---
title: "Check for an entry before applying"
method: GET
path: "/applications/check.json"
tags: ["Applying for an entry"]
---

# Check for an entry before applying

`GET /applications/check.json`

## Request

- Base URL: `https://verifiedhandles.org`
- URL: `https://verifiedhandles.org/applications/check.json`
- Auth: one of:
  - none
  - HTTP bearer

Whether the site already has the entry you would apply for: the entry on a Wikidata item, and up to 5 entries whose names match a title. It reads only this site, never Wikidata.

## Query parameters

- `qid` string
- `title` string

## Response `200`

What the site has.

- ApplicationCheck: Entries the site already has that an application may duplicate.
  - `qid` object, nullable, required: The entry on that item, or null: a live one first; else the entry one on it was merged into; else a deleted one.
    - `vhid` string, required
    - `short` string, nullable, required
    - `title` string, required
    - `blocked` boolean, required: The entry was deleted.
  - `title` object[], required: Entries whose names match, best first.
    - `vhid` string, required
    - `short` string, nullable, required
    - `title` string, required

## Other responses

- `429`: Too many requests from this IP address in the last minute (at a route that takes a key, an admin key’s are counted per key instead, at the limits set on Console → Rate limits). Wait the number of seconds `Retry-After` gives.
- `503`: The site is down for maintenance. The body is the maintenance page, as HTML. Try again later: `Retry-After` gives the seconds.

---

[API](https://skmtc.dev/verifiedhandles/apis/verified-handles-api.md) · [All operations](https://skmtc.dev/verifiedhandles/apis/verified-handles-api/llms.txt) · [OpenAPI document](https://skmtc.dev/verifiedhandles/apis/verified-handles-api/revisions/40720de2e0ec?raw)