---
title: "Get a contact"
method: GET
path: "/v1/contacts/{contact_id}"
tags: ["email-contacts"]
---

# Get a contact

`GET /v1/contacts/{contact_id}`

## Request

- Base URL: `https://us1.platform.bird.com`
- URL: `https://us1.platform.bird.com/v1/contacts/{contact_id}`
- Auth: one of:
  - HTTP bearer
  - API key in cookie `bird_session`

Returns a single contact, including its custom `data` values and the channels it can be reached on. To find a contact's ID by email address or `external_id`, use [List contacts](/docs/api/reference/list-contacts).

## Path parameters

- `contact_id` string, required

## Headers

- `X-Workspace-Id` string
- `X-Organization-Id` string

## Response `200`

The contact.

- Contact
  - `id` string, required
  - `email` string, email, nullable, required: The contact's email address, in its stored form, trimmed and lowercased before uniqueness is checked. Unique within the workspace. `null` when the contact has no email address.
  - `phone_number` string, nullable, required: The contact's phone number in normalized international form: a leading `+` and four to 15 digits. We normalize formatting but do not verify the number against numbering-plan metadata. The number is unique within the workspace. Because carriers recycle disconnected numbers, use `external_id` as the durable key for your own records. `null` when the contact has no phone number.
  - `first_name` string, nullable: The contact's first name. Available in broadcast templates as `bird.contact.first_name`.
  - `last_name` string, nullable: The contact's last name. Available in broadcast templates as `bird.contact.last_name`.
  - `external_id` string, nullable: Your own identifier for this contact, such as a user ID in your system. Unique within the workspace when set.
  - `data` object: Custom property values for this contact, available in broadcast templates as `bird.contact.<key>`. Each key is a property created via the contact properties API, and each value is a string, number, boolean, or RFC 3339 datetime matching the property's declared type (strings up to `500` characters). Total size is capped at 2 KB serialized. Values stored under a property that was later archived remain readable here.
  - `audiences` AudienceRef[]: The audiences this contact belongs to, most-recently-joined first. Only present when listing contacts; omitted from every other contact operation.
    - `id` string, required
    - `name` string, required: The audience's display name.
  - `created_at` string, date-time, required
  - `updated_at` string, date-time, required

## Other responses

- `400`: Bad request
- `401`: Authentication required
- `403`: Insufficient permissions
- `404`: Resource not found
- `422`: The request has invalid field values, violates a business rule, or carries a query parameter the endpoint does not declare. Field validation errors use `type: validation_error` and include the affected fields in `details`. Business-rule errors identify the failed rule in `type`.
- `429`: Rate limit exceeded
- `500`: Internal server error

---

[API](https://skmtc.dev/messagebird/apis/bird-api.md) · [All operations](https://skmtc.dev/messagebird/apis/bird-api/llms.txt) · [OpenAPI document](https://skmtc.dev/messagebird/apis/bird-api/revisions/6dfce1179799?raw)