SEARCHBUG APIs

Account Setup & Fees

Please make sure your account is set up correctly before you start using the API. Sign Up

1. Searchbug account with a prepaid payment plan is required.
2. To select a prepaid plan, navigate to "Your Account" page and under the "Billing Details" section select "Switch Plan" to select the amount of funds you would like to add to your account balance.
3. If you signed up using Google, Facebook, or LinkedIn, please be sure to set a password on your Searchbug account prior to using the API.
4. Each time you run a query; the search fee is deducted from your prepaid account balance.
5. Your Prepaid (PPD) balance is automatically checked at 2am Pacific Time each day and replenished when your funds run low. If your prepaid balance drops below 20% of your selected amount (e.g. below $200 for $1000 PPD plan) your billing method will be charged your PPD amount (e.g. $1000) to replenish your balance. If your selected payment method is ACH, the system triggers a replenishment at 30% since ACH settlements take longer than other payment types.
6. To have full access to all information available and being able to search by SSN, a Verified Business Account with the Restricted Access Add-On is required. Please visit the link for more information or to apply.
7. For current pricing, please check our API Pricing page.

Disallowed Searches

Please note that searching for celebrities, politicians, and famous people in general is strictly prohibited and a direct violation of our Terms of Service.

Authentication

API requests require an Account Number and an API Key for authentication.

• Your Account Number is available on the Your Account page after logging in to Searchbug.
• You can generate or regenerate your API Key from the same page

You may also use the account password in place of the API Key, though this is not recommended for production use.

For best security, include your API Key in the request header using the Bearer Token format:

Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY

Replace YOUR_API_KEY with your actual API Key. Here is how you can test it in Postman:

Instead of the Bearer Token, it is also acceptable to send the API Key (or the account password) in the Header your POST request as the PASS variable:

The Account Number, which is required in addition to the API Key, should be sent in your POST request Header with CO_CODE key. See the example above.

Checking Balance and Usage Stats

You can check the prepaid balance level, daily and monthly usage stats, as well as the current rate for any API service.

The request should be sent to Searchbug using the following URL via the POST method:
https://data.searchbug.com/api/search.aspx

Query Parameters

You can submit your request via:

• POST Header: Parameters sent as custom headers
• POST Body: Parameters sent as form-data

The GET method is also supported for the status API. The API Key is expected in the Bearer Token.

Status API Response

XML Example:

<RESULTS>
	<API_TYPE>api_ppl</API_TYPE>
	<API_NAME>API - People Search</API_NAME>
	<DAILY>3</DAILY>
	<MONTHLY>17</MONTHLY>
	<RATE>0.7700</RATE>
	<BALANCE>263.19</BALANCE>
	<PREPAID>1000.00</PREPAID>
	<DATE>05/17/2025</DATE>
</RESULTS>   

JSON Example:

{
	"Status": "Success",
	"Data": {
		"API_TYPE": "api_ppl",
		"API_NAME": "API - People Search",
		"DAILY": "3",
		"MONTHLY": "17",
		"RATE": "0.7700",
		"BALANCE": "263.19",
		"PREPAID": "1000.00",
		"DATE": "05/17/2025"
	},
	"Error": null
}
  

Errors

In case of processing, input data or account error, the error message will be displayed in XML results.

Here are some examples:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1" standalone="true"?>
<RESULTS>
    <Error>Password or account number are not valid.</Error>
</RESULTS>

                    
{
    Status: "Error",
    Data: null,
    Error: "Phone number has to be 10 digit long. Can use any format."
}

      

Error Example - You do not have a verified business account with restricted access

                             
    <?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1" standalone="true"?>
    <RESULTS>
        <ERROR>Restricted Access. Apply here: https://www.searchbug.com/services/restricted-access.aspx</ERROR>
    </RESULTS>           
            

Error Example – Other payment issue

                             
            <?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1" standalone="true"?>
            <RESULTS>
                <ERROR>Payment information is missing. Error code: 123456789012-0-0</ERROR>
            </RESULTS>           
                    

Error Example - You do not have Prepaid Account:

                             
    <?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1" standalone="true"?>
    <RESULTS>
        <ERROR>Prepaid account is required. https://www.searchbug.com/services/payment-plans-discounts.aspx</ERROR>
    </RESULTS>           
            

Error Example - Invalid Zip Code

                             
    <?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1" standalone="true"?>
    <RESULTS>
        <ERROR>The ZIP code 99999 is not valid</ERROR>
    </RESULTS>