specification: API Commons Rate Limits
specificationVersion: '0.1'
provider: Spark Platform
providerId: spark-platform
generated: '2026-07-26'
method: searched
created: '2026-07-26'
modified: '2026-07-26'
tags:
  - Rate Limiting
  - MLS
  - Real Estate
description: >-
  Spark Platform publishes no numeric request-rate limit. What it publishes is the throttle
  signal (HTTP 429 with Spark error code 1550 "Over rate limit") and a set of hard per-request
  ceilings on the pagination parameters, which are the only numbers FBS states in the open. The
  request-size ceilings differ by key role: a standard key may ask for at most 25 records per
  request, a replication-role key up to 1000. Long-running requests are cancelled server-side
  rather than queued (codes 1515 and 1516). No RateLimit-* or X-RateLimit-* response headers are
  documented, so a client cannot see its remaining budget — it learns by being refused.
sources:
  - https://sparkplatform.com/docs/supporting_documentation/error_codes
  - https://sparkplatform.com/docs/supporting_documentation/search_and_paging_syntax
  - https://sparkplatform.com/docs/supporting_documentation/spark_replication

headers:
  rateLimitRemaining: null
  retryAfter: null
  note: No rate-limit or retry headers are documented.

responseCodes:
  throttled: 429
  throttledProviderCode: 1550
  timeoutCancelled: 503
  timeoutProviderCodes: [1515, 1516]
  temporarilyUnavailable: 503
  temporarilyUnavailableProviderCode: 1510

limits:
  - name: Records per request (standard key)
    scope: request
    metric: records_per_request
    limit: 25
    default: 10
    timeFrame: request
    parameter: _limit
  - name: Records per request (replication role)
    scope: request
    metric: records_per_request
    limit: 1000
    timeFrame: request
    parameter: _limit
    note: Available only to keys carrying the replication role, on replication.sparkapi.com.
  - name: Maximum page number
    scope: request
    metric: page_number
    limit: 100000
    timeFrame: request
    parameter: _page
  - name: Maximum skip offset
    scope: request
    metric: record_offset
    limit: 2500000
    timeFrame: request
    parameter: _skip

requests_per_second: null
requests_per_day: null
overage_policy: null
raise_limit_process: >-
  Not published. Elevated access and privileged resources are arranged by contacting
  api-support@sparkplatform.com.

notes:
  - >-
    Deep paging beyond the _skip ceiling is meant to be handled with the _skiptoken continuation
    parameter, which pages without missing data.
  - >-
    Read-heavy and bulk traffic must be sent to replication.sparkapi.com; a key restricted to
    that host receives error code 1021 when it calls sparkapi.com.
  - >-
    Pricing is per-MLS (USD 50/month per MLS) rather than per-call, so there is no metered
    request quota to publish — see finops/commercial terms on https://www.sparkapi.io/developers/.