Errors

The API returns descriptive error messages when a request is rejected. Use the HTTP status and response body to decide whether to retry or correct the request.

Service Unavailable

The API returns 503 Service Unavailable for temporary overload or a response timeout on operations that support safe retries.

{
  "status": "err",
  "error": "service_unavailable"
}

Transient Overload (`503`)

A 503 does not prove that the request did not execute. A load-shed rejection happens before dispatch, but an engine response timeout can occur after the request was admitted.

Operation	Retry Action
Reads and idempotent state updates, such as setting leverage	Retry with backoff.
Signed balance changes, such as isolated-margin adjustments, withdrawals, or internal transfers	Resend only the exact original signed request. Do not generate a new signature, salt, or timestamp.

Honor Retry-After when present; its value is a delay in whole seconds.
Batch endpoints return a one-element array for a whole-request rejection.
A 500 with internal_error can indicate an unexpected failure or an indeterminate outcome. Follow the operation’s recovery guidance before retrying.

Recover an Isolated-Margin Adjustment

For PATCH /v1/trade/margin, amt is a signed delta, not a replacement balance. After a 503, retry only the exact original signed payload. A newly signed request is a separate adjustment and can apply the delta again. A signature_already_used rejection means the original signed request was ingested; it does not confirm that the adjustment succeeded. Its decision may still be pending or may have rejected the adjustment. GET /v1/account/portfolio reports committed state without a per-request outcome. Neither an unchanged balance nor a matching delta proves what happened: the request may still be pending, or another adjustment may explain the change. Do not sign another adjustment for the same account until the original outcome has been confirmed out of band. No public endpoint currently reports that request’s terminal outcome.

Order Placement Errors

Error	Condition
`invalid signature`	EIP-712 signature verification or timestamp failed
`signature expired`	Signature older than 5 minutes
`account not found for proxy`	Signer proxy not linked to any account
`no orders provided`	Empty order array
`FOK orders cannot be post-only`	FOK + `post_only=true`
`IOC orders cannot be post-only`	IOC + `post_only=true`
`GTC orders require a price`	GTC without price
`price cannot be zero`	Price = 0
`client order id cannot be all zeros`	Client order ID is all zeros
`price exceeds allowed decimal places`	Too many decimal places in price
`price exceeds allowed significant figures`	More than 5 significant figures in price
`quantity must be positive`	Quantity is zero or negative
`quantity exceeds allowed decimal places`	Too many decimal places in quantity
`quantity exceeds allowed significant figures`	More than 5 significant figures in quantity
`command expired`	`exp` is at or before the current server time

An exp more than 5 seconds ahead is not an error: the server clamps the command-processing deadline to 5 seconds from arrival. Earlier versions rejected it with command expiry too far in future; that error is retired.

Modify Order Errors

Modify Order returns one result per requested order. A rejected modification does not change the live order, although a separately processed fill or cancellation can still change its state.

Error	Condition
`modify_already_pending`	Another modification for the same order is still in progress.
`modify_no_op`	The requested price and total quantity equal the live order values.
`modify_limit_reached`	The order has already reached 10,000 successful modifications.
`modify_would_cross`	The modified order would lock or cross the live opposite best price.
`duplicate_order_in_batch`	An earlier item in the same batch resolved to the same order ID.
`order_not_modifiable`	The order is not an eligible standalone resting GTC limit order.
`order_has_tpsl`	The order is a TP/SL leg or has attached or order-scoped TP/SL.
`modify_quantity_not_above_filled`	The requested new total quantity is less than or equal to the live cumulative fill.
`order_unknown`	The client order ID does not resolve to an order owned by the account.
`order_not_in_orderbook`	The order ID is unknown, terminal, owned by another account, or otherwise not disclosable.
`order_in_flight`	The order is still in creation or taker delay and is not yet resting.
`invalid_command`	A per-item price, quantity, or notional validation failed before sequencing.

Shared account, instrument, margin, position, reduce-only, and rate-limit errors can also reject a modification under the same conditions as a new order.

Order Cancellation Errors

A cancel sent while an order is awaiting risk checks succeeds immediately, unless the account is being liquidated. The canceled order will not enter the order book. A cancel sent while the order’s accept is still on its way to the matching engine does not fail: the exchange holds one such cancel, applies it as soon as the accept completes, and answers with the final outcome — success once the order is removed, or order_already_terminal if the order filled or was rejected first. If the exchange disables this behavior, is in cancel-only maintenance mode, or the account is being liquidated, such a cancel returns order_in_flight instead.

Error	Condition
`order_not_found`	Order doesn’t exist
`order_not_pending_engine`	An earlier cancel for the same order is already queued or in flight
`order_not_in_orderbook`	Order is not in the active book
`order_in_flight`	Order is not yet cancellable: in taker delay, the account is being liquidated, or acceptance is in flight while held cancels are disabled or cancel-only mode is active
`order_already_terminal`	Order filled, was canceled, or was rejected before this cancel

Auto-Cancel Errors

Returned when arming the auto-cancel switch with PATCH /v1/trade/auto-cancel. Disarming skips these checks and is always allowed. A deadline already in the past is rejected earlier with a plain 400 message.

Error	Condition
`auto_cancel_deadline_too_soon`	Deadline is less than 5 seconds in the future
`auto_cancel_daily_limit_reached`	Account already triggered auto-cancel the maximum number of times this UTC day
`auto_cancel_in_flight`	A previous trigger is still cancelling the account’s open orders

auto_cancel_in_flight is transient. Arming succeeds once the engine finishes the earlier cancellation.

Update Leverage Errors

Returned when a leverage or margin-mode update is rejected. Leverage must be positive; a zero leverage is rejected earlier with a plain 400 validation message. A disabled instrument is not rejected merely because it is disabled.

Error	Condition
`instrument_not_found`	The instrument ID has never been listed
`invalid_leverage`	The requested leverage exceeds the instrument’s maximum
`position_exists`	A margin-mode switch was requested while a position is open in the instrument
`open_orders_exist`	A margin-mode switch was requested while orders exist in the instrument, including orders awaiting risk approval or execution
`blp_leverage_locked`	The account is subscribed to the Backstop Liquidity Provider program for the instrument, even if the update re-submits the unchanged pair; unsubscribe before pinning or changing its configuration

Market Retirement Errors

instrument_close_only — user orders must be reduce-only while this market is in close-only mode.
instrument_settled — the market is permanently settled and cannot accept new trading work.
settlement_price_unavailable — settlement lacks a complete, fresh 30-minute index-price window.
settlement_insurance_insufficient — the insurance fund cannot cover eligible deficits while meeting its remaining obligations.
settlement_invalid_state — the current state cannot be settled safely, including less than 30 continuous minutes of close-only, inconsistent exposure, or work above the operation’s bound. Investigate before retrying.

Delisting cancellation statuses

Order updates can report these statuses after an operator changes a market:

Status	Meaning
`instrument_close_only`	The order was canceled because it could increase exposure after close-only mode began.
`instrument_settled`	The order was canceled because the instrument was permanently settled and delisted.

Settlement is an admin action. Clients receive the resulting order and position updates.

Isolated Margin Adjustment Errors

These stable identifiers are returned when an isolated margin adjustment is rejected after sequencing. Gateway signature validation can reject a stale or future-skewed timestamp earlier as invalid signature; that request never reaches sequencing.

Error	Condition
`position_not_found`	The target open position does not exist
`invalid_margin_mode`	The target position is not using isolated margin
`invalid_margin_amount`	The amount is zero, over-precise, or cannot be represented safely
`insufficient_margin`	An addition exceeds available, unreserved collateral
`account_liquidating`	Cross liquidation is active, or the target isolated position is liquidating
`margin_below_required_initial`	A removal would leave position equity below current required initial margin
`invalid_margin_signature_timestamp`	Sequencer found the timestamp over five minutes old or one minute ahead
`signature_already_used`	The exact signed margin request has already been ingested

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Service Unavailable

Transient Overload (`503`)

Recover an Isolated-Margin Adjustment

Order Placement Errors

Modify Order Errors

Order Cancellation Errors

Auto-Cancel Errors

Update Leverage Errors

Market Retirement Errors

Delisting cancellation statuses

Isolated Margin Adjustment Errors

​Service Unavailable

​Transient Overload (503)

​Recover an Isolated-Margin Adjustment

​Order Placement Errors

​Modify Order Errors

​Order Cancellation Errors

​Auto-Cancel Errors

​Update Leverage Errors

​Market Retirement Errors

​Delisting cancellation statuses

​Isolated Margin Adjustment Errors

Service Unavailable

Transient Overload (`503`)

Recover an Isolated-Margin Adjustment

Order Placement Errors

Modify Order Errors

Order Cancellation Errors

Auto-Cancel Errors

Update Leverage Errors

Market Retirement Errors

Delisting cancellation statuses

Isolated Margin Adjustment Errors