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

# Errors

> Learn about the error codes and messages that Moderation API returns.

Moderation API uses conventional HTTP response codes to indicate the success or failure of an API request. In general: Codes in the 2xx range indicate success. Codes in the 4xx range indicate an error that failed given the information provided (e.g., a required parameter was omitted or is formatted incorrectly, etc.). Codes in the 5xx range indicate an error with Moderation API's servers.

| Error Code | Meaning                                                                                                                  |
| ---------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| 400        | Bad Request -- The request was unacceptable, often due to missing a required parameter.                                  |
| 401        | Unauthorized -- No valid API key provided.                                                                               |
| 403        | Forbidden -- The API key doesn't have permissions to perform the request, or your quota is used and you need to upgrade. |
| 404        | Not Found -- The specified resource could not be found.                                                                  |
| 405        | Method Not Allowed -- You tried to access a resource with an invalid method.                                             |
| 429        | Too Many Requests -- See [rate limits](/api-reference/rate-limits)                                                       |
| 500        | Internal Server Error -- We had a problem with our server. Try again later.                                              |
| 503        | Service Unavailable -- We're temporarily offline for maintenance. Please try again later.                                |

## Response signature

Error responses are returned with a JSON object with the following signature:

<ResponseField name="code" type="string" required>
  The error code. `BAD_REQUEST`, `UNAUTHORIZED`, `FORBIDDEN`, `NOT_FOUND`,
  `METHOD_NOT_ALLOWED`, `TOO_MANY_REQUESTS`, `INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR`,
  `SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE`
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="message" type="string" required>
  A human-readable message providing more details about the error.
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="issues" type="array">
  An array of issues that caused the error. For example input fields that are
  invalid.
</ResponseField>

## Handling errors

Our API can return errors for many reasons, such as a authentication errors, and network unavailability. We recommend writing code that gracefully handles all possible API errors to avoid making your own service unavailable.