# Search drug recalls

URL: https://docs.healthcare.dev/reference/drugs/search-drug-recalls

```http
GET https://api.healthcare.dev/v1/drugs/recalls
```

FDA drug recalls from the weekly Enforcement Report (via openFDA). Filter by NDC, hazard class, status and report date, search text with `q`, or combine them. With `q`, results are ranked by `match_score`; without it, newest report first (`match_score: 1`). `ndc` matches at the product level.

Requires an API key: `Authorization: Bearer hdev_live_...`. See [Authentication](/authentication).

## Query parameters

| Name | Type | Required | Description | Example |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `q` | string | no | Product, firm, reason or recall number (fuzzy, at least 3 characters) | `metformin` |
| `ndc` | string | no | Product, package (any 10-digit layout) or 11-digit NDC. Matches at the product level: an entry for any package of the product, or linked to the product's label by openFDA. | `76385-129-01` |
| `classification` | "I" \| "II" \| "III" | no | FDA hazard class; `I` is the most serious | `I` |
| `status` | "ongoing" \| "completed" \| "terminated" | no | Recall status | `ongoing` |
| `from` | string (date) | no | Reported on or after this date (YYYY-MM-DD) | `2026-01-01` |
| `to` | string (date) | no | Reported on or before this date (YYYY-MM-DD) | `2026-12-31` |
| `limit` | integer | no | Page size (max 100) | `25` |
| `cursor` | string | no | Opaque cursor from `links.next` |  |
| `view` | "compact" \| "full" | no | `compact` returns only the fields an agent usually needs (fewer tokens); `full` (default) returns every field | `compact` |
| `fields` | string | no | Comma-separated record fields to return, e.g. `code,display,billable` | `code,display,billable` |

## Examples

**curl**

```sh
curl "https://api.healthcare.dev/v1/drugs/recalls?q=metformin&limit=25" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $HDEV_API_KEY"
```

**TypeScript**

```ts
const res = await fetch("https://api.healthcare.dev/v1/drugs/recalls?q=metformin&limit=25", {
  headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.HDEV_API_KEY}` },
});
const { data, meta } = await res.json();
```

**Python**

```python
import os
import requests

res = requests.get("https://api.healthcare.dev/v1/drugs/recalls?q=metformin&limit=25", headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {os.environ['HDEV_API_KEY']}"})
body = res.json()
```

## Response

Matching recalls

```json
{
  "data": [
    {
      "id": "string",
      "recall_number": "string",
      "event_id": "string",
      "classification": "I",
      "status": "ongoing",
      "voluntary_mandated": "string",
      "recalling_firm": "string",
      "firm_location": {
        "city": "string",
        "state": "string",
        "postal_code": "string",
        "country": "string"
      },
      "product_description": "string",
      "product_quantity": "string",
      "reason_for_recall": "string",
      "code_info": "string",
      "distribution_pattern": "string",
      "initial_firm_notification": "string",
      "recall_initiation_date": "2026-10-01",
      "center_classification_date": "2026-10-01",
      "report_date": "2026-10-01",
      "termination_date": "2026-10-01",
      "ndcs": [
        "string"
      ],
      "ndc11s": [
        "string"
      ],
      "openfda": {
        "product_ndcs": [
          null
        ],
        "package_ndcs": [
          null
        ],
        "brand_names": [
          null
        ],
        "generic_names": [
          null
        ],
        "manufacturer_names": [
          null
        ],
        "rxcuis": [
          null
        ],
        "application_numbers": [
          null
        ],
        "spl_set_ids": [
          null
        ]
      },
      "match_score": 0
    }
  ],
  "meta": {
    "source": "cms-icd10",
    "data_version": "2026.1",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-24T12:00:00Z",
    "license": "Public domain (CMS). Reference data, not medical advice."
  },
  "links": {
    "self": "/v1/drugs/recalls?q=metformin&limit=25",
    "next": "/v1/drugs/recalls?q=metformin&limit=25&cursor=eyJrIjoiRTExLjkifQ"
  }
}
```

### Fields

| Field | Type | Always present | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `id` | string | yes | The recall number, or `E<event_id>-<8 hex>` for the rare record FDA published without one |
| `recall_number` | string \| null | yes | FDA recall number, usually `D-NNNN-YYYY` (older ones vary): one product in a recall event |
| `event_id` | string | yes | FDA recall event; one event can cover several products |
| `classification` | "I" \| "II" \| "III" \| null | yes | FDA hazard class: I = reasonable probability of serious harm or death, II = temporary or reversible harm, III = unlikely to cause harm. null until FDA classifies it. |
| `status` | "ongoing" \| "completed" \| "terminated" | yes | ongoing = still in progress; completed = the firm finished, FDA has not closed it; terminated = FDA closed it |
| `voluntary_mandated` | string \| null | yes | e.g. `Voluntary: Firm initiated` or `FDA Mandated` |
| `recalling_firm` | string | yes |  |
| `firm_location` | object | yes |  |
| `product_description` | string | yes |  |
| `product_quantity` | string \| null | yes |  |
| `reason_for_recall` | string | yes |  |
| `code_info` | string \| null | yes | Lot numbers and expiration dates covered |
| `distribution_pattern` | string \| null | yes |  |
| `initial_firm_notification` | string \| null | yes |  |
| `recall_initiation_date` | string \| null (date) | yes |  |
| `center_classification_date` | string \| null (date) | yes |  |
| `report_date` | string (date) | yes | Weekly FDA Enforcement Report that published it |
| `termination_date` | string \| null (date) | yes |  |
| `ndcs` | string[] | yes | Package NDCs named in the product description, as written |
| `ndc11s` | string[] | yes | Every package NDC above and in `openfda`, normalized to NDC-11 |
| `openfda` | OpenFdaLinks | yes |  |
| `match_score` | number | yes | How well this result matches the query: 1 exact code or id, 0.9 code prefix, 0.5 to 0.9 every query word in the text (higher is closer), under 0.5 a fuzzy (typo-tolerant) match. Below 0.5, check the result before relying on it. |

## Errors

Errors are `application/problem+json` ([RFC 9457](https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9457)). Branch on `type`, not on `title`. See [Errors](/errors).

| Status | `type` | When |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 400 | `invalid-request` | A parameter or the body failed validation; `errors` lists each field. |
| 401 | `unauthorized` | Missing, malformed or revoked API key. |
| 404 | `not-found` | No record with that id (retired records are still returned). |
| 429 | `rate-limited / quota-exceeded` | Too many requests per second (retry after `Retry-After`), or the monthly quota is used up. |
| 503 | `dataset-unavailable / unavailable` | The dataset has no published version yet, or the service is degraded. |