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Get an API key

This form allows you to register an API key for use with USGS water data APIs. If the service you're using supports API keys (such as the USGS water data OGC APIs), then providing an API key gives you access to higher rate limits, meaning you can make more queries before your requests get rejected.

You can provide your API key either to the api_key query parameter or the X-Api-Key header. More information can be found in the API documentation.

API rate limits are used to enable users downloading the data they need without negatively impacting the download experience of other users. If you need assistance structuring your downloads to stay within rate limits, or are building an application that you think will require custom rate limits, please reach out at wdfn@usgs.gov.

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