Assessment API for ATS & recruiting software
Candidate takes a cognitive or personality test inside your pipeline. Score attaches to the application via external_user_id. DISC, Big Five, EQ, IQ, Numerical Reasoning, Critical Thinking — 126+ instruments, three REST calls, server-side scoring.
The JobCannon Assessment API lets ATS and recruiting platforms add pre-employment assessment as a native feature — no separate vendor portal, no candidate redirect, no broken pipeline UX. Integration is three REST calls: POST /api/v1/assessments starts a session with the chosen instrument slug and the candidate's external_user_id (your application ID); GET /api/v1/assessments/{session_id}/questions re-serves the question payload if needed; POST /api/v1/assessments/{session_id}/complete submits the candidate's answers, scores them server-side, and returns { result_id, test, top_result, scores, question_pool }. The score attaches to the application record via the external_user_id you supplied. Authentication is a single X-API-Key header (format jck_live_…, scopes assessments:send / assessments:read, SHA-256 hashed at rest) — no OAuth, no client secret, no session state on your side. Scoring is deterministic, server-side, and tamper-proof: degenerate submissions are rejected, pooled/rotating question sets thread the pool index to the correct scoring key. The most-integrated ATS battery: DISC (workplace behaviour), Big Five (trait profile), EQ (interpersonal fit), IQ (general cognitive ability), Numerical Reasoning (quantitative roles), Critical Thinking (structured problem-solving roles). Rate limiting is per key with HTTP 429 + resetAt — cohort spikes are manageable with advance notice. Available on the Scale tier ($199/mo) with a monthly assessment allotment then $2/assessment overage.
Assessment inside your pipeline, scores inside your application record.
Choose the right instrument for each role type — start a session with any slug.
For adding native assessment to an ATS or recruiting platform
The ATS integration uses the same three-call lifecycle as the full Assessment API. For a broader view of the instruments available — including personality and emotional-intelligence frameworks — see the psychometric API overview. Teams that want assessment results to appear under their brand can pair the API with white-label theming.
Building for a different platform? See the API for LMS & EdTech, coaching platforms, and university career services. All integrations are on the JobCannon for Business hub.
The embed API is live on the Scale tier ($199/mo), which includes a monthly assessment allotment; additional assessments are $2 each. White-label resale partners can move to a revenue-share. Higher volumes, cohort-burst rate-limit configuration, and dedicated technical onboarding are scoped under partnership.
Always free for micro-teams
For solo coaches and small HR
For startups, teams and HR
For agencies, L&D and scale-ups
For 200+ person companies
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Tell us your platform, the assessment battery you need, your expected candidate volume, and any cohort-spike dates. We respond with a key, the endpoint reference, and a technical onboarding plan.
Pass the candidate's application ID (or any stable internal identifier) as external_user_id in the POST /api/v1/assessments body. The same identifier passes through to POST /api/v1/assessments/{session_id}/complete, and the result row written to your org via api_org_id carries it. The complete call returns { result_id, top_result, scores }, which you store against the application record. Hiring managers see the score inside your existing ATS UI without ever leaving the pipeline view.
The most common battery combines: DISC for workplace behaviour and team-fit signal; Big Five for broad trait profile; EQ for roles requiring client interaction or leadership; IQ for general cognitive ability; Numerical Reasoning for quantitative or finance-adjacent roles; and Critical Thinking for roles where structured problem-solving matters. All are available via the same three-call lifecycle — you choose the slug per role type and trigger the right assessment at the right pipeline stage.
Scoring is deterministic and server-side — the client cannot alter it. Degenerate submissions (an untouched default answer vector, indicating the candidate did not engage) are rejected before a result is written. Pooled and rotating question sets thread the served question pool index through to the matching scoring key, so a rotating IQ battery always grades against the correct item set. The scoring engine is the same one used for the consumer product, so results are directly comparable. Validity and norming detail for each instrument is available on request.
Yes. Each candidate session is independent — one POST /api/v1/assessments per candidate, one POST /api/v1/assessments/{session_id}/complete per candidate. Rate limiting is per API key with HTTP 429 + resetAt, so you always know when you're near the limit rather than experiencing silent throttling. For planned cohort spikes — a graduate intake, a seasonal hiring surge — let us know the expected peak volume and we can configure per-key rate limits that match your hiring schedule.
Every request carries a single X-API-Key header. Keys are issued per organisation (format jck_live_…), scoped to assessments:send and assessments:read, and SHA-256 hashed at rest. There is no OAuth exchange and no client secret to rotate mid-pipeline. Sessions are short-lived signed tokens returned by the start call — your ATS holds no session state and candidates cannot re-use or share session tokens.
Dedicated pre-employment testing vendors typically require annual contracts, a separate candidate portal (breaking the pipeline UX), and charge per-assessment at rates that escalate with volume. The JobCannon API embeds into your existing ATS UI via three REST calls — candidates stay in your pipeline, scores attach to the application automatically. It is live on the Scale tier ($199/mo) with a monthly assessment allotment; additional assessments are $2 each. You get 126+ validated instruments without a separate vendor portal or a multi-year contract.