On October 16, 2026, Google rewrote the quota page for its Indexing API. It now lists 200 publish requests a day per project and drops the form site owners used to request more quota. The change matters for job boards, livestream publishers and anyone who uses plugins that push every page through the API.
What we know
- The change: Google Search Central's documentation changelog for October 16 says the quota page was updated to document the current limits and to remove an outdated form.
- The numbers, per the official quota page:
- 200 publish requests per day per project, counting both URL_UPDATED and URL_DELETED. The counter resets at midnight Pacific Time.
- 180 getMetadata requests per minute.
- 380 requests per minute across all endpoints.
- Quota is shown in the Google API Console, and the API is free to use.
- What's gone: the page no longer describes that quota as being for testing, and it no longer explains how to request approval or extra quota. According to Search Engine Roundtable, Google also removed a line saying quota could rise or fall based on document quality.
- What stays: the quickstart and usage guides, both updated the same day, still say the API can only be used for pages with JobPosting structured data or BroadcastEvent embedded in a VideoObject. The quickstart says every submission goes through spam detection and that abuse, such as using several accounts to get around limits, can lead to revoked access.
- Background: Search Engine Journal reported on September 21, 2026 that several job sites had waited months for an answer to their approval requests through that form.
What changes and what doesn't
On paper, the default quota is now the working quota, and the documented route to more quota is gone. The documentation doesn't say whether another route exists.
What the API is for hasn't changed. It is still not a shortcut for indexing blog posts, product pages or service pages. And Google says a 200 response only means it "may try to recrawl" the URL, not that the page will be indexed.
How to tell if this affects you
- Check whether your site uses it. Look at your SEO or "instant indexing" plugins and at any Google Cloud project with the Indexing API enabled.
- If you don't publish job listings or livestreams, the documentation doesn't allow you to use it. Turn it off and rely on an up-to-date sitemap plus Search Console's URL Inspection for urgent pages.
- If you run a job board or stream live video, do the math: 200 requests a day per project, new and removed URLs combined. Prioritize new and expiring listings and leave the rest to your sitemap.
- Don't split the load across projects or accounts to get past the limit. Google names that as an example of abuse.
- Watch usage in the Google API Console. The counter resets at midnight Pacific Time, which is 07:00 UTC until November 1 and 08:00 UTC after that.
Related: How Long Google Takes to Crawl and Index: Its Own Numbers
Sources
- Google Search Central, Indexing API quota and pricing
- Google Search Central, documentation changelog
- Google Search Central, Indexing API quickstart
- Google Search Central, using the Indexing API
- Search Engine Roundtable, October 16, 2026
- Search Engine Journal, September 21, 2026
Updates: if Google explains how to request more quota or changes which pages the API covers, it will be added here with a link.