API Errors and Resending your Request

If your TINCheck response is delayed, do not resend the TINCheck request. These delays can be caused by several reasons such as delayed IRS service responses or the IRS service being temporarily unavailable. In any case, your request is still being processed. If you resend it, it will result in duplicate TINCheck requests in the API.

You only need to resend the request if you get an error message or an IRS status 1 response, which means your request will not be completed.

Duplicate requests from the same client will attempt to process until a successful IRS search result is received. If the IRS services are unavailable and clients continue to resend the same TIN/Name combination, TINCheck services will continue retrying the same requests to the IRS servers.

Follow these steps to resend a request:

1. Make a TINCheck request

2. If the request fails, pause before sending a new request

   1. If the request fails again, increase the pause duration (1 minute › 5 minutes › 15 minutes, etc.)

   2. If the status check returns other errors, pause for a shorter time, then restart from step 1

A “ResultCode 17” will contain the following details:

• HTTP Status: 200 (OK)

• TINNAME_DETAILS: IRS Tin/Name Validation temporarily unavailable

• TINNAME_CODE: 17

Note: IRS outages may be short, lasting only a few minutes caused by higher network traffic. They may also last for hours if they are a result of hardware or software failures at the IRS. We recommend starting with a one-minute pause, increasing with each subsequent IRS status unavailable result.