Ads and Commerce

Error Handling

Updated: Jun 21, 2026
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Ads in WhatsApp Status are available via the Marketing API. Learn more about ads in WhatsApp Status.
API requests can return error responses. This guide explains what to expect in an error response.

Error response

The following represents a common error response resulting from a failed API request:
{
    "result": {
        "error": {
            ...
            "message": "<EXCEPTION_MESSAGE>",
            "code": <ERROR_CODE>,
            "error_subcode": <ERROR_SUBCODE>,
            "error_user_title": "<ERROR_TITLE>",
            "error_user_msg": "<ERROR_MESSAGE>",
            "fbtrace_id": "<REQUEST_ID>"
            ...
        }
    },
    "error_code": <ERROR_CODE>,
    "status": "FAILED",
    "exception": "<EXCEPTION_MESSAGE>",
    "id": "<ASYNC_SESSION_ID>"
}

Response parameters

Name Description
code
numeric
An error code. Same as error_code field. This code is not guaranteed to be unique.
For details, look at the corresponding API call’s error codes section.
error_code
numeric
An error code. Same as code field. This code is not guaranteed to be unique.
For details, look at the corresponding API call’s error codes section.
error_subcode
numeric
Based on the error that occurred, this field provides additional information about the error. The error_subcode field does not always appear in the response. If available then it is guaranteed to be unique.
For details, look at the corresponding API call’s error codes section.
error_user_msg
string
If error_subcode is available then this field provides an error message with contextual information.
For details, look at the corresponding API call’s error codes section.
error_user_title
string
If error_subcode is available then this field provides a short title about the error.
exception
string
A human-readable description of the error. Same as message field.
fbtrace_id
string
Internal support identifier. When reporting a bug related to a Graph API call, include the fbtrace_id to help us find log data for debugging.
id
numeric string
The ID of the asynchronous request.
Also known as the ASYNC_SESSION_ID.
message
string
A human-readable description of the error. Same as exception field.
status
enum string
The status of the async request. For a failed request, the value is always FAILED.

How to read an error response

Use the fields in the error object of the API error response to determine what went wrong:
  • If error_subcode is available, then use the error_user_msg field to get details about the error that occurred.
  • If only error_code is available, then use the exception OR message field to get details about the error that occurred.