Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

General Questions

What is the WhitePages.com API?
How does the WhitePages.com API service work?
What functionality comes with the WhitePages.com API?
What applications can I create using the WhitePages.com API?
How many queries can I issue from my application/Web site?
What are the conditions of using the WhitePages.com API?
How do I get access to the WhitePages.com API?
Can I create more than one WhitePages.com API Account to get multiple license keys?
Can I develop commercial applications using the WhitePages.com API?
Where do I go if I have questions, feedback, or comments about using the WhitePages.com API?
Why am I not receiving emails sent by WhitePages.com?
Is the data available through the WhitePages.com API the same as the data on www.whitepages.com?
Do you have listings outside the US, such as Canada?

Pricing Questions

Does it cost anything to use the WhitePages.com API?
What if I want to pay WhitePages.com for the ability to issue more than 1,500 queries per day?
Does WhitePages.com have any plans to sell the WhitePages.com API as a service?

Technical Questions

What is an API?
What is REST?
What is XML?
How is the WhitePages.com API implemented?
Why do I need an API key?
What happens if I go over my limit of 1,500 queries?
Is there a limit on the number of results I can receive per query?
How can I track the number of queries I have submitted each day?
Can I submit source code to WhitePages.com so it can be included in the documentation?
What programming languages do you support?
Can I see some example REST messages?
Can I use the source code distributed in the WhitePages.com API documentation?
Does WhitePages.com provide technical support for the WhitePages.com API?
The answer to my question isn't here, where else should I look?

Answers to General Questions

What is the WhitePages.com API?
The WhitePages.com API is a service which allows software engineers and Web developers to build person searches into their consumer Web site, mobile device application or personal computer application.

How does the WhitePages.com API service work?
Developers write software programs that connect remotely to the WhitePages.com API service. Communication is performed via HTTP GET using a RESTful interface. Responses are XML.

What functionality comes with the WhitePages.com API?
Developers can issue search requests to the WhitePages.com database of millions of listings, and receive results as structured data. The three available search types are: Find Person, Reverse Phone, and Reverse Address.

What applications can I create using the WhitePages.com API?
The WhitePages.com API is limited to applications which have consumer end-users. For a full list of allowed and restricted uses, please see the WhitePages.com API Terms of Use. Please note especially Section 1.5 which discusses end-user rights and restrictions.

How many queries can I issue from my application/Web site?
Each registered developer is assigned an API key. The WhitePages.com API has a limit of 1,500 queries per day for each API key.

What are the conditions of using the WhitePages.com API?
In order to use the WhitePages.com API, you must read and agree to the WhitePages.com API Terms of Use. This document explains your rights and obligations in regards to your use of the WhitePages.com API, as well as end-user rights and obligations in regards to the data provided by WhitePages.com. Please note that the WhitePages.com API Terms of Use. specifically require that you incorporate certain provisions into any agreement between you and an end-user, including, but not limited to, a statement that WhitePages.com is a third party beneficiary of any agreement between you and an end-user.

How do I get access to the WhitePages.com API?
Register for a WhitePages.com developer account. Once completed, you will receive email instructions on applying for an API key. You must respond to the email in order to confirm the creation of your account. Please be sure to check any spam or junk mail folder or rules to be sure you see this email message. Then, after your account is created and confirmed, you must request an API key.

Can I create more than one WhitePages.com API Account to get multiple license keys?
No. The WhitePages.com API Terms of Use. restrict you to one account for your personal use.

Can I develop commercial applications using the WhitePages.com API?
Yes, as long as your application is in compliance with The WhitePages.com API Terms of Use including the restriction that end-users of your application must be consumers.

Where do I go if I have questions, feedback, or comments about using the WhitePages.com API?
If you have questions, the best place to start is to review the posted documentation. If you need additional help, or have feedback/comments that you want to share, please post to the developer forum.

Why am I not receiving emails sent by WhitePages.com?
It’s possible that the emails are being filtered by your security rules. Please add whitepages.com to the safe list of your email program.

Is the data available through the WhitePages.com API the same as the data on www.whitepages.com?
Due to data restrictions, we cannot offer the full WhitePages.com data set through the API. We do offer about 120 Million listings through the API.

Do you have listings outside the US, such as Canada?
Due to data restrictions, only US data is available through the API.

Answers to Pricing Questions

Does it cost anything to use the WhitePages.com API?
No. Developers can access the WhitePages.com API service for free. However, please note that free use of the API is limited to 1,500 queries per day per API key, and can only be used for applications where the end-user is a consumer.

What if I want to pay WhitePages.com for the ability to issue more than 1,500 queries per day?
Currently, the WhitePages.com API is available as a free beta with a 1,500 queries per day limit. If you are reaching your limit and need more capacity, please email API@whitepages.com

Does WhitePages.com have any plans to sell the WhitePages.com API as a service?
We plan to continue this service for free. We may at some time add a for pay service in addition to this one.

Answers to Technical Questions

What is an API?
An API or Application Programming Interface is a programming interface that allows software to access the functions that are included in the interface, in this case searching the WhitePages.com database of contact information for finding people, address search or phone search.

What is REST?
Representational State Transfer (REST) is a simplified software architecture which allows for a simple interface to transfer data over HTTP without an additional messaging layer, such as SOAP. REST interfaces are simple and easy to use with any programming language which supports HTTP.

What is XML?
The eXtensible Markup Language (XML) is a general purpose standard for creating markup languages, commonly used in programming interfaces to pass structured data between software components.

How is the WhitePages.com API implemented?
The WhitePages.com API (WPAPI) is a RESTful interface which uses an Apache web server to receive queries over HTTP, process and validate them, interface with the back-end WhitePages.com search and content systems and deliver search results back to the caller.

Why do I need an API key?
The API key uniquely identifies you to WhitePages.com. We use it to provide your daily limit of 1,500 free queries.

What happens if I go over my limit of 1,500 queries?
If you submit more than 1,500 queries in a day, our server will respond with a message stating that you exceeded your daily query total. If you are reaching your limit and need more capacity, please email API@whitepages.com

Is there a limit on the number of results I can receive per query?
Yes. Based on query type, there are different limits:

Reverse Phone: 5 results per query
Reverse Address: 10 results per query
Find Person: 20 results per query

How can I track the number of queries I have submitted each day?
Developers need to perform their own tracking of their daily usage.

Can I submit source code to WhitePages.com so it can be included in the documentation?
If you have written code that you wish to share with the WhitePages.com developer community, let people know by posting information to the developer forum. We may ask you if we can include your application and/or its code in our documentation, with appropriate attribution.

What programming languages do you support?
The service has been tested with Java, JavaScript, Perl, Ruby, Python and C++ applications. The service has not been tested with clients in other languages but it should work with any language with web services support.

Can I see some example REST messages?
Check out the examples in the documentation.

Can I use the source code distributed in the WhitePages.com API documentation?
The code samples in the documentation may be used freely, subject to the terms of the WhitePages.com API Terms of Use.

Does WhitePages.com provide technical support for the WhitePages.com API?
WhitePages.com monitors the developer forum and responds to questions which aren’t resolved by the developer community.

The answer to my question isn't here, where else should I look?
Three places to look for answers are:

version 1 as of 3 weeks ago by Snezana123

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