Milestone timeline:
Access to the Developer Portal is now open.
What is the ELD API Developer Portal and what does it do?
The ELD API Developer Portal is an online environment where technical leads and their development teams, working for or on behalf of an organisation, can log in, explore API documentation and try out ‘test endpoints’ ahead of building an integration from the ELD to the organisation’s systems.
Sounds technical…What do we need to plan for?
To help with understanding what is relevant to your specific organisation for this first milestone, the following information in this guide has been broken down by ELD three major user group types: API Users, Single Policy Uploaders and Legal Professionals. Different users will require different levels of support and have varying needs. We are working hard to ensure that we provide regular updates, resources and readiness activities for organisations to have the information they need, to migrate to the ELD as smoothly as possible.
Additionally, we recently held two informative industry webinars which you can watch back and download resources at your convenience, if you missed them the first time around, or simply want to make sure certain team members are brought up to speed.
All users will find the ‘Understanding the next phase’ webinar an informative starting point as it sets the scene for the ELD NextGen programme. This webinar walks through:
Where we are now
Why the platform is evolving
What is changing
Timeline and transition approach
What it means for your organisation
For those in the API and Single Policy Uploader user groups, the ‘Technical deep dive’ webinar will provide essential information for your organisation’s journeys. This webinar walks through:
Where we are now
Why the platform is evolving
API specifications and file structure
Data model
Policy processing flow and error handling
Testing approach
Need help choosing a policy submission method?
As part of the new ELD, organisations will need to decide which policy submission method is most appropriate for their needs. To support this decision, we've produced a short guidance document that explains the available options and the factors to consider when selecting the right approach for your organisation.
Read the Policy Submission Methods in the New ELD guidance document for an overview of the available submission methods and practical advice to help you choose the best fit for your organisation.
API Users
If your organisation plans to integrate with the new ELD via API (Application Programming Interface), we will need to know this in advance and require you to complete the form below as soon as possible. This will ensure your nominated developers receive the documentation, guidance and access required to begin preparing for API integration with the ELD.
Complete Developer Portal form here.
The API Developer Portal Form will have already been sent to your organisation’s key programme contact on 13th July 2026. However, if you have not received it, please contact us directly on ELDNextGen@elto.org.uk, alternatively if there has been a change in staff within your team, you will need to ensure that you update us via the ELTO Engagement Contact Request Form here. Please note: if you are a legal professional, you will need to fill out this form instead.
We want to ensure that all API users are well supported during this technical change process and so will be providing the following for these organisations to benefit from:
API full technical specification documentation
We are currently finalising the full technical specification documentation for development teams and expect to issue this directly to technical contacts by 7 August 2026. It will also be hosted via the Knowledge Hub.
This documentation will provide developers with the information required to begin planning, designing and preparing their integrations ahead of testing activities.
Milestone 1 guidance manual
This will provide step-by-step guidance covering onboarding, credential management, Developer Portal access and testing activities. It will be shared directly to all key programme contacts ahead of Developer Portal access becoming available.
Bitesize technical demonstrations
We are planning a series of short technical demonstration videos covering topics raised by users during engagement sessions. These are planned to include, but are not limited to,) guidance on API credentials and best practice, onboarding, parent and child data set up, data model change, and policy submission methods.
Technical drop-in sessions
Subject to demand, we will open up a calendar for nominated technical leads to book time with the programme team to discuss the onboarding process and ask any outstanding technical questions on a one-to-one basis
Single Policy Uploaders
If your organisation is not planning to integrate via API and instead intends to use the ELD portal for single policy submissions, you do not need to complete the Developer Portal form. Instead, if you have not already done so, please contact us directly on ELDNextGen@elto.org.uk to confirm that your preference is single policy upload alongside your Supplier ID. This will help us to ensure that we contact you appropriately and with the correct guidance for onboarding into the new ELD – Milestone 2.
Please note: if you intend to use the ELD portal to create, update and delete policies – this method will only allow for one policy at a time to be manually uploaded/amended.
Legal professionals
We were grateful to engage with a wealth of legal professionals at the end of 2025, with everyone providing valuable and actionable feedback that has actively helped the ELD NextGen programme to drive change, value and benefit for all future users of the ELD.
We are aware that since then, there have been a lot of communications regarding technical change from the programme but please be assured that we will be updating everyone with progress updates in advance of Milestone 2, to help you eventually onboard into the new ELD.
We reached out to legal professionals on our database in March this year, asking for key contact details for the ELD NextGen programme. If your organisation did not receive or complete this, please ensure that you update us via the ELTO Engagement Contact Request Form here. Within that form, we also asked if you would like to take part in BETA testing/early adopter access. If you haven’t nominated your organisation for this, please do as we will be reaching out in due course to interested parties.
The good news is that there’s nothing more for you to do for now and we will be reaching back out in late Autumn with our next update.
Next steps for technical teams
As part of Milestone 1, organisations that have completed the onboarding process and submitted their details should now have received two invitations from ELTO's technical delivery partner, Softwire:
Access to the new ELD platform, where authorised users can create and manage API credentials.
Access to the Developer Portal, where development teams can explore API documentation, review technical specifications and test endpoints ahead of building their integration.
To support these activities, we recommend reviewing the Getting Started Test API and Credential Management guidance, which provides practical instructions on accessing the platform, managing credentials, navigating the Developer Portal and preparing for integration testing. The guide is designed for developers, technical leads, system integrators and credential managers.
Action required
If your organisation has not yet done so, please complete the Developer Portal form to let us know your preferred policy submission method and the individuals who require technical access.
Submitting the form is the quickest way to ensure the right members of your team receive access to the new ELD platform and Developer Portal, enabling them to begin exploring the APIs and preparing for integration activity as the programme progresses.
Complete the Developer Portal form today to help keep your organisation on track for upcoming ELD NextGen milestones.