# INVALID_JSON_FORMAT

The request body contains invalid JSON syntax.

<Callout type="info">
**Category:** [General](/errors/category/shared)
</Callout>

| | |
|---|---|
| HTTP status | `400` Bad Request |
| Retry | After fixing the cause |

## When it happens

The body could not be read: it is not valid JSON, or a property has the wrong type or format (a string where a number is expected, a date that does not parse). `error.details` names the `field`, the `invalid_value` and, where there is one, the `expected_format`.

## How to fix it

Validate the JSON and the types of the properties named in `error.details`. Dates go as `YYYY-MM-DD` and amounts as JSON numbers.

## Retry

Not as is: the same request fails the same way. Fix the cause described above, then send the request again, under a new `Idempotency-Key` if the body changed.

## Example response

When this error occurs, the API answers `400` Bad Request with a JSON body of this shape:

```json
{
  "type": "https://docs.beel.es/errors/INVALID_JSON_FORMAT",
  "title": "INVALID_JSON_FORMAT",
  "detail": "The request body contains invalid JSON syntax.",
  "instance": "/v1/<resource>",
  "errors": [],
  "success": false,
  "error": {
    "code": "INVALID_JSON_FORMAT",
    "message": "The request body contains invalid JSON syntax.",
    "details": {}
  },
  "meta": {
    "timestamp": "2026-05-21T10:00:00Z",
    "request_id": "4bf92f3577b34da6a3ce929d0e0e4736"
  }
}
```

The `type` URI is stable and always resolves to this page.

## Message

<Tabs items={["English", "Spanish", "Catalan"]}>
  <Tab value="English">{"The request body contains invalid JSON syntax."}</Tab>
  <Tab value="Spanish">{"El cuerpo de la petición contiene JSON con sintaxis inválida."}</Tab>
  <Tab value="Catalan">{"El cos de la petició conté JSON amb sintaxi invàlida."}</Tab>
</Tabs>

Send the request with `Accept-Language: <es|en|ca>` to receive the message in your preferred language.

## Other errors in this category

<div className="grid grid-cols-2 gap-3 not-prose">
  <Card title="AUTOMATIC_EMAIL_CONFIG_INVALID" description="For automatic sending, you must provide an email configuration or a client with email" href="/errors/AUTOMATIC_EMAIL_CONFIG_INVALID" />
  <Card title="BAD_REQUEST" description="The provided data is not valid." href="/errors/BAD_REQUEST" />
  <Card title="BUSINESS_RULE_VIOLATION" description="The operation breaks a business rule." href="/errors/BUSINESS_RULE_VIOLATION" />
  <Card title="CITY_EMPTY" description="City cannot be empty" href="/errors/CITY_EMPTY" />
  <Card title="CITY_MAX_LENGTH" description="City cannot exceed ‹value› characters" href="/errors/CITY_MAX_LENGTH" />
</div>

## Keep exploring

<div className="grid grid-cols-2 gap-3 not-prose">
  <Card title="All General errors" description="Every code in this category in one table." href="/errors/category/shared" />
  <Card title="Error reference home" description="Browse every category or jump to the handling guide." href="/errors" />
</div>

---

Full OpenAPI spec: https://docs.beel.es/api/openapi