BNR Exchange Rates API v1 Documentation

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Overview

The API returns the official exchange rates published by Banca Națională a României (BNR), in lei (RON), for the latest day or for any past date, in JSON. It is free and public; no key is needed.

Version 1 replaces /api/json.php, which keeps working unchanged for existing users. See Moving from json.php for the differences.

Base URL

https://www.cursbnr.ro/api/v1

All endpoints use the GET method. Responses are JSON (UTF-8) unless you ask for plain text with format=text. Cross-origin requests from browsers are allowed (Access-Control-Allow-Origin: *).

Endpoints

Parameters for /rates

Response

The response has the same shape for one currency or several:

{
  "date": "2026-10-16",
  "requested_date": "2026-10-18",
  "quote": "RON",
  "rates": {
    "EUR": 5.3368,
    "USD": 4.743
  }
}

Currencies quoted per 100 units. BNR quotes HUF, JPY, KRW, IDR and ISK per 100 units. You can ask for either form:

• 100HUF (also 100JPY, 100KRW, 100IDR, 100ISK) returns the BNR rate for 100 units: "100HUF": 1.4695 means 100 forints are worth 1.4695 lei.
• HUF (also JPY, KRW, IDR, ISK) returns the rate for 1 unit, i.e. the BNR rate divided by 100: "HUF": 0.014695.

The key in rates is the code you asked for, so currency=HUF,100HUF returns both.

Supported currencies

EUR, USD, XAU (gold, per gram), AUD, CAD, CHF, CZK, DKK, EGP, GBP, 100HUF, 100JPY, MDL, NOK, PLN, SEK, TRY, XDR, RUB, BGN, SKK, ZAR, BRL, CNY, INR, 100KRW, MXN, NZD, RSD, UAH, AED, THB, HKD, 100IDR, ILS, 100ISK, MYR, PHP, SGD, and the per-unit codes HUF, JPY, KRW, IDR and ISK.

The same list is returned by /api/v1/currencies, with the number of units each code is quoted per:

{
  "quote": "RON",
  "currencies": [
    { "code": "EUR", "units": 1 },
    { "code": "100HUF", "units": 100 },
    { "code": "HUF", "units": 1 },
    ...
  ]
}

Examples

Latest euro rate

GET https://www.cursbnr.ro/api/v1/rates

{"date": "2026-10-16", "quote": "RON", "rates": {"EUR": 5.3368}}

Several currencies

GET https://www.cursbnr.ro/api/v1/rates?currency=EUR,USD,100HUF

{"date": "2026-10-16", "quote": "RON", "rates": {"EUR": 5.3368, "USD": 4.743, "100HUF": 1.4695}}

All currencies

GET https://www.cursbnr.ro/api/v1/rates?all

{"date": "2026-10-16", "quote": "RON", "rates": {"EUR": 5.3368, "USD": 4.743, …}}

Works with dates too: /api/v1/rates/2026-10-16?all.

A date with no rates (Sunday)

GET https://www.cursbnr.ro/api/v1/rates/2026-10-18?currency=USD

{"date": "2026-10-16", "requested_date": "2026-10-18", "quote": "RON", "rates": {"USD": 4.743}}

Forint per 1 unit and per 100 units

GET https://www.cursbnr.ro/api/v1/rates?currency=HUF,100HUF

{"date": "2026-10-16", "quote": "RON", "rates": {"HUF": 0.014695, "100HUF": 1.4695}}

Only the value, as plain text

GET https://www.cursbnr.ro/api/v1/rates?currency=USD&format=text

4.743

PHP

$json = file_get_contents('https://www.cursbnr.ro/api/v1/rates?currency=EUR,USD');
$data = json_decode($json, true);
echo $data['rates']['EUR'];

JavaScript

const res = await fetch('https://www.cursbnr.ro/api/v1/rates?currency=EUR,USD');
const data = await res.json();
console.log(data.rates.EUR);

Errors

Errors use standard HTTP status codes, with a JSON body that has a machine-readable code and a message:

{
  "error": {
    "code": "invalid_currency",
    "message": "Unknown currency code: XYZ. See /api/v1/currencies for the supported codes."
  }
}

Rate limit

Each IP address can make 30 requests per minute. Every response includes these headers:

• X-RateLimit-Limit: the number of requests allowed per minute (30)
• X-RateLimit-Remaining: how many are left in the current minute
• X-RateLimit-Reset: when the current minute ends, as a Unix timestamp

Above the limit the API answers with HTTP 429 and a Retry-After header giving the number of seconds to wait. BNR publishes new rates once per business day, around 13:00 Romanian time, so there is rarely a reason to ask for the latest rates more often than every few minutes.

Caching

Responses carry caching headers, so browsers and HTTP clients can reuse them:

• Rates for a past date never change and may be cached for up to a year.
• The latest rates may be cached for 10 minutes.
• Each response has an ETag; send it back in If-None-Match and the API answers 304 Not Modified if nothing changed.

Moving from json.php

Last updated: October 21, 2026