Troubleshoot Job Update API errors

Common Job Update API errors and how to resolve them.

 

How to detect errors

The Job Update API returns errors as GraphQL responses. Most errors return HTTP 200 with error details in the response body.

Always check the errors array in the response body, even with HTTP 200:

{
  "data": null,
  "errors": [{
    "message": "Error description",
    "extensions": {
      "code": "FORBIDDEN"
    }
  }]
}

The extensions.code field contains the error type (such as FORBIDDEN, BAD_USER_INPUT, NOT_FOUND).

FORBIDDEN error

FORBIDDEN error

code	FORBIDDEN
Summary	The access token lacks permissions for the requested operation. The message field describes the specific cause.

Advertiser is in a restricted moderation status

{
  "errors": [{
    "extensions": {
      "code": "FORBIDDEN",
      "message": "Advertiser is in a restricted moderation status"
    }
  }]
}

The advertiser associated with the OAuth token has been restricted as a spam protection measure.

To resolve:

1. Contact your partner manager to lift the restriction.

You are missing permissions for this action

{
  "errors": [{
    "extensions": {
      "code": "FORBIDDEN",
      "message": "You are missing permissions for this action. Ask your administrator for the permissions [Hosted_Job Create, Hosted_Job Update, Hosted_Job Read]"
    }
  }]
}

The user associated with the OAuth token does not have the necessary permissions to update jobs.

To resolve:

1. Verify that the OAuth client was created with an admin user.
2. Grant Hosted_Job Create, Hosted_Job Update, and Hosted_Job Read permissions to the user associated with the OAuth client. Any admin user can grant this permission. See Indeed account settings.

Advertiser is requesting an update to a job claimed by a different advertiser

{
  "errors": [{
    "extensions": {
      "code": "FORBIDDEN",
      "message": "Advertiser is requesting an update to EJ (id=<EJID>), but the job is claimed by a different advertiser."
    }
  }]
}

Another advertiser already updated this job. Only one advertiser can update a job at a time.

To resolve:

1. Verify the OAuth token was requested with the correct advertiser.
2. If another advertiser updated the job, use the clear job posting updates mutation.

This can occur when:

• The agency has access to the job from more than one advertiser. After updating the job from one advertiser, updating from a different advertiser causes this error.
• The employer edited the job in the UI. The employer must undo these edits in the UI before the agency can update the job through the API.

UNAUTHENTICATED error

UNAUTHENTICATED error

code	UNAUTHENTICATED
Summary	The OAuth token has expired or is malformed.

{
  "errors": [{
    "extensions": {
      "code": "UNAUTHENTICATED"
    }
  }]
}

To resolve:

1. Verify the OAuth token has not expired (tokens are valid for 1 hour).
2. Request a new access token.
3. See Troubleshoot OAuth errors for detailed resolution steps.

BAD_USER_INPUT error

BAD_USER_INPUT error

code	BAD_USER_INPUT
Summary	The request is malformed. See the message field for details.

{
  "errors": [{
    "extensions": {
      "code": "BAD_USER_INPUT"
    }
  }]
}

To resolve:

1. Check the message field for details about which field is invalid.
2. Verify the request fields are correctly formatted.
3. See API references for examples of correctly formatted requests:
   • findEmployerJobsPartner
   • updateSourcedJobPostings
   • clearSourcedJobPostingUpdates

NOT_FOUND error

NOT_FOUND error

code	NOT_FOUND
Summary	The job is not found.

{
  "errors": [{
    "extensions": {
      "code": "NOT_FOUND"
    }
  }]
}

To resolve:

1. Verify the sourcedPostingId is correct.
2. Verify the OAuth token is requested with the correct advertiser. If the requesting advertiser does not have permission to view the job, this error occurs.

DOWNSTREAM_SERVICE_ERROR or INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR

DOWNSTREAM_SERVICE_ERROR

code	DOWNSTREAM_SERVICE_ERROR or INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR
Summary	An internal server error occurred.

{
  "errors": [{
    "extensions": {
      "code": "DOWNSTREAM_SERVICE_ERROR"
    }
  }]
}

To resolve:

1. Retry the request later.
2. If the error persists, contact your partner manager.

Retry strategy

Retryable errors

Error	Retryable?	Strategy
DOWNSTREAM_SERVICE_ERROR	Yes	Exponential backoff
INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR	Yes	Exponential backoff
UNAUTHENTICATED (expired token)	Yes	Refresh token, then retry once
FORBIDDEN	No	Fix permissions
BAD_USER_INPUT	No	Fix the request
NOT_FOUND	No	Verify the sourcedPostingId and advertiser

Get support

If you encounter issues not covered in this guide:

1. Check the GraphQL error message and extensions object.
2. Verify all required fields are present and correctly formatted.
3. Test with minimal input first, then add fields incrementally.
4. Contact your Indeed representative.

See also:

• Troubleshoot GraphQL errors
• Troubleshoot OAuth errors
• Error reference

 

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