---
title: "Get a customer by ID"
method: GET
path: "/customers/{external_customer_id}"
tags: ["Customers"]
---

# Get a customer by ID

`GET /customers/{external_customer_id}`

## Request

- Base URL: `https://api-m.sandbox.paypal.com`
- URL: `https://api-m.sandbox.paypal.com/customers/{external_customer_id}`
- Auth: OAuth 2
  - Client credentials
  - Token URL: `/api/oauth-proxy` scopes: `read`, `write`
- TypeScript: <https://skmtc.dev/paypal/apis/usage-based-billing-api/docs/customers/:external_customer_id/get.ts> (a function with typed inputs; its response is checked against the schema)

## Path parameters

- `external_customer_id` string, required

## Response `200`

Customer retrieved successfully

- CustomerWithId: A customer represents an individual or organization that can be billed for services. It includes personal information, contact details, and metadata.
  - `name` string, required: Full name of the customer
  - `external_id` string, required: External identifier for the customer. Must contain only alphanumeric characters, underscores, and hyphens.
  - `email` string, required: The internationalized email address.
  - `billing_entity_code` string: Unique code used to identify the billing entity. Must contain only alphanumeric characters, underscores, and hyphens.
  - `address` Address: Address of the customer or party.
    - `line1` string: First line of the address.
    - `line2` string: Second line of the address (optional). This can include apartment, suite, or unit numbers.
    - `city` string: City of the customer or party.
    - `state` string: State or region of the customer or party.
    - `postal_code` string: Postal or ZIP code of the customer or party. Typically required for countries with a postal code or an equivalent.
    - `country` string: Country of the customer or party. Use ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country codes.
  - `phone` string, phone: Primary phone number of the customer, including country code if available.
  - `payment_method_token` string: Token representing the customer's saved payment method in PayPal Vault.
  - `payment_method_type` 'CARD' | 'PAYPAL' | 'ACH_DEBIT' | 'APPLE_PAY': Type of payment method used (e.g., CARD, ACH_DEBIT)
  - `taxes` TaxResponse[]: List of tax entities configured for the customer.
    - `name` string, required: Name of the tax
    - `rate` string: The percentage rate of the tax applied to transactions. A decimal amount from 0.01 to 100.00 inclusive, always with exactly two decimal places, no leading zeros except 0.xx.
    - `description` string: Detailed description of the tax for internal reference
    - `code` string: Unique code used to identify the tax. Must contain only alphanumeric characters, underscores, and hyphens.
    - `id` string, uuid: Unique identifier of the tax
    - `created_at` string, date-time: The effective start date of the subscription; can be past, current, or future. Date must be provided in ISO 8601 format
  - `metadata` CustomerMetadata[]
    - `key` string, required: The metadata object key
    - `value` string, required: The metadata object value
    - `display_in_invoice` boolean, required: Determines whether the item or information should be displayed in the invoice. If set to true, the item or information will be included and visible in the generated invoice. If set to false, the item or information will be excluded and not displayed in the invoice.
  - `id` string

## Other responses

- `403`: Authorization failed due to insufficient permissions.
- `404`: Resource Not Found.
- `500`: Internal Server Error - An unexpected error occurred

---

[API](https://skmtc.dev/paypal/apis/usage-based-billing-api.md) - [All operations](https://skmtc.dev/paypal/apis/usage-based-billing-api/llms.txt) - [OpenAPI document](https://skmtc.dev/paypal/apis/usage-based-billing-api/revisions/22fb46514ac4?raw)