Get document

Retrieve a single regulatory document by its unique ID. Returns the full document content, metadata, classification fields, and any related document references.

Endpoint

GET https://service.betterregulation.com/api/document/{documentId}?access_token=[your-api-key]

Example request

https://service.betterregulation.com/api/document/38001?access_token=[your-api-key]

Each document also has a human-readable URL for viewing in the browser:

https://service.betterregulation.com/document/38001

Finding a document ID: Document IDs appear in the URL when viewing any document on Better Regulation. They are also returned in search results via the field_doc_docid field.

Versioned documents

Some documents have multiple versions reflecting changes over time. By default, the API returns the latest version. To request the version that was in effect on a specific date, append the date to the path.

https://service.betterregulation.com/api/document/38001/2012/07/11?access_token=[your-api-key]

Date format: Dates must be provided in YYYY/MM/DD format. Use the field_tm_from and field_tm_to values from a previous response to identify valid version date ranges.

Response

The response is returned as JSON. The data array contains a single document object with all fields for the requested document.

Fields with no value return false, not null. When checking relationship fields or optional metadata, test for false rather than null in your integration.

Date fields (field_tm_from, field_tm_to) are returned as Unix timestamps, not formatted dates. Convert to a readable date in your application as needed. For example, 1348614000 corresponds to 25 September 2012.

Download list of data terms & IDs

Example response

{"data":[
  {"document":
    {"root_or_spd":"no",
    "book_hierarchy":["Dormant Accounts (Amendment) Act 2012 (No. 23)"],
    "url":"https:\/\/service.betterregulation.com\/document\/38001",
    "nid":"80540",
    "title":"5. Dissolution of Dormant Accounts Board.",
    "body":"...",
    "field_news_date":false,
    "field_doc_organisation":["Legislation (IE)"],
    "field_doc_doctype":{"204":"Acts"},
    "field_doc_docyear":{"357":"2012"},
    "field_doc_jurisdiction":{"30":"Ireland"},
    "field_doc_area":{"95":"Irish Financial Services Law"},
    "field_doc_docsubject":{"130":"Banks\/Credit Institutions"},
    "field_doc_docno":["23"],
    "field_doc_docid":"38001",
    "field_doc_source_url":false,
    "field_tm_from":"1348614000",
    "field_tm_to":false,
    "field_doc_pagestatus":{"562":"In force"},
    "future_version":"no",
    "latest_version":"yes",
    "version_number":2,
    ...
    }
  }],
  "self":{"title":"Self",
  "href":"https:\/\/service.betterregulation.com\/api\/v1.0\/document\/38001"
  }
}

The body field contains escaped HTML. The full document text is returned as an HTML string with escaped characters (e.g. < represents <). You will need to unescape this before rendering it.

Response properties

Taxonomy and entity reference fields return an object with the term ID as the key and the term name as the value — for example, {"204": "Acts"}. Use the Search Term IDs page for a full list of valid IDs and names.

Field	Type	Description
`url`	Link	Human-readable URL of the document on Better Regulation.
`nid`	Integer	Node ID — the internal identifier assigned to all content nodes within Better Regulation. Not the same as `field_doc_docid`.
`field_doc_docid`	Integer	The document ID used to retrieve this document via the API.
`field_doc_defid`	Integer	Identifier assigned to definitions within Better Regulation.
`root_or_spd`	Boolean	Indicates whether this page is the root of a book-structured document or a single-page document (SPD).
`book_hierarchy`	Array	The parent document hierarchy for book-structured documents, listed from root to current page.
`title`	String	Title of the document node.
`body`	String	Full HTML content of the document, returned as an escaped string.
`field_news_date`	Date	The date the document was added to the Better Regulation database. Returns `false` if not set.
`field_tm_from`	Unix timestamp	The start date of this version of the document.
`field_tm_to`	Unix timestamp	The end date of this version. Returns `false` if this is the current version with no end date.
`latest_version`	String	Returns `"yes"` if this is the current version of the document as of today.
`future_version`	String	Returns `"yes"` if this version has a `field_tm_from` date in the future.
`version_number`	Integer	The version number of this document node.
`field_doc_pagestatus`	Term reference	Current page status (e.g. In force, Repealed). Returns a `{tid: name}` object.
`field_doc_organisation`	Entity reference	The organisation that originally published the document.
`field_doc_doctype`	Term reference	Document type classification (e.g. Acts, EU Directives).
`field_doc_docyear`	Term reference	Year the document was originally published.
`field_doc_docno`	Text	Publication number, if one exists.
`field_doc_jurisdiction`	Term reference	Jurisdiction(s) the document applies to.
`field_doc_area`	Term reference	Primary module area classification within Better Regulation.
`field_doc_docsubject`	Term reference	Secondary subject classification within Better Regulation.
`field_doc_consolidationtax`	Term reference	Consolidation status of the document.
`field_doc_sanctions_country`	Term reference	Sanctioned country or regime the document relates to, if applicable.
`field_doc_source_url`	Link	URL of the original source document. Returns `false` if not available.
`field_retained_eu_law_appropriat`	Entity reference	Relevant organisation reference for retained EU law documents.
`field_rel_reg_tech_stand`	Entity reference	Related Regulatory Technical Standards, if applicable.
`field_rel_imple_tech`	Entity reference	Related Implementing Technical Standards, if applicable.
`field_rel_decision`	Entity reference	Related Decision, if applicable.
`field_rel_gui`	Entity reference	Related Guidelines, if applicable.
`field_rel_qa`	Entity reference	Related Q&A documents, if applicable.
`field_trans_act`	Entity reference	Related Transposing Act, if applicable.
`field_trans_statu_inst`	Entity reference	Related Transposing Statutory Instrument, if applicable.
`field_rel_bill_history`	Entity reference	Related Bill, if applicable.
`field_rel_ucits_notice`	Entity reference	Related UCITS Notice, if applicable.
`field_rel_option_discre`	Entity reference	Related Opinions & Discretions, if applicable.
`field_rel_adopted_published_oj`	Entity reference	Related documents adopted and published in the Official Journal, if applicable.
`field_rel_delegated_act`	Entity reference	Related Delegated Act, if applicable.
`field_rel_implementing_act`	Entity reference	Related Implementing Act, if applicable.
`field_rel_press_release`	Entity reference	Related Press Release, if applicable.
`field_rel_opinion`	Entity reference	Related Opinion, if applicable.
`field_comm_order_for`	Entity reference	Related Commencement Order, if applicable.
`field_reg_made_under`	Entity reference	Related Regulations Made Under, if applicable.