name: Regulations.gov API FinOps
description: Financial operations guidance for Regulations.gov API usage. The API is entirely free; cost management focuses on operational efficiency, rate limit management, and avoiding unnecessary requests.
costModel:
  type: free
  price: 0
  currency: USD
  notes: Regulations.gov API is a US government service funded by GSA. There are no usage fees, subscription costs, or paid tiers.
costDrivers:
  - name: No direct API costs
    description: All API calls are free regardless of volume (subject to rate limits).
    mitigation: N/A
  - name: Infrastructure costs (consumer side)
    description: Consumers may incur compute and storage costs for data processing pipelines.
    mitigation: Use pagination efficiently (up to 250 items per page) and cache responses where possible to reduce redundant requests.
  - name: Rate limit overages
    description: Exceeding rate limits results in 429 errors and temporary blocks, not financial charges.
    mitigation: Implement exponential backoff, monitor X-RateLimit-Remaining headers, and request a rate limit increase if needed.
budgetGuidance:
  - item: API access
    cost: $0
    notes: Free for all registered users.
  - item: API key registration
    cost: $0
    notes: Register at https://api.data.gov/signup/ at no charge.
  - item: Rate limit increase
    cost: $0
    notes: Available upon request via eRulemaking@gsa.gov; no fee applies.
optimization:
  - Use bulk pagination (page[size]=250) to minimize total request count.
  - Cache docket and document metadata where data freshness allows.
  - Use filters (agency, date range, document type) to reduce unnecessary broad searches.
  - Monitor X-RateLimit-Remaining headers to pace requests proactively.
  - For high-volume archiving, request a rate limit increase before starting bulk operations.
contacts:
  - role: API Support
    email: eRulemaking@gsa.gov
    url: https://www.regulations.gov/support
references:
  - https://open.gsa.gov/api/regulationsgov/
  - https://api.data.gov/docs/rate-limits/