Leader CRMWhat the Central Dispatch API lets your software do
The Central Dispatch API lets a broker's software create, update and delete Central Dispatch listings and handle dispatch documents on any plan. Managing dispatches, carrier offers and event notifications takes Premium, and the Market Intelligence pricing API is a paid add-on.
The Central Dispatch API lets your software create, update and delete listings on the Central Dispatch marketplace and upload or download dispatch documents such as dispatch sheets and eBOLs. Those two APIs come with every plan. The APIs that manage dispatches, carrier offers, memberships and event notifications are for Premium customers, and the Market Intelligence API is a separate subscription.
The APIs follow REST, take and return JSON, and need a bearer token on every call, per the developer overview. Brokers sign up under the SHIPPER customer type, which the docs say also covers brokers and dealers. Everything is documented on the Central Dispatch developer portal.
What can you do with the Central Dispatch API?
The API list on the developer portal shows seven APIs.
| API | What it does | Plan |
|---|---|---|
| Listings API (v2) | Create, update and delete listings on the marketplace | All plans |
| Dispatch Document API | Get, create, update and delete dispatch documents, including dispatch sheets and electronic bills of lading | All plans |
| Fulfillment API | Manage dispatches: carrier, pickup and delivery locations, vehicles and pickup and delivery dates | Premium |
| Event API | Subscribe to event notifications, and search and retrieve past events | Premium |
| Offer API | Create, update and retrieve offers made to carriers on your listings | Premium |
| Membership API | Manage membership and look up carrier and shipper details for dispatching | Premium |
| Market Intelligence API | Predicted load prices based on historical data | Separate subscription |
A brokerage usually starts with the Listings API. It is how a CRM posts the load from your order to the board and updates it when the price or dates change.
Which Central Dispatch plan includes API access?
Prices checked October 28, 2026. Core, starting at $139.95 a month plus tax, includes the Listings and Dispatch Document APIs. Premium, starting at $214.95 a month plus tax, adds the Fulfillment, Event and Membership APIs, and the developer portal marks the Offer API as Premium only too. The Market Intelligence API is an add-on to any plan at extra cost, with no public price. Sources: the Central Dispatch API page and the plans page.
The plans page also says every API can be used through a third party or directly. A broker on Core can have a CRM post and update listings. A broker who wants the CRM to manage dispatches or receive events needs Premium. The full plan breakdown is in Central Dispatch pricing (2026).
How do you get Central Dispatch API credentials?
The developer overview and FAQ describe four steps.
- Fill in the API Request Form on the developer portal once you are ready to build.
- Wait up to 3 days for credentials, if there are no problems with your account or setup.
- Build and test in the test marketplace Central Dispatch assigns you. Test accounts cannot post to the public marketplace.
- Email the data syndication support team that you are ready, and they issue production credentials.
There are two ways to authorize, per the authentication guide. The Authorization Code Flow is for software providers whose app works on behalf of a Central Dispatch customer, and the guide names CRM systems as an example. The Client Credentials Flow is for server-to-server calls. If you buy a CRM instead of building one, the vendor handles this part, and the questions below are how you check its work.
Central Dispatch API limits to know
These come from the developer FAQ and the overview.
- The Listings API allows 100 requests per minute, and Central Dispatch says that limit cannot be changed.
- A listing you delete and post again counts as a new listing against your quota, with a new 30-day expiration.
- Adding a vehicle to a listing, or changing its year, make, model or VIN, counts toward your vehicle quota.
- There is no Load ID field. The FAQ says to use ShipperOrderID in its place.
- You cannot archive a dispatch through the API. Delivered or canceled dispatches are archived on the website.
- Fields such as listing status or vehicle type can gain new values at any time, and the docs ask integrations to handle unknown values without failing.
- The Market Intelligence API covers cars, trucks, SUVs and vans only.
What to ask a CRM vendor about its Central Dispatch integration
| Ask the vendor | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Which Central Dispatch APIs does your integration use? | Listings works on Core. Dispatch management and events need Premium, so the answer tells you which plan to pay for. |
| Do posts go out under my own Central Dispatch account? | Central Dispatch stamps each listing with the ShipperID of the account whose token created it. |
| When the price changes, do you update the listing or delete and repost it? | A delete and repost counts as a new listing against your quota. |
| How do you tie a listing to my order? | There is no Load ID field. Central Dispatch points to ShipperOrderID, so ask whether your order number goes there. |
| What stops the same load from being posted twice? | Two salespeople, or a salesperson and an automation, can post one order twice, and carriers call about both. |
| Where does the lane price on the quote come from? | Prices carriers were paid tell you more than prices that were listed. Ask how many loads the number uses. |
| How will I know the connection stopped working? | Posts and lane prices can fail without an error on the salesperson's screen. |
More on each of these in what a Central Dispatch integration should do in your CRM.
When Leader CRM's AI sales responder books a load and finds one already posted under that order, it links to that post and does not make a second one. See the orders and dispatch and quote page features, or every connection on the integrations page.
Does Super Dispatch have an API too?
Yes. Super Dispatch's Shipper API creates and updates orders, assigns carriers, tracks shipments and pulls bills of lading and proof of delivery, per its developer portal. Central Dispatch vs Super Dispatch compares the two platforms, and what is Central Dispatch covers the basics.
What to do before your next CRM demo
Log into Central Dispatch and note which plan you are on. Then ask the vendor the seven questions in the table, and write next to each answer which Central Dispatch API it needs and whether your plan has it.
To ask us the same questions with a real order on screen, book a live demo.
Keep reading
Central Dispatch pricing in 2026: what each plan costs and includes
Central Dispatch lists its Core plan for shippers and brokers starting at $139.95 a month and Premium starting at $214.95 a month, plus applicable tax. Enterprise pricing comes from Central Dispatch sales, and the Market Intelligence API add-on has no public price.
What is Central Dispatch, and how do brokers use it?
Central Dispatch is the auto transport marketplace owned by Cox Automotive, where shippers, brokers and dealers post vehicles that need moving and carriers find and accept those loads. A broker posts the customer's car with the route, dates, trailer type and price, then dispatches a carrier electronically.
Central Dispatch vs Super Dispatch: what brokers get from each
Central Dispatch is Cox Automotive's auto transport marketplace, sold to brokers on Core and Premium plans starting at $139.95 and $214.95 a month. Super Dispatch sells brokers one Shipper Pro plan starting at $159 a month, built around its Super Loadboard, eBOL, GPS tracking and SuperPay carrier payments.
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