verify-verifications

Create a verification

Creates a verification and sends the recipient a one-time passcode. Provide an email address, a phone number, or both in to. The service sends over one channel at a time and moves to the next planned channel if delivery fails.

Calling this again for the same recipient reuses the verification in progress. During the resend cooldown, it returns the current state without sending, so nothing is charged and no send budget is spent. After the cooldown, it sends a fresh passcode, and that send draws on the recipient's hourly send cap exactly as a new verification does, so repeated resends can exhaust the cap and return 429 for the rest of that rolling hour. Abuse guardrails gives the figures.

The 200 response contains the current state, never the passcode. Submit the recipient's passcode with Check a verification before expires_at. An invalid recipient returns 422; exceeding the send rate limit returns 429.

post/v1/verify/verifications

Request

  • Base URL: https://us1.platform.bird.com
  • URL: https://us1.platform.bird.com/v1/verify/verifications
  • Auth: one of:
    • HTTP bearer
    • API key in cookie bird_session

Headers

Idempotency-Keystring

Client-supplied key. On operations supporting request deduplication, a retained response is replayed for duplicate requests with the same key within the idempotency window (3 hours by default). This protection requires a workspace, organization, or staff-account scope. User-only and unscoped unauthenticated operations, streams, and operations with a separate replay contract do not use this response replay.

On a supported operation, if idempotency protection is unavailable before execution, the API returns 503 IdempotencyUnavailable (E01033) without executing this attempt. Retry with backoff using the same key and request. An operation that takes effect before its response is retained can still execute again on retry.

Two distinct 409 errors signal misuse:

  • request_in_progress (E01004): The same key is currently being processed by a concurrent request. Wait briefly and retry. The lock expires within 30 seconds.
  • idempotency_key_reuse (E01005): The same key has already completed against a different request body or method. Generate a new key.

Recommended key format is <event-type>/<entity-id> (for example welcome-user/usr_abc123).

X-Workspace-Idstring

Workspace context for the request. Required for dashboard authentication and master keys. Workspace keys and access tokens already identify their workspace; send that workspace or omit the header. A different one is rejected.

X-Organization-Idstring

Organization context for the request. Required for dashboard authentication. An API key or access token carries its own organization, so send either that organization or no header at all; a different one is rejected.

Request body

metadataobject

Optional key/value pairs to attach to the verification, for example a correlation id. Returned on the verification.

Example request

{
  "to": {
    "phone_number": "+15551234567"
  },
  "metadata": {
    "correlation_id": "signup-7f3a"
  }
}

Response

The verification's current state, whether newly opened or reused.

idstring required
status'pending' | 'verified' | 'failed' | 'expired' | 'canceled' | 'blocked' required

The verification's current state:

  • pending: Awaiting a correct passcode.
  • verified: A correct passcode was submitted.
  • failed: The verification cannot be completed. Either too many incorrect passcodes were submitted, or no planned channel could deliver one. Read reason to tell those apart.
  • expired: The validity window elapsed before a correct passcode.
  • canceled: The verification was canceled before completion.
  • blocked: A fraud or abuse control stopped the verification.
reasonstring

Why a verification session reached its final state without succeeding: attempts_exhausted (too many incorrect passcodes), ttl_elapsed (the time window elapsed before a correct passcode), or undeliverable (no planned channel could deliver a passcode, so the recipient never had one to submit). Open enum: new reasons may be added over time, so treat any unrecognized value as a future reason rather than an error.

last_channelstring nullable

The channel the most recent passcode was sent on, or null before the first send. Open enum; new channels may be added over time, so treat any unrecognized value as a future channel rather than an error.

metadataobject

The key/value pairs attached when the verification was created.

expires_atstring date-time required

When the verification expires if no correct passcode is submitted first. After this time its status reports expired.

verified_atstring date-time nullable

When the verification was completed, or null if it is not yet verified.

created_atstring date-time required
updated_atstring date-time required

Example response

{
  "id": "vrf_01krdgeqcxet5s7t44vh8rt9mg",
  "status": "pending",
  "reason": null,
  "to": {
    "email": "user@example.com"
  },
  "channels": [
    {
      "channel": "email"
    }
  ],
  "last_channel": "email",
  "expires_at": "2026-05-20T09:24:52Z",
  "created_at": "2026-05-20T09:14:52Z",
  "updated_at": "2026-05-20T09:14:52Z"
}

Changes

No recorded changes to this operation across all 2 revisions of this API.