On this page

### Step 1: Apply for a Claude Console Account

Please visit [this link](https://console.anthropic.com/) to apply for a Claude Console account.

### Step 2: Enter your full name shown as in below screenshot

### Step 3: Click “Get API Keys” to get your Claude API key

### Step 4: Buy $5+ Credits to start using your Claude API, after payment your account will be Tier 1 account.

### Step 5: Create your API Key

### Step 6: Copy and Save your API key in a document for later reference

Your API key will be marked after creation. So it is best practice to copy your API key right after creation and save it in a safe document for future reference.

### Step 7: Set up spending Limit for your API account

Set upper limit for your API token spending.

### Step 8: Set Up Auto Reload Credits to Prevent Coding Service Disruption

### Step 9: Upgrade Account from Tier 1 to Tier 4

You need to wait for up to 2 weeks and deposit $400 on your API account in order to upgrade from Tier 1 to Tier 4.