# Evictions API

> Start an eviction case online in any US state or DC. A licensed attorney in the property’s state reviews it before anything is served or filed. You can start a real eviction case with Evictions API for a rental property in any US state or DC. Available today: real cases in all 50 states and DC, each handled by a licensed attorney in the property’s state, engaged for that case, online sign-up and a guided case form, online payment of the platform fee, case tracking: status, documents, messages and deadlines, a REST API and signed webhooks and a free test mode on a fictional state, for trying the form and the API. After you submit a case, we engage a licensed attorney in the property’s state for it and confirm by email. Nothing is served on a tenant or filed in court until that attorney has reviewed the case. We do not promise outcomes or how long a case takes. If no attorney is engaged for your case within 5 business days of submitting it, we refund the platform fee in full.

Evictions API is operated by Future Cities LLC. It is not a law firm and does not give legal advice.

Fees: The platform fee is $29 for a case that starts at the notice. If the case goes on to filing, the platform fee is $99 in total: the $29 is credited, so you pay $70 more. The platform fee for a case that starts at filing is $99. The attorney’s legal fee is separate: it is set by the attorney and paid to the attorney. Court filing fees and service costs are also separate and are passed through at cost. The attorney’s legal fee and the court and service costs are quoted to you before any work begins, and you approve them first. The API and test mode are free.

Notes for a program that calls the API:

- The API is at https://api.evictionsapi.com and every path starts with `/v1`. Call it from a server, not from a browser: only `/v1/public/*` answers browser requests from another origin.
- Send `Authorization: Bearer <key>` on every request except the public endpoints. A key has a mode, which is in its prefix: `eak_live_...` for live and `eak_test_...` for test. A key sees only the cases of its own organization and mode.
- Live mode is for real cases, for a rental property in any of the 50 states or DC. Submitting a live case serves nothing and files nothing: a licensed attorney in the property’s state is engaged for that case after it is submitted, and the case moves when that attorney acts. A live key can be created only by an owner of the organization, signed in on the site, under "API keys".
- Test mode is free and uses the fictional state `ZZ` with sandbox adapters. It never reaches a real tenant, attorney or court. Create a test key on the site under "API keys", or with `POST /v1/api-keys`.
- Every case response has `state` and `nextAction` (`by` and `description`), which say who the case is waiting on and for what.
- Every error has the shape `{ "error": { "code", "message", "details" } }` and an HTTP status. Branch on `code`, which is stable. An unknown route is 404 `not_found`.
- A POST that needs a credential accepts an `Idempotency-Key` header of 1 to 255 characters; a repeat of the same request returns the stored response with `Idempotent-Replayed: true`.
- Rate limits: `POST /v1/public/leads`, 5 requests per address every 10 minutes; `POST /v1/auth/signup and POST /v1/auth/login`, 10 requests per address every 10 minutes, counted together; `POST /v1/auth/password-reset/request and POST /v1/auth/password-reset/confirm`, 10 requests per address every 10 minutes, counted together and apart from sign-up and sign-in; `POST /v1/auth/password-reset/request, per account`, 3 reset emails per account every hour. A request past that is still answered 202, not 429, and sends no email; `POST /v1/cases/{id}/advance`, 60 requests per organization every minute; `POST /v1/cases/{id}/notes`, 20 requests per organization every 10 minutes. Over a limit the answer is 429 `rate_limited` with a `Retry-After` header in seconds, except the reset emails per account, as said. No other endpoint is rate limited today.

## Docs

- [Quickstart](https://evictionsapi.com/docs): a test case from a test key to closed, with webhooks, in curl, then what changes for a real case with a live key
- [API reference](https://evictionsapi.com/docs/api): every endpoint, the conventions, test and live keys, the error codes and the rate limits
- [Webhooks](https://evictionsapi.com/docs/webhooks): the payload, the signature check and the retry schedule

## OpenAPI

- [OpenAPI 3.1 document](https://api.evictionsapi.com/v1/openapi.json): served by the API itself, no key needed
- [Copy on this site](https://evictionsapi.com/openapi.json): the same document, as of the last build of the site

## Product

- [How it works](https://evictionsapi.com/how-it-works): the steps of a real case, from sign-up to the attorney’s review, service and filing
- [Pricing](https://evictionsapi.com/pricing): the platform fee and what is charged separately
- [Coverage](https://evictionsapi.com/coverage): all 50 states and DC
- [FAQ](https://evictionsapi.com/faq): common questions
- [Contact](https://evictionsapi.com/contact): write to us

## Legal

- [Terms of service](https://evictionsapi.com/legal/terms): the agreement for using the service
- [Privacy policy](https://evictionsapi.com/legal/privacy): what data is collected and how it is used