Auction Fees + Towing Quote API

Introduction

The Auction Fees API provides accurate cost estimates for vehicle bids on Copart and IAAI.

It calculates the full cost of a bid by taking into account gate fees, environmental fees, bidding fees, and payment fees, providing a clear total before you place a bid. The API also includes optional inland towing estimates, which can be used to estimate delivery to ports within the United States.

This tool helps buyers better understand total costs upfront when purchasing vehicles through auction platforms.

The API is free to use and does not require an API key.

Endpoint

POST

https://api.auctionfeescalculator.com

All requests must be sent as a POST request with a JSON body.

Request

Headers

Content-Type: application/json

Body (JSON)

{
  "bidAmount": 223490,
  "auction": "copart",
  "bidType": "online",
  "bidPay": "unsecured",
  "bidVehicle": "standard",
  "fromCity": "Louisville",
  "fromState": "KY"
}

Fields

Field	Type	Required	Allowed values	Notes
bidAmount	number	yes	> 0	Must be a valid number greater than 0
auction	string	yes	copart, iaai	Determines fee structure
bidType	string	yes	online, kiosk, non-kiosk	Affects bidding fees
bidPay	string	yes	Copart: secured, unsecured & IAAI: high, standard	Affects payment fees
bidVehicle	string	yes	Copart: standard, heavy, crashedToys IAAI: licensed, non-licensed, recRides, heavy	Depends on vehicle type
fromCity	string	no	any non-empty string	Used for towing estimate
fromState	string	no	2 letter state code	Converted to uppercase

Behavior

Copart

bidVehicle: "standard" | "heavy" | "crashedToys"

IAAI

bidVehicle: "licensed" | "non-licensed" | "recRides" | "heavy"

Towing

The estimate is based on the provided city and state, shipment of the vehicle to the nearest port. To view available North America Copart locations, visit: https://www.copart.com/locations/ (opens in a new tab)

If no route can be determined, the API returns:

"towing": null

Response

200 OK

{
    "quote": {
        "bidAmount": 223490,
        "auctionFees": {
            "auctionFee": 28226,
            "totalAmount": 251716
        }
    },
    "towing": {
        "departure": "Louisville, KY",
        "toPort": {
            "city": "Houston",
            "state": "TX"
        },
        "towingTotal": 700
    }
}

Errors

400 Bad Request

Invalid JSON

{ "error": "Invalid JSON" }

429 Too Many Requests

Rate limit exceeded

{ "error": "Too many requests" }

IAAI Example JavaScript

await fetch("https://api.auctionfeescalculator.com", {
    method: "POST",
    headers: {
      "Content-type": "application/json",
    },
        body: JSON.stringify({
            bidAmount: 223490,
            auction: "iaai",
            bidType: "online",
            bidPay: "high",
            bidVehicle: "licensed",
            fromCity: "Reno",
            fromState: "NV",
        }),
  })

Copart Example JavaScript

await fetch("https://api.auctionfeescalculator.com", {
    method: "POST",
    headers: {
      "Content-type": "application/json",
    },
        body: JSON.stringify({
          bidAmount: 223490,
          auction: "copart",
          bidType: "online",
          bidPay: "unsecured",
          bidVehicle: "standard",
          fromCity: "Louisville",
          fromState: "KY"
        }),
  })