Troubleshoot Send Candidates API errors

Common Send Candidates API errors and how to resolve them.

How to detect errors

The Send Candidates API returns errors in two contexts:

GraphQL responses — Most API errors return HTTP 200 with error details in the errors array.
S3 upload responses — File attachment uploads return S3-specific error codes.

Always check both the GraphQL errors array and S3 upload responses for failures.

Upload validation errors

S3 rejects file uploads that fail validation during the attachment upload step.

S3 upload validation errors
Error code	Cause	Resolution
`SignatureDoesNotMatch`	Missing or incorrect headers or content.	Verify that all headers match initialization values.
`BadDigest`	File content does not match the MD5 checksum.	Verify file integrity and checksum calculation.
`AccessDenied`	The pre-signed URL expired (URLs expire after 5 minutes).	Reinitialize the application to get a new URL.

Verify MD5 checksums

Pre-calculate the MD5 checksum before uploading to avoid BadDigest errors. The checksum must be base64-encoded.

JavaScript/Node.js:

const crypto = require('crypto');
const fs = require('fs');

function calculateMD5(filePath) {
  const fileBuffer = fs.readFileSync(filePath);
  const hash = crypto.createHash('md5');
  hash.update(fileBuffer);
  return hash.digest('base64');
}

Python:

import hashlib
import base64

def calculate_md5(file_path):
    with open(file_path, 'rb') as f:
        file_content = f.read()
    return base64.b64encode(
        hashlib.md5(file_content).digest()
    ).decode('ascii')

Application processing errors

After submission, applications might have processing errors. Monitor the processingStatus and errors fields in AtsSyncCandidateSyncApplicationVersionStatus to identify and resolve issues:

type AtsSyncCandidateSyncApplicationVersionStatus {
  processingStatus: AtsSyncCandidateSyncApplicationProcessingStatusType
  errors: [AtsSyncCandidateSyncApplicationErrorType!]
}

Common integration errors

Common integration errors
Scenario	Error	Resolution
Invalid Partner App	Invalid partner app configuration.	Contact your Indeed partner representative.
Invalid registration ID	The specified employer registration does not exist.	Verify the registration ID. See the Employer Registration API guide.
Employer not opted in	The employer registration does not have the send applications feature enabled.	Update employer features using the Employer Registration API.
GraphQL validation	Missing required fields.	Review schema requirements.
Large application files	The total size of all attachments must not exceed 15 MB.	Exclude non-essential or large files.
Duplicate application files	Attachments must not be duplicated.	Exclude duplicated files.
Multiple resumes	Include only one resume.	Use type `RESUME` for only one attachment. Use `OTHER_RESUME` for additional resumes.
Multiple cover letters	Include only one cover letter.	Use type `COVER_LETTER` for only one attachment.
Publishing deleted application	The application was already deleted.	Do not re-initialize or submit a deleted application.

Retry strategy

Retryable errors
Error	Retryable?	Strategy
Network timeout	Yes	Exponential backoff with jitter
HTTP 429 Too Many Requests	Yes	Wait for `Retry-After` header value
`AccessDenied` (expired URL)	Yes	Reinitialize the application, then retry upload
`SignatureDoesNotMatch`	No	Fix headers to match initialization values
`BadDigest`	No	Recalculate the MD5 checksum
Invalid Partner App	No	Contact Indeed

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