2007

Overview
Technical Details
16 April 2007 Name-Value Pair API Developer Guide and Reference
Error Responses
If the ACK value is Error or Warning, API response fields are not returned. An error response
has the following general format.
For possible causes of errors and how to correct them, see the explanation of the specific error
code, short message, and long message in Appendix B, “Error Message Reference.”
ACK Parameter Values
The following table lists values for the ACK parameter.
Posting Using HTTPS
Your web application posts the URL-encoded NVP string over an HTTPS connection to one of
the PayPal API servers. PayPal provides a live server and a Sandbox server that allows you to
process transactions in a test environment.
API Servers for API Signature Security
If you use an API signature, post the request to one of these servers:
Sandbox: https://api-3t.sandbox.paypal.com/nvp
Live: https://api-3t.paypal.com/nvp
API Servers for API Certificate Security
If you use an API certificate, post the request to one of these servers:
Sandbox: https://api.sandbox.paypal.com/nvp
Live: https://api.paypal.com/nvp
TABLE 1.6 Format of an Error Response
Response
Fields on Error
ACK=Error&TIMESTAMP=date/timeOfResponse&
CORRELATIONID=debuggingToken&VERSION=2.300000&
BUILD=buildNumber&L_ERRORCODE0=errorCode&
L_SHORTMESSAGE0=shortMessage
L_LONGMESSAGE0=longMessage
&L_SEVERITYCODE0=severityCode
Multiple errors can be returned.
Each set of errors has a different
numeric suffix, starting with 0
and incremented by one for each
error.
T
ABLE 1.7 ACK Parameter Values
Type of Response Value
Successful response Success
SuccessWithWarning
Error response Error
Warning