API Test Mode
API Test Mode is a switch in the API Settings card on Settings → API Access. While test mode is on:
- Any order placed via Zapier or the API is automatically cancelled, so nothing is printed or mailed.
- A Radius Search bought via the API or Zapier is limited to 5 records per purchase.
This lets you test your integration without placing real orders or buying a full list of leads.
Turn test mode on or off
- Click your name in the top right of the dashboard to open the account menu, then choose API Access under Developer. (API Access is a main-account page; switch to your main account first if a sub-account is active.)
- In the API Settings card, switch Test Mode on or off.
- Click Save Changes.
While test mode is on, the Orders page shows a banner saying so, with a link back to API Access.
Test mode only affects orders from the API and Zapier. Orders you place yourself with Send Mail in the dashboard are never cancelled by it.
Because a test-mode order is cancelled and not charged, it won't tell you what the same order costs once you go live. To see that, post the request to the matching estimate endpoint. It always quotes your real rates, and its test_mode field shows whether test mode is on. See Estimating an Order's Cost.
Radius Search purchases in test mode
Buying leads is not an order, so it is not something test mode can cancel - a Radius Search charges your account for every record it returns, exactly as it does outside test mode. The 5-record limit is what keeps an integration you are still wiring up from spending real money on a list you only meant to test with.
Send a record_count of 5 or fewer while test mode is on. A larger request is refused with HTTP 422 and a validation error on record_count:
Test mode is enabled on this account, so a radius search bought via API or Zapier is limited to 5 records per purchase. Nothing was purchased and the account was not charged. Send record_count of 5 or fewer, or turn test mode off in the dashboard under API Settings to buy a full list.
The refusal happens before any leads are claimed, so nothing is purchased, your account is not charged, and the attempt does not use up the account's 24-hour duplicate purchase window - you can send a corrected request immediately.
The 5-record limit applies to API and Zapier purchases only. Buying a Radius Search from the dashboard keeps the full 2,500-record maximum whether test mode is on or off.
To buy a full list through the API or Zapier, turn test mode off in the API Settings card first.