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unauthorized

HTTP Status: 401 Unauthorized

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Example response

{
  "error": {
    "code": "unauthorized",
    "message": "Invalid or missing API key",
    "docs_url": "https://docs.vatly.dev/errors/unauthorized"
  },
  "meta": {
    "request_id": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000"
  }
}

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What happened?

The API could not authenticate your request. This happens when:
  • No Authorization header is present
  • The header format is wrong (not Bearer <key>)
  • The API key doesn’t match any active key in the system
  • The API key has been revoked or deactivated

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How to fix

  1. Add the Authorization header with the Bearer scheme: 
    curl -H "Authorization: Bearer vtly_live_your_api_key" \
  "https://api.vatly.dev/v1/validate?vat_number=NL123456789B01"
  2. Check your key — Make sure you’re using the complete key, including the vtly_live_ prefix
  3. Generate a new key if you’ve lost your original — keys are stored as SHA-256 hashes and cannot be recovered

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Common mistakes

  • Missing Bearer prefix — Authorization: vtly_live_xxx won’t work, it must be Authorization: Bearer vtly_live_xxx
  • Extra whitespace — Check for trailing spaces or newlines in your key
  • Using a revoked key — If you’ve regenerated your key, the old one no longer works
  • Environment mismatch — Make sure you’re using the right key for the right environment