Unprocessable entity
PayPal cannot process your request because it is incorrect or fails business rules. The issues below can cause an UNPROCESSABLE_ENTITY error.
If an issue persists or you have further questions, contact PayPal support.
CARD_EXPIRED
Returns from the PayPal Orders v2 or Payments v1 APIs.
| Cause | Impact | Resolution |
|---|---|---|
| - You tried to pay with an expired card. - An expired card cannot be used for payments. - The payer must use a different card or payment method. | PayPal stops the payment. The payer cannot finish the purchase. This can cause lost sales. | - Show an error message that the card is expired. - Ask the payer to use a different card or payment method. - Help the payer switch payment methods and finish the payment. |
DUPLICATE_INVOICE_ID
Returns from the Payments v1 or Orders v2 APIs.
| Cause | Impact | Resolution |
|---|---|---|
| - You used the same invoice ID for more than one transaction. - Each transaction needs a unique invoice_id. - You may have reused the same order_id for a new transaction. - PayPal needs a unique invoice_id for each order. | PayPal stops the payment. The payer cannot finish the purchase. This can cause lost sales. | - Use a different value for the invoice_id.- If you must use the same invoice_id and keep seeing this error, contact PayPal support. - Set up IPNs or webhooks to avoid duplicate capture calls and keep things running smoothly. |
ORDER_ALREADY_AUTHORIZED
Returns from the Payments v2 or Orders v2 APIs.
| Cause | Impact | Resolution |
|---|---|---|
| - You already authorized this PayPal order. - You can only authorize an order once with intent="AUTHORIZE". - Duplicate requests may happen if you missed the first response. - Network issues or delays may cause missed responses. | PayPal declines the second authorization. You cannot split the authorization into parts. | - Authorize the full order amount in one request, then make multiple captures if needed. - Set final_capture="false" in capture requests for split shipments. - Use PayPal webhooks to track order status. - If your API call times out, contact PayPal support. |
ORDER_ALREADY_CAPTURED
Returns from the Orders v2 API.
| Cause | Impact | Resolution |
|---|---|---|
| - You already captured this order. Payment is complete. - You can only capture an order once with intent="SALE". - Duplicate requests may happen if you missed the first capture response. | If you only captured part of the amount, you cannot capture the rest unless you create a new order. - If you meant to capture once, there is no payer impact. | - Use intent="AUTHORIZE" if you need to capture more than once. - For single captures, make sure you record the API response to avoid duplicates. - Use PayPal webhooks to track payment status. |
ORDER_NOT_APPROVED
Returns from the Payments v1 or Orders v2 APIs.
| Cause | Impact | Resolution |
|---|---|---|
| - The payer did not approve the payment. - The request may not include a valid payment_source. | PayPal declines the payment. The payment does not go through. This can delay the purchase. | - Send the payer to the approval URL (rel:approve) from the Create Order call. - Make sure the request includes a valid payment_source. |
PAYEE_NOT_ENABLED_FOR_CARD_PROCESSING
Returns from the Orders v2 API.
| Cause | Impact | Resolution |
|---|---|---|
| - The payee's account is not set up to take card payments. - The payee has not finished onboarding for PayPal Complete Payments. | PayPal stops the payment. The payer cannot finish the purchase. This can cause lost sales. - All customers trying to pay this payee will see this error. | - Make sure the payee finished onboarding and enabled card payments. - If the payee manages onboarding, ask them to contact PayPal to turn on card payments. |
REDIRECT_PAYER_FOR_ALTERNATE_FUNDING
Returns from the Payments v1 or Orders v2 APIs.
| Cause | Impact | Resolution |
|---|---|---|
| - The payment failed because of a problem with the payer's chosen payment method. | PayPal stops the payment. The payer cannot finish the purchase. This can cause lost sales. | - Show an error message that the payment did not go through. - Send the payer to PayPal checkout to pick another payment method. - If the problem continues, ask the payer to use a different payment method or contact PayPal. |
REFERENCED_CARD_EXPIRED
Returns from the Orders v2 or Vault v3 APIs.
| Cause | Impact | Resolution |
|---|---|---|
| - The transaction uses a saved payment token, but the card is expired. - The payer must use a different card or payment method. | PayPal stops the payment. The payer cannot finish the purchase. This can cause lost sales. | - Turn on Real-Time Account Updater (RTAU) to keep card expiration dates up to date. - Show an error message if the saved card is expired. - Update the saved payment token after you get a new one. - Give the payer clear steps to finish the payment. |
SHIPPING_ADDRESS_INVALID
Returns from the Payments v1 or Orders v2 APIs.
| Cause | Impact | Resolution |
|---|---|---|
| - Some address fields are missing or incomplete. - The address format is wrong. - System issues prevent the address from being sent correctly. | PayPal declines the payment. The payment does not go through. This can delay the purchase. | - Check that all required address fields are filled in. - Use address validation tools to fix the format. - Make sure your system sends all address fields in the API request. |
TOKEN_ID_NOT_FOUND
Returns from the Payments v1 or Orders v2 APIs.
| Cause | Impact | Resolution |
|---|---|---|
| - PayPal does not recognize the token ID. - The token may be wrong, mistyped, or the caller does not have permission. | PayPal stops the payment. The payer cannot finish the purchase. This can cause lost sales. | - Make sure the receiving account gave the needed permissions. - Check that the token ID is correct. - If the token is wrong or expired, create a new token. |