Kaizen #25 - Zoho CRM API - Common Errors and Error Handling

Kaizen #25 - Zoho CRM API - Common Errors and Error Handling

Hello everyone!
Welcome back to yet another post in Kaizen!
In this post, we will discuss the most common errors that you may encounter while using Zoho CRM APIs. You can consider this post to be a concise guide that you can refer to whenever you are stuck with any error while making API calls. 

All Zoho CRM V2 APIs follow REST standards, i.e, they use the HTTP request methods GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, and DELETE. 

Here is a quick glance at the functionality of each request method. 
  • GET : To retrieve data/resource from the resource server. For instance, Get Records API .
  • POST : To insert or upload any new resource to the server. For instance Insert Records API .
  • PUT : To update an existing resource . This replaces the target resource with the updated content. For instance, the Update Records API .
  • PATCH : To update a specific detail of the resource. This method updates the target resource with the provided content without changing the other data. For instance, the Update Specific Information of a Notification API . 
  • DELETE : To delete a resource at a particular location. For instance, the Delete Records API . 
Now, let us see the common errors that you may face while making these API calls. Every API error has three main sections:
  1. Status Code
  2. Error Code
  3. Message
In this post, we have grouped the errors based on the status code , primarily focusing on the 4XX class of errors. 
  1. Errors with status code 400
    • INVALID_MODULE
    • INVALID_DATA
    • DUPLICATE_DATA
    • MANDATORY_NOT_FOUND
    • PATTERN_NOT_MATCHED
    • INVALID_REQUEST_METHOD
    • REQUIRED_PARAM_MISSING
    • LICENSE_LIMIT_EXCEEDED
  2. Errors with status code 401
    • AUTHENTICATION_FAILED
    • OAUTH_SCOPE_MISMATCH
    • INVALID_TOKEN
  3. Errors with the status code 403
    • NO_PERMISSION
    • FEATURE_NOT_SUPPORTED
  4. Errors with status code 404
    • INVALID_URL_PATTERN
1. Errors with status code 400

Possible Reasons
When there is any error in the input you specified, you will get an error status code 400. 
Some of the common error codes and messages under 400 are:

a. INVALID_MODULE: the module name given seems to be invalid

{
  "code": "INVALID_MODULE",
  "details": {},
  "message": "the module name given seems to be invalid",
  "status": "error"
}

APIs in which you might face this error

Description
The module name specified in the Request URL or in the Parameter is incorrect . You must always specify the right API name of the module in the input. To get the list of module API names, go to Setup > Developer Space  > APIs > API Names . Alternatively, the value in the key " api_name " in the Modules API indicates the API name of the module. 

API names of the default modules in Zoho CRM
Leads, Accounts, Contacts, Deals, Campaigns, Tasks, Cases, Events, Calls, Solutions, Products, Vendors, Price_Books, Quotes, Sales_Orders, Purchase_Orders, Invoices, Custom, and Activities. 

b. INVALID_DATA: <<varies based on API>>
{
  "code": "INVALID_DATA",
  "details": {
      "expected_data_type": "jsonobject"
    },
  "message": "body",
  "status": "error"
}

APIs in which you might face this error
Upload Organization Photo, Users APIs (except Get Users and Get Specific User), Records APIs (except Get List of Records, Get Specific Record, Get List of Deleted Records, Search Records), Subforms APIs (except Get Subforms), Related List APIs, CRM Variable APIs (except Get Variable Data, Get Specific Variable Data, Get Variable Groups), Blueprint APIs, Tags APIs (except Get Tags List and Get Record Count for a Tag), Notes APIs (except Get Notes Data), Files and Attachments APIs, Mass Update APIs, Currencies APIs (except Get Currencies Data and Get Specific Currency), Share API, Notification APIs (except Get Notification Details).

Description
You will face this error when there is an error in the input you specified . For instance, 
  • Input specified for any field may be in an improper JSON format (as shown in the above example, the expected JSON format is JSON Object) or an invalid data type . 
  • The unique ID of the record to be updated may be incorrect . 
You can identify the case based on the value of the "message" key. 

Refer to Kaizen #1 Fields in CRM to know more about the field types. 

Another similar error is UNABLE_TO_PARSE_DATATYPE. This error occurs when the request body or the parameter is in the wrong format. 

APIs in which you might face this error

Example:
Request URL to delete specific Leads-
https://www.zohoapis.com/crm/v2/Leads?ids= "410405000002264040,410405000002264025"
-X DELETE

{
  "code": "UNABLE_TO_PARSE_DATA_TYPE",
  "details": {},
  "message": "either the request body or parameters is in wrong format",
  "status": "error"
}

The parameters must be passed as long integers, and not strings enclosed in quotes.  

c. DUPLICATE_DATA: duplicate data

{
  "data": [
      {
        "code": "DUPLICATE_DATA",
        "details": {
            "api_name": "Mobile",
            "id": "4150868000001747019"
        },
        "message": "duplicate data",
        "status": "error"
     }
  ]
}

APIs in which you might face this error

Description
You will face this error while making the POST or PUT API calls. When you have enabled " Do not allow duplicate values " for a field, and insert or update that field in a record with a value that already exists in another record, this error will be thrown. In other words, this error is thrown when you have specified a duplicate value to a system-defined or user-defined unique field.

The value "true" for the key "unique" in the Fields metadata API indicates that the field is marked as unique. Alternatively, you can check if a field is unique in the module builder in CRM UI. Go to setup > Customization > Modules and Fields > Choose the module > Choose layout > in the more options of the desired field > Check if Do not allow duplicate values is enabled. 



d. MANDATORY_NOT_FOUND: required field not found
{
    "users": [
        {
            "code": "MANDATORY_NOT_FOUND",
            "details": {
                "api_name": "role"
            },
            "message": "required field not found",
            "status": "error"
        }
    ]
}

APIs in which you might face this error

Description
You will face this error when you have not specified a system-defined or user-defined mandatory field in your input. 

Here is the list of system-defined mandatory fields that you need to specify while inserting records in each module. 

Module
System-defined mandatory field and field type
Leads
"Last_Name" - Single Line
Contacts
"Last_Name" - Single Line
Accounts
"Account_Name" - Single Line
Deals
"Deal_Name" - Single Line
"Stage" - Picklist
Tasks
"Subject" - Multi Line
Calls
"Subject" - Multi LIne
"Call_Type" - Picklist
"Call_Start_Time" - Date/Time
"Call_Duration" - Single Line
Events
"Event_Title"- Single Line
"Start_DateTime" - Date/Time
"End_DateTime" - Date/Time
Products
"Product_Name" - Single Line
Quotes
"Subject"- Single Line
"Product_Details" - Product Line Item
Invoices
"Subject"- Single Line
"Product_Details" - Product Line Item
Campaigns
"Campaign_Name" - Single Line
Vendors
"Vendor_Name"- Single Line
Price Books
"Price_Book_Name"- Single Line
"Pricing_Details"- JSON Array with "from_range", "to_range", "discount"
Cases
"Case_Origin" - Picklist
"Status"- Picklist
"Subject" - Single Line
Solutions
"Solution_Title"- Single Line
Purchase Orders
"Subject"- Single Line
"Vendor_Name"- Lookup
"Product_Details" - Product Line Item
Sales Orders
"Subject"- Single Line
"Product_Details" - Product Line Item

The value "true" for the key "system-mandatory" in the Fields metadata API indicates that the field is marked as mandatory. Alternatively, you can check if a field is unique in the module builder in CRM UI. Go to setup > Customization > Modules and Fields > Choose the module > Choose layout > in the more options of the desired field > Check if Mark as required is enabled . 



e. PATTERN_NO_MATCHED: Please check if the input values are correct
{
    "code": "PATTERN_NOT_MATCHED",
    "details": {
        "api_name": "type"
    },
    "message": "Please check whether the input values are correct",
    "status": "error"
}

APIs in which you might face this error

Description
All parameters can take only allowed values. You will face this error when you specify a value to a parameter other than the one(s) allowed. For instance, in Get Users API, for the type parameter, you can specify only the following values: AllUsers, ActiveUsers, DeactiveUsers, ConfirmedUsers, NotConfirmedUsers, DeletedUsers, ActiveConfirmedUsers, AdminUsers, ActiveConfirmedAdmins, CurrentUser. If you specify any other value, the above mentioned error will be thrown. 

f. INVALID_REQUEST_METHOD: The http request method type is not a valid one
{
    "code": "INVALID_REQUEST_METHOD",
    "details": {},
    "message": "The http request method type is not a valid one",
    "status": "error"
}

Description
You will face this error when you use an incorrect request method . For instance, PUT instead of POST while inserting a record. Refer to the corresponding API help document to find the correct request method. You may face this error in all the available APIs . 

g. REQUIRED_PARAM_MISSING: One of the expected parameter is missing
{
    "code": "REQUIRED_PARAM_MISSING",
    "details": {
        "param": "module"
    },
    "message": "One of the expected parameter is missing",
    "status": "error"
}

APIs in which you might face this error

Description
You will face this error when you have not specified a mandatory parameters . Refer to the corresponding API guide for parameters tagged as mandatory . 

h. LICENSE_LIMIT_EXCEEDED: Request exceeds your license limit.
{ 
  "users": [
        {
            "code": "LICENSE_LIMIT_EXCEEDED",
            "details": {},
            "message": "Request exceeds your license limit. Need to upgrade in order to add a user",
            "status": "error"
        }
    ]
}

Description
You will face this error when you try to add user more than the maximum number of users allowed for your edition. You must upgrade your edition to add more users.

2. Errors with status code 401 

Possible Reasons 
You will face this error when the request lacks valid authentication for the target resource in the server.

a. AUTHENTICATION_FAILED: Authentication failed 
{
    "code": "AUTHENTICATION_FAILURE",
    "details": {},
    "message": "Authentication failed",
    "status": "error"
}

Description
You will face this error when you have not used the domain-specific request URL. Refer to Kaizen #5- Environments and Domains in Zoho CRM to know more. This is a common error and you may face it while making any API call. 

b. OAUTH_SCOPE_MISMATCH: invalid oauth scope to access this URL 
{
    "code": "OAUTH_SCOPE_MISMATCH",
    "details": {},
    "message": "invalid oauth scope to access this URL",
    "status": "error"
}

Description 
You have not specified the required scope to perform this action while generating the grant token. For instance, to retrieve users data of your organization, you must generate a token with ZohoCRM.users.READ. Refer to Kaizen #3 - Scopes in OAuth2.0 Authorization to know more about scopes.

Also, refer to scopes to get the list of available scopes in Zoho CRM. This is a common error and you may face it while making any API call.

c. INVALID_TOKEN: invalid oauth token 
{
    "code": "INVALID_TOKEN",
    "details": {},
    "message": "invalid oauth token",
    "status": "error"
}

Description 
You will face this error when your access token has expired. Refer to this help document to know how to refresh your access token.

To know more about errors while registering client and generating token, refer to Kaizen #4- Troubleshooting OAuth2.0. This is a common error and you may face it while making any API call.

3. Errors with status code 403 

Possible Reasons 
You will face this error when there is no authorization to perform an action. For instance,
  • The user does not have permission to perform a specific action. 
  • The feature is not supported for your organization. 
Some of the common Error Codes and Messages under 403 are:

a. NO_PERMISSION: permission denied 
{
    "code": "NO_PERMISSION",
    "details": {
        "permissions": [
            "Crm_Implied_View_Leads"
        ]
    },
    "message": "permission denied",
    "status": "error"
}

Description 
The particular user does not have the permission to perform that specific action. The above error is thrown when a user who does not have permission to access the Leads module tries to retrieve Leads using Get Records API.

To update the permission to a user's profile, go to Setup > Users and Control > Security Control > Profile, and enable the necessary permissions from the list.

For the system-defined profiles like the Administrator and Standard, you will not be able to modify permissions other than basic permissions and few extension permissions. This is a common error and you may face it while making any API call.

b. FEATURE_NOT_SUPPORTED: <<varies based on feature>> 
{
  "code": "FEATURE_NOT_SUPPORTED",
  "details": {},
  "message": "The Multi-Currency feature is not available except the Enterprise and higher editions.",
  "status": "error"
}

Description
You will face this error when you are trying to access a feature that is not yet enabled for your account. Refer to the corresponding API document for more details. You may face this error in the Currencies API.

4. Errors with status code 404 

Possible Reasons 
You will face this error when the system can communicate with the server, but the server could not find the requested resource.

a. INVALID_URL_PATTERN: Please check if the URL trying to access is a correct one 
{
    "code": "INVALID_URL_PATTERN",
    "details": {},
    "message": "Please check if the URL trying to access is a correct one",
    "status": "error"
}

Description 
The URL specified has syntactical errors. Refer to the specific API doc to get the correct Request URL. This is a common error and you may face it while making any API call.

We hope you found this post useful. Keep a tab on this series for more exciting topics!

Reach out to us at support@zohocrm.com if you have any questions, or let us know in the comment section.

Cheers!

Previous 'Kaizen' - CORS and the JS SDK

    • Recent Topics

    • Kaizen #190 - Queries in Custom Related Lists

      Hello everyone! Welcome back to another week of Kaizen! This week, we will discuss yet another interesting enhancement to Queries. As you all know, Queries allow you to dynamically retrieve data from CRM as well as third-party services directly within

    • Need the ability to have read only fields on a form.

      There needs to be functionality in Creator that allows a field on a form to be read only. Most screen building software applications have this capability. I know you can hide certain fields from specific users and that you can also make the whole form read only but that's not the functionality I need. I want to be able to create a form where certain fields are editable and other are for display purposes only (read only). For example if the form was displaying information on an item that the user

    • Reverse payment on accidentally closed invoice.

      An invoice was closed accidentally with the full payment added. However, only partial payment was paid. How can I reopen the invoice and reverse this to update it to show partial payment?

    • New integration: Track booking page appointments in Google Analytics 4

      Hello all, Greetings from the Zoho Bookings team! We’re excited to introduce our new Google Analytics 4 (GA4) integration designed to help you track booking activity, understand customer behavior, and measure marketing performance, all in one place. What

    • How to list emails in a folder, e.g. Inbox, on multiple pages when using Zoho mail webpage?

      Something as shown in the figure. There are totally 50 emails in Sent folder. If "Mail per page" equals 20, then the Sent folder is split into 3 pages. When I wander through Sent folder, I can just select a specific page to jump to. BTW, it seems that

    • Zoho Calendar soft bounce on @hotmail.com and @yahoo.com email addresses

      Hello, our Zoho calendar recently does not send the calendar invites to emails with hotmail and yahoo domains and comes back with a "soft bounce". other domains like Gmail works fine. Also sending "email" to the same emails to the above domains work well

    • ERROR CODE :512 - 5.4.4 DNS error:NXDOMAIN.

      Suddenly we cant send mail, we are getting this error for all outbound mail to multiple domains.

    • Can Zoho Flows repeat Actions more than once?

      I'm attempting to make an intentional Zoho Flow loop using the below layout. However, when "WithinLimit" condition is met, the program fails to execute the action "Get & Add Request Co..." again. Is this by design? Is Zoho Flows unable to repeat actions

    • Unveiling Cadences: Redefining CRM interactions with automated sequential follow-ups

      Last modified on 01/04/2024: Cadences is now available for all Zoho CRM users in all data centres (DCs). Note that it was previously an early access feature, available only upon request, and was also known as Cadences Studio. As of April 1, 2024, it's

    • customer data security

      We are exploring ways to enhance our within Zoho CRM. Our Goal: We want to fully integrate RingCentral with Zoho CRM to enable click-to-call functionality for our sales team. However, to comply with data privacy regulations and protect customer contact

    • Zoho Cliq not working on airplanes

      Hi, My team and I have been having this constant issue of cliq not working when connected to an airplane's wifi. Is there a reason for this? We have tried on different Airlines and it doesn't work on any of them. We need assistance here since we are constantly

    • Sync CRM inventory data with Zoho Books

      I just switched everything over to ZoHo books, but I am trying to find out why the CRM Estimates, Invoices, and Sales Orders created in ZoHo CRM are not then duplicated in ZoHo Books? I had Quickbooks before, and had to do everything twice, I thought

    • mask Customer phone number and agents cant see customer phone number

      Is there any way we can integrate Zoom Phone with Zoho CRM while ensuring that customer phone numbers remain masked? We need a solution where agents can make outbound calls but cannot see customer phone numbers. Please let us know if there is any solution

    • Email Reminders on Shared Calendars

      How do we turn off the setting that emails reminders to everyone who has accepted or declined a calendar invite? If 8 of us have been invited to the same meeting, we receive 8 notifications for every step of the process, from invitation to decision.

    • WebDAV / FTP / SFTP protocols for syncing

      I believe the Zoho for Desktop app is built using a proprietary protocol. For the growing number of people using services such as odrive to sync multiple accounts from various providers (Google, Dropbox, Box, OneDrive, etc.) it would be really helpful if you implemented standard protocols such as WebDAV / FTP / SFTP so that alternative inc clients can be used.

    • What's New in Zoho Inventory | Q2 2025

      Hello Customers, The second quarter have been exciting months for Zoho Inventory! We’ve introduced impactful new features and enhancements to help you manage inventory operations with even greater precision and control. While we have many more exciting

    • How to refresh a ticket view ?

      I am doing a widget where I send a rest api call to make a new draft to the ticket I am viewing. The issue is sometimes it refresh a ticket view and I can see inserted draft right away, but sometimes I do not see it even if it is inserted correctly and

    • Ugh! - Text Box (Single Line) Not Enough - Text Box (Multi-line) Unavailable in PDF!

      I provide services, I do not sell items. In each estimate I send I provide a customized job description. A two or three sentence summary of the job to be performed. I need to be able to include this job description on each estimate I send as it's a critical

    • Merge Items

      Is there a work around for merging items? We currently have three names for one item, all have had a transaction associated so there is no deleting (just deactivating, which doesn't really help. It still appears so people are continuing to use it). I also can't assign inventory tracking to items used in past transactions, which I don't understand, this is an important feature moving forward.. It would be nice to merge into one item and be able to track inventory. Let me know if this is possible.

    • Supervisor Rules - Zoho Desk

      Hi, I have set up a Supervisor Rule in Zoho Desk to send an email alert when a ticket has been on hold for 48 hours. Is there a way to change it so that the alert only sends once and not on an hourly basis? Thank you Laura

    • ResponseCode 421, 4.7.0 [TSS04] Messages from 136.143.188.51 temporarily deferred due to user complaints

      Had email bounce. Let me know if you can fix this. Thanks. Michael

    • Automation #15: Automatically Adding Static Secondary Contacts

      Rockel is a top-tier client of Zylker traders. Marcus handles communications with Rockel and would like to add Terence, the CTO of Zylker traders to the email conversations. In this case, the emails coming from user address rockel.com should have Terence

    • New Zoho triggers Google Dangerous flag due toabnormal charcters

      Just signed up and doing my first email test. I sent it to my google email account but it got flagged as Dangerous" due abnormal characters. My DNS setup looks ok. Page snips attached Help Please Thanks, Rick DC PowerWorld

    • Is there a API to fetch tasks in a Board/Section

      I am writing a scheduled function that retrieves all the tasks and send an reminder on cliq. I cannot seem to find a API to fetch tasks (by user / board / section) What are the way to fetch tasks?

    • Having trouble fetching contents of Zoho Connect Feeds using the API, requesting alternative API documentation.

      I'm trying to retrieve feed/post data from Zoho Connect using the API but facing challenges with the current documentation. What I've tried: OAuth authentication is working correctly (getting 200 OK responses) Tested multiple endpoints: /pulse/nativeapi/v2/feeds,

    • Adding an Account Name to Tasks/Reminders

      Does anyone know how to add the related account name to a task?  When we look at the list of activities and when the reminders pop up, there is no way of quickly seeing who the account is. 

    • Triggering Zoho Flow on Workdrive File Label

      Right now Im trying to have a zoho flow trigger on the labeling/classification of a file in a folder. Looking at the trigger options they arent great for something like this. File event occurred is probably the most applicable, but the events it has arent

    • SendMail to multiple recipients

      Hi, I'm trying to send an email to a list of recipients.  Right now the "to" field is directed to a string variable. (List variables won't work here). In the string variable, how can I make it work? trying "user@app.com;user2@app.com" or "user@app.com; user2@app.com" just failed to send the emails. Ravid

    • Populate drop down field from another form's subform

      Hello, I found how to do that, but not in case of a subform. I have a Product form that has a subform for unit and prices. A product might have more than one unit. For example, the product "Brocoli" can be sold in unit at 3$ or in box of 10 at 25 $. Both

    • Usar o Inventory ou módulo customizado no CRM para Gestão de Estoque ?

      Minha maior dor hoje em usar o zoho é a gestão do meu estoque. Sou uma empresa de varejo e essa gestão é fundamental pra mim. Obviamente preciso que esse estoque seja visível no CRM, Inicialmente fiz através de módulos personalizados no próprio Zoho CRM,

    • Signup forms behaviour : Same email & multiple submissions

      My use case is that I have a signup form (FormA) that I use in several places on my website, with a hidden field so I can see where the contact has been made from. I also have a couple of other signup forms (FormB and FormC) that slight differences. All

    • getting error in project users api

      Hello, I'm getting a "Given URL is wrong" error when trying to use the Zoho Projects V3 API endpoint for adding users to a project. The URL I'm using is https://projectsapi.zoho.com/api/v3/portal/{portalid}/projects/{projectid}/projectusers/ and it's

    • Change total display format in weekly time logs

      Hi! Would it be possible to display the total of the value entered in the weekly time log in the same format that the user input? This could be an option in the general settings -> display daily timesheet total in XX.XX format or XX:XX.

    • Different Company Name for billing & shipping address

      We are using Zoho Books & Inventory for our Logistics and started to realize soon, that Zoho is not offering a dedicated field for a shipping address company name .. when we are creating carrier shipping labels, the Billing Address company name gets always

    • How to display historical ticket information of the total time spent in each status

      Hi All, Hoping someone can help me, as I am new to Zoho Analytics, and I am a little stuck. I am looking to create a bar chart that looks back over tickets raised in the previous month and displays how much time was spent in each status (With Customer,

    • Zoho Community Weekend Maintenance: 13–15 Sep 2025

      Hi everyone, We wanted to give you a heads-up that Zoho Community will undergo scheduled maintenance this weekend. During this period, some community features will be temporarily unavailable, while others will be in read-only mode. Maintenance Window:

    • Agent Performance Report

      From data to decisions: A deep dive into ticketing system reports An agent performance report in a ticketing system provides a comprehensive view of how support agents manage customer tickets. It measures efficiency and quality by tracking key performance

    • Show both Vendor and Customers in contact statement

      Dear Sir, some companies like us working with companies as Vendor and Customers too !!! it mean we send invoice and also receive bill from them , so we need our all amount in one place , but in contact statement , is separate it as Vendor and Customer, 

    • Pourquoi dans zohobooks version gratuite on ne peut ajouter notre stock d'ouverture??

      Pourquoi dans zohobooks version gratuite on ne peut ajouter notre stock d'ouverture ??

    • How can I adjust column width in Zoho Books?

      One issue I keep running into is as I show or hide columns in reports, the column widths get weird. Some columns have text cut off while others can take a fourth of the page for just a few characters. I checked report layout guides and my settings, but

    • Next Page