Versioning - DocketLayer

DocketLayer uses path-based versioning. The current version is v2, served at https://api.docketlayer.ai/v2/.

Version path convention

The major version is encoded in the URL path:

https://api.docketlayer.ai/v2/case
https://api.docketlayer.ai/v3/case   ← future

Minor and patch changes are backwards-compatible and do not change the path. Breaking changes bump the major version and introduce a new path.

Compatibility policy

Additive changes (new fields, new optional parameters, new endpoints) are made without a version bump
Breaking changes (removed fields, changed field types, renamed fields, changed behavior) require a new major version
When a new major version ships, the previous version remains accessible for a minimum of twelve months

Current versions

Version	Path	Status	Sunset date
2.0.0	`/v2/`	Current	—
1.0	`/v1/`	Deprecated	2027-04-28

v1 deprecation

DocketLayer v1.0 entered formal deprecation on 2026-04-28. The /v1/ endpoints will continue to serve until 2027-04-28, after which they will return 410 Gone. If you are on v1, migrate before the sunset date. See the migration guide for field mapping and code changes.

Breaking changes from v1 to v2

v1 field	v2 field	Notes
`nature_of_suit`	`nature_of_proceeding`	Renamed for jurisdiction-agnostic clarity
`pacer_doc_id`	`document_identifier`	Generalized; accompanied by `document_identifier_type`
`pacer_link`	`external_url`	Renamed for jurisdiction-agnostic clarity
`related_cases`	`cross_references`	Renamed; each entry now carries a typed `relationship` enum

All other v2 changes are additive. Existing enum values are unchanged.

Version discovery

The current API version is always available in the status endpoint response:

curl https://api.docketlayer.ai/v2/status

{
  "api_version": "2.0.0",
  "operational_status": "nominal",
  ...
}

Documentation Index

​Version path convention

​Compatibility policy

​Current versions

​v1 deprecation

​Breaking changes from v1 to v2

​Version discovery