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tier_insufficient

HTTP Status: 403 Forbidden

Example response

What happened?

You tried to use a feature that is not available on your current tier. This happens when:
  • Calling the batch validation endpoint on the Free tier (requires Pro or Business)

How to fix

  1. Upgrade your plan: Visit the Avatcado dashboard to upgrade to Pro or Business. The upgrade takes effect immediately.
  2. Use single validation instead: If you only need to validate a few VAT numbers and don’t want to upgrade, use the single GET /v1/validate endpoint which is available on all tiers.

Common mistakes

  • Assuming all endpoints are available on Free: Some features like batch validation are reserved for paid tiers
  • Using a test key and expecting different behavior: Tier restrictions apply to both live and test keys. A test key on a Free account still returns tier_insufficient for batch requests

Catching this error with the SDKs

  • unauthorized - API key is invalid or missing (different from tier restrictions)
  • rate_limit_exceeded - Monthly quota exhausted (different from tier gating)