their own
    applications in mind" and warns that heavy users "may be blocked entirely".
changelog:
  published: false
  detail: >-
    No dated changelog for any surface. The only change notices found are the undated prose notes
    described under deprecation above.
support:
  channel: https://www.justice.gov/contact-us
  foia_channel: https://www.foia.gov/developer/