Per Diem API

Per Diem Rates are the allowed reimbursement rates for hotel stays and meals for federal travelers. Rates are set for each of the federal government's fiscal years (October 1st to September 30th) GSA is responsible for setting the rates in the continental United States. Many businesses and other organizations adopt these rates as well.

ABOUT PER DIEM RATES

GSA sets rates for geographic areas it determines called "primary destinations." Areas outside the primary destinations are covered by the same, nation-wide "standard rate." The Per Diem Rate database is organized by ZIP Code and fiscal year. Each row in the database corresponds to an individual ZIP code for a particular fiscal year. Each row contains 12 values for the hotel reimbursement for each of the 12 months in the Fiscal Year. The meals value applies to the entire year.

If the ZIP code is in a primary destination, then the row also contains entries for the following: City (one or more cities most prominent in that area), County, State, and the "Destination ID." The DestinationID is an arbitrary value used internally to group ZIP codes. It is not typically presented to the general public.

If the ZIP code is not in a primary destination, then the DestinationID is given as "0" (zero), the City value is "Standard Rate" and County is empty. The State is included along with the standard monthly hotel rates and the annual meal rate.

On the first and last days of a trip, the allowed meal reimbursement is 75% of the Per Diem Rate.

For more details on Per Diem Rates please consult the Federal Travel Regulations.

API Details

Use of this API is subject to Terms of Service for GSA.gov's Developer Resources.

API URL
https://inventory.data.gov/api/action/datastore_search?resource_id=8ea44bc4-22ba-4386-b84c-1494ab28964b&limit=300000

Response Format
json

API Request
Making a DataStore API request is the same as making an Action API request: you post a JSON dictionary in an HTTP POST request to an API URL, and the API also returns its response in a JSON dictionary.

Authentication
None required

Example Request (copy the links to your address bar)

  1. Fiscal Year and Zip
    https://inventory.data.gov/api/action/datastore_search?resource_id=8ea44bc4-22ba-4386-b84c-1494ab28964b&limit=300000&filters={"FiscalYear":"2017","Zip":"10036"}
  2. Fiscal Year and County
    https://inventory.data.gov/api/action/datastore_search?resource_id=8ea44bc4-22ba-4386-b84c-1494ab28964b&limit=300000&filters={"FiscalYear":"2017","County":"Worcester County, MD"}
  3. Fiscal Year and Destination ID
    https://inventory.data.gov/api/action/datastore_search?resource_id=8ea44bc4-22ba-4386-b84c-1494ab28964b&limit=300000&filters={"FiscalYear":"2014","DestinationID":"266"}
  4. Fiscal Year and State
    https://inventory.data.gov/api/action/datastore_search?resource_id=8ea44bc4-22ba-4386-b84c-1494ab28964b&limit=300000&filters={"FiscalYear":"2014","State":"NY"}
Parameter Type Description Sample Values
FiscalYear Four digit year Four digit year. Rates are set for each fiscal year beginning October 1st and end September 30th of the following year. 2012, 2013, and 2014
(These are the only years included in the API)
Zip Five digit string Five digit postal ZIP code within the continental United States (including the District of Columbia) 20405, 10036
State Two letter string Two letter postal abbreviation for state NY, DC
DestinationID Up to three digit integer Number used to identify a "primary destination." This is an area for which GSA has specified a Per Diem Rate (other than the standard rate.) When the standard rate applies to a ZIP code, then DestinationID=0 0, 475
City Text string Most prominent city or cities in a primary destination. When the standard rate applies, city ="Standard Rate" "Riverhead / Ronkonkoma / Melville," "District of Columbia," "Standard Rate"
County Text string County in which City is located. When the standard rate applies, county is empty. (visit fiscal year and state to verify county name) Los Angeles County, CA
Oct, Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep Three letter string Month for which hotel reimbursement rate is given. Per Diem values for each month are two or three digit integers representing hotel reimbursement rate in whole dollars and zero cents. Oct, Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep
Meals String Value represents daily total meal reimbursement allow for entire fiscal year and is a two digit integer representing whole dollars and zero cents. 46, 61
Limit Integer Limit the amount of results to be generated Default of 300000
print Share Icon Last Reviewed: 2018-09-24