Developer guide

API error handling

Handle AutoPostcode API errors cleanly. Understand status codes, validation errors and rate limits, and build robust retries and user-friendly fallbacks.

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Robust error handling keeps checkout flowing even when a request fails. Always offer a manual fallback.

Handling errors well

  • Map status codes to clear, friendly messages
  • Always allow manual address entry as a fallback
  • Retry transient 429/5xx errors with exponential backoff
  • Log failures server-side for monitoring and debugging

Related

Understand the limits that trigger 429s in rate limits, and inspect failures in webhooks & logs.

Next steps

See the full REST API reference for response shapes and testing & sandbox before going live.

Frequently asked questions

What error codes does the API return?

Standard HTTP status codes: 400 for invalid input, 401 for auth problems, 429 for rate limits and 5xx for service issues, each with a JSON message.

How should I handle errors in the UI?

Show a clear message, let users type the address manually as a fallback, and log the error server-side for monitoring.

Should I retry failed requests?

Retry transient 429 and 5xx errors with exponential backoff; do not retry 400 or 401 — fix the request or key instead.

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