This page covers what an OSF receives when using the REST API in pull mode — submitting a request, then calling GET endpoints to check its status. This is the model used by our Postman collections.
There are two situations, with two different response shapes.
A. Synchronous validation errors (the request itself was rejected)
Returned immediately, on the call that submits the request (e.g. POST /requests/registrations, POST /requests/retrievals, POST /requests/files/url-uploads), when the input is malformed, mismatched, or unauthorized. HTTP status is 4xx.
Example request:
POST /requests/registrations
{
"operationCategory": "registration",
"documentKindCategory": "patent",
"documentNumber": "IB PCT/IB2026/098496",
"documentDate": "2026-02-08",
"dasAccessCode": "1234",
"email": "jjduffy@example.com",
"fileId": "US-bf5f35ff-2a94-4082-8c1c-02e321178232"
}
Example response (HTTP 400):
{
"code": "INVALID_INPUT_DATA",
"message": "Invalid input data or document",
"details": [
{ "code": -4, "message": "Mismatched access code: dasAccessCode: expected dasAccessCode=AB46" }
]
}
code is the error category (SUCCESS, INVALID_INPUT_DATA, OPERATION_FORBIDDEN, DAS_SYSTEM_ERROR, OPERATION_IN_PROGRESS, INVALID_TOKEN). details[] lists one or more specific reasons.
Message you will receive, per situation
| Situation | Message you will receive |
|---|---|
| Priority date doesn't match the registered one | "Mismatched priority filing date: documentDate: expected documentDate=2022-10-01" |
| Access code doesn't match | "Mismatched access code: dasAccessCode: expected dasAccessCode=AB46" |
| Both date and access code wrong | "Mismatched access code and priority filing date: dasAccessCode, documentDate: expected dasAccessCode=AB46, documentDate=2022-10-01" |
| documentKindCategory wrong (alone or combined) | "Mismatched document kind category: documentKindCategory=design: expected documentKindCategory=patent" |
| Priority date missing | "Missing priority filing date: documentDate" |
| Access code missing | "Missing access code: dasAccessCode" |
| Access code fails format/checksum check | "Invalid access code: dasAccessCode: expected dasAccessCode=AB46" |
| documentDate not a valid date | "Invalid priority filing date: documentDate: expected documentDate=2022-10-01" |
| Document not registered | "The requested document is not registered in the system: documentNumber=US64/282,001, documentKindCategory=patent" |
| Other field mismatch (generic) | "Mismatched input value: documentKindCategory: expected documentKindCategory=patent" |
| Invalid file format on upload | "Invalid document file format: fileFormatCategory=jpg: expected fileFormatCategory=pdf,zip" |
| Required field missing on upload | "Missing required field: fileChecksum" |
Note: when the access code you supplied is incorrect, the response will not reveal the correct value, for security reasons — you will only see the field name, not the "expected" value.
B. Asynchronous status polling (the request was accepted; you're checking what happened to it)
Covers GET .../requests/retrievals/statuses, GET .../requests/registrations (record), and the bulk recorded-requests list. These return HTTP 200 even when the underlying operation failed or is still pending — the result is only visible in the body, via requestStatusCategory and requestStatusMessage. There is no numeric error code on this channel.
Example request:
GET /requests/retrievals/statuses?requestAckId=USIB20260101010101
Example response — pending:
{
"requestAckId": "USIB20260101010101",
"requestStatusCategory": "pending",
"requestStatusMessage": "awaiting off response"
}
Example response — error:
{
"requestAckId": "USIB20260101010101",
"requestStatusCategory": "error",
"requestStatusMessage": "unmatched access code"
}
Values you may see (retrieval)
requestStatusCategory | requestStatusMessage |
|---|---|
success | — |
error | — |
pending | pending |
success | delivered |
success | File is ready for download |
pending | awaiting off response |
error | document awaiting security clearance |
error | document number not available |
error | document incomplete |
error | unmatched document date |
error | unmatched access code |
error | unmatched document date and access code |
error | invalid document details |
Values you may see (registration)
requestStatusCategory | requestStatusMessage |
|---|---|
document registered | document registered successfully |
document not registered | document not registered |
registration - recorded | registration - recorded |
success | success |
pending | — |
registration - withdrawn | registration - withdrawn |
Retrieval failures from a hosted OFF: legacy TDA/PDX code vs. the message you will actually receive
When the failure comes from a hosted Office of First Filing, the requestStatusMessage you see on this poll depends on which protocol that office uses to answer. The table below matches each legacy TDA/PDX code to the message you receive today (office still on TDA/PDX) and the message you can expect once that office migrates to the newer REST interface (see 5.1.1.- Responses from OFF to DAS (TDA/PDX codes) for the full legacy-code reference, and 5.1.2.- Responses from DAS to OSF via notification endpoint for the equivalent on the push-notification channel).
| TDA/PDX code | Legacy meaning | requestStatusMessage today (office on TDA/PDX) | requestStatusMessage after the office migrates to REST |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 / 14 / 15 | Successful / Registered / Updated | (none — requestStatusCategory: success) | ready for download → delivered |
| 1 | Application number provided was not found | APPLICATION NUMBER NOT FOUND | document number not available |
| 2 | File is not available (security clearance not granted) | FILE WAS NOT AVAILABLE (REQUESTED APPLICATION EXISTS BUT IS NOT CLEARED FOR DISSEMINATION, e.g. security) | document awaiting security clearance |
| 3 | Documents was not found (incomplete set) | DOCUMENT(S) WAS NOT AVAILABLE (COMPLETE SET OF REQUIRED DOCUMENTS FOR CERTIFIED COPY IS NOT AVAILABLE) | document incomplete |
| 5 | Not published, no authorization to permit access filed | ACCESS NOT AUTHORIZED | document awaiting security clearance |
| 7 | Oversize document, CD will be mailed | (no message available today) | (no longer applicable — large files use presigned-URL upload/download) |
| 11 | Das Access Code invalid | INVALID DATA | unmatched access code |
| 12 | Request under processing, response sent later | (no message available today) | awaiting off response |
| 16 | Das Access Code and Priority Date did not match | MISMATCH ACCESS CODE AND PRIORITY FILING DATE | unmatched document date and access code |
| 17 | Priority Date did not match | MISMATCH PRIORITY FILING DATE OR ACCESS CODE | unmatched document date |
| 18 | Das Access Code did not match | MISMATCH ACCESS CODE | unmatched access code |
| 19 | Priority Date was not provided by OFF | MISSING PRIORITY FILING DATE | invalid document details |
| -1 | System not available, scheduled downtime | (no message available today) | Reported as a system error rather than a status message |
| -2 | System not available, back-end problem | (no message available today) | Reported as a system error rather than a status message |
Quick reference
| Field you see | Where it's documented |
|---|---|
code, details[].code, details[].message (HTTP 4xx on submission) | This page, section A |
requestStatusCategory, requestStatusMessage (HTTP 200 on poll) | This page, section B |
errorCode, statusMessage (push notification body) | 5.1.2.- Responses from DAS to OSF via notification endpoint |
| Legacy TDA/PDX numeric code, and its REST migration mapping | 5.1.1.- Responses from OFF to DAS (TDA/PDX codes) |