PolymarketDocumentation/docs/resources/error-codes.md

Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.polymarket.com/llms.txt Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

Error Codes

Complete reference for CLOB API error responses

All CLOB API errors return a JSON object with a single error field:

{
  "error": "<message>"
}

---

Global Errors

These errors can occur on any authenticated endpoint.

`Unauthorized/Invalid api key` — Your API key is missing, expired, or invalid. Ensure you're sending all required [authentication headers](/trading/overview#authentication). `Invalid L1 Request headers` — Your L1 authentication headers (HMAC signature) are malformed or the signature doesn't match. See [Authentication](/api-reference/authentication). `Trading is currently disabled. Check polymarket.com for updates` — The exchange is temporarily paused. No orders (including cancels) are accepted. `Trading is currently cancel-only. New orders are not accepted, but cancels are allowed.` — The exchange is in cancel-only mode. You can cancel existing orders but cannot place new ones. `Too Many Requests` — You've exceeded the [rate limit](/api-reference/rate-limits). Back off and retry with exponential backoff.

---

Order Book

Errors from the order book endpoints.

GET book

`Invalid token id` — The `token_id` query parameter is missing or not a valid token ID. `No orderbook exists for the requested token id`

POST books

`Invalid payload` — The request body is malformed or missing required fields. `Payload exceeds the limit` — Too many token IDs in a single request. Reduce the batch size.

---

Pricing

Errors from price, midpoint, and spread endpoints.

GET price

`Invalid token id` — The `token_id` parameter is missing or invalid. `Invalid side` — The `side` parameter must be `BUY` or `SELL`. `No orderbook exists for the requested token id`

POST prices

`Invalid payload` — The request body is malformed or missing required fields. `Invalid side` — The `side` field must be `BUY` or `SELL`. `Payload exceeds the limit` — Too many token IDs in a single request.

GET midpoint

`Invalid token id` — The `token_id` parameter is missing or invalid. `No orderbook exists for the requested token id`

POST midpoints

`Invalid payload` — The request body is malformed or missing required fields. `Payload exceeds the limit` — Too many token IDs in a single request.

GET spread

`Invalid token id` — The `token_id` parameter is missing or invalid. `No orderbook exists for the requested token id`

POST spreads

`Invalid payload` — The request body is malformed or missing required fields. `Payload exceeds the limit` — Too many token IDs in a single request.

---

Place Orders

Errors from order placement endpoints.

POST order

`Invalid order payload` — The request body is malformed, missing required fields, or contains invalid values. `the order owner has to be the owner of the API KEY` — The `maker` address in the order doesn't match the address associated with your API key. `the order signer address has to be the address of the API KEY` `'{address}' address banned` — This address has been banned from trading. `'{address}' address in closed only mode`

POST orders

All errors from POST /order apply, plus:

`Too many orders in payload: {N}, max allowed: {M}` — The batch contains more orders than the maximum allowed per request.

Per-order errors are returned in the 200 response array, with individual error messages for each failed order.

---

Order Processing Errors

These errors are returned when an order passes initial validation but fails during processing. They appear in the response body of POST /order and POST /orders.

`invalid post-only order: order crosses book` — A post-only (maker) order would immediately match. Adjust the price so it rests on the book. `order {id} is invalid. Price ({price}) breaks minimum tick size rule: {tick}` — The order price doesn't align with the market's tick size. Use [`GET /tick-size`](/api-reference/clob#get-tick-size) to check the valid tick size. `order {id} is invalid. Size ({size}) lower than the minimum: {min}` — The order size is below the market minimum. `order {id} is invalid. Duplicated.` `order {id} crosses the book` `not enough balance / allowance` — Insufficient pUSD balance or token allowance. Check your balance with [`GET /balance-allowance`](/api-reference/clob#get-balance-allowance) and approve the exchange contract if needed. `invalid expiration` — The order expiration timestamp is in the past or invalid. `order canceled in the CTF exchange contract` `order match delayed due to market conditions` `order couldn't be fully filled. FOK orders are fully filled or killed.` — A Fill-or-Kill order could not be completely filled by available liquidity. The entire order is rejected. `no orders found to match with FAK order. FAK orders are partially filled or killed if no match is found.` — A Fill-and-Kill order found no matching orders at all. At least one match is required. `the market is not yet ready to process new orders`

---

Matching Engine Errors

Internal matching engine errors that may surface during order execution.

The matching engine is restarting. Retry with exponential backoff. See [Matching Engine](/trading/matching-engine) for details on restart schedule and handling. `there are no matching orders` `FOK orders are filled or killed` — A Fill-or-Kill order could not be fully satisfied. `the trade contains rounding issues` `the price of the taker's order has a discrepancy greater than allowed with the worst maker order`

---

Cancel Orders

Errors from order cancellation endpoints.

DELETE order

`Invalid order payload` — The request body is malformed. `Invalid orderID` — The provided order ID is not a valid format.

DELETE orders

`Invalid order payload` — The request body is malformed. `Too many orders in payload, max allowed: {N}` — Too many order IDs in a single cancellation request. `Invalid orderID` — One or more order IDs are not valid.

DELETE cancel-market-orders

`Invalid order payload` — The request body is malformed or contains invalid filter parameters.

---

Query Orders

Errors from order query endpoints.

GET order by ID

`Invalid orderID` — The order ID in the URL path is not valid. `Internal server error` — An unexpected error occurred while fetching the order.

GET orders

`invalid order params payload` — The query parameters are malformed or contain invalid values. `Internal server error` — An unexpected error occurred while fetching orders.

---

Trades

GET trades

`Invalid trade params payload` — The query parameters are malformed or contain invalid values. `Internal server error` — An unexpected error occurred while fetching trades.

GET last-trade-price

`Invalid token id` — The `token_id` parameter is missing or invalid. `Internal server error` — An unexpected error occurred while fetching the last trade price.

POST last-trades-prices

`Invalid payload` — The request body is malformed or missing required fields. `Payload exceeds the limit` — Too many token IDs in a single request.

---

Markets

GET market by condition ID

`Invalid market` — The condition ID is not a valid format. `market not found` — No market exists with this condition ID.

GET tick-size

`Invalid token id` — The token ID is not valid. `market not found` — No market found for this token ID.

GET neg-risk

`Invalid token id` — The token ID is not valid. `market not found` — No market found for this token ID.

---

Price History

GET prices-history

Filter validation errors — One or more query parameters (`market`, `startTs`, `endTs`, `fidelity`) are invalid.

GET ohlc

`startTs is required` — The `startTs` query parameter is missing. `asset_id is required` — The `asset_id` query parameter is missing. `invalid fidelity: {val}` — The `fidelity` parameter must be one of: `1m`, `5m`, `15m`, `30m`, `1h`, `4h`, `1d`, `1w`. `limit cannot exceed 1000` — Reduce the `limit` parameter to 1000 or below.

GET orderbook-history

`startTs is required` — The `startTs` query parameter is missing. `either market or asset_id must be provided` — You must specify either a `market` (condition ID) or `asset_id` (token ID). `limit cannot exceed 1000` — Reduce the `limit` parameter to 1000 or below.

---

Authentication and API Keys

POST auth api-key

`Invalid L1 Request headers` — L1 authentication headers are missing or invalid. `Could not create api key`

GET auth api-keys

`Could not retrieve API keys` — An unexpected error occurred while fetching your API keys.

DELETE auth api-key

`Could not delete API key` — An unexpected error occurred while deleting the API key.

GET auth derive-api-key

`Invalid L1 Request headers` — L1 authentication headers are missing or invalid. `Could not derive api key!`

---

Builder API Keys

POST auth builder-api-key

`could not create builder api key` — Builder API key creation failed.

GET auth builder-api-key

`could not get builder api keys` — An unexpected error occurred while fetching builder API keys.

DELETE auth builder-api-key

`invalid revoke builder api key body` — The request body is malformed. `invalid revoke builder api key headers` — Required authentication headers are missing. `could not revoke the builder api key: {key}` — An unexpected error occurred while revoking the key.

---

Builder Trades

GET builder trades

`invalid builder trade params` — The query parameters are malformed or contain invalid values. `could not fetch builder trades` — An unexpected error occurred while fetching builder trades.

---

Balance and Allowance

GET balance-allowance

`Invalid asset type` — The `asset_type` parameter is not a recognized asset type. `Invalid signature_type` — The `signature_type` parameter must be `EOA`, `POLY_PROXY`, or `GNOSIS_SAFE`.

---

Status Code Reference

Status	Meaning	Common Causes
400	Bad Request	Invalid parameters, malformed payload, business logic violation
401	Unauthorized	Missing or invalid API key, bad HMAC signature, expired timestamp
404	Not Found	Market doesn't exist, order not found, token ID not recognized
425	Too Early	Matching engine is restarting — retry with backoff. See Matching Engine
429	Too Many Requests	Rate limit exceeded — implement exponential backoff
500	Internal Server Error	Unexpected server error — retry with backoff
503	Service Unavailable	Exchange paused or in cancel-only mode

The CLOB API has an internal override: any error message containing `"not found"` returns `404`, `"unauthorized"` returns `401`, and `"context canceled"` returns `400`, regardless of the original status code.