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Last updated: July 2, 2026
These errors may occur when Payouts validates your input file. Once you've fixed the errors, retry the payout:
| Error | Description |
|---|---|
DUPLICATE_REF_ID | Reference IDs must be unique within an input file. |
EMAIL_MESSAGE_EXCEEDED_MAX_SIZE | The email message exceeded the maximum character limit. The limit is 1000. |
EMAIL_SUBJECT_EXCEEDED_MAX_SIZE | The email subject exceeded the maximum character limit. The limit is 255. |
ENCODING_ERROR | The payout input file is not in UTF-8 format. |
FILE_EMPTY_OR_CORRUPT | The payout input file is empty or corrupt and cannot be processed. |
FILE_NOT_FOUND | The file has been removed from the source folder. Contact our customer support. |
FILE_SIZE_ERROR | The payout input file is empty. |
GZ_FILE_CORRUPT_ERROR | The payout input file is corrupt or has a checksum issue. |
INVALID_CURRENCY | The currency code is invalid. |
INVALID_FILE_FORMAT | The input file contains characters, columns, or details that are not required for processing payouts. Remove these characters, columns, or details and upload the file. |
INVALID_FILE_NAME | The format of the file name is invalid. |
INVALID_FIRST_COLUMN | The first column entry in the summary must be PAYOUT_SUMMARY. For an item record, this must be PAYOUT. |
INVALID_REF_ID_FORMAT | The reference ID must be alphanumeric. The maximum character limit is 63. |
INVALID_SUMMARY_LINE_POSITION | The payout summary record is missing from the first line in the payout input file. |
MANDATORY_COLUMN_MISSING | The file is missing mandatory columns. Please enter the required information and retry the Payout. |
MULTI_CURRENCY_NOT_SUPPORTED | The payout input file has more than one currency. |
MULTIPLE_SUMMARY_RECORDS | The payout input file should contain only one summary record. |
PAYOUT_AMOUNT_INVALID_FORMAT | The payout amount must use a decimal. Other special characters aren't allowed. |
PAYOUT_AMOUNT_NON_POSITIVE | The payout amount must be greater than zero. |
SANDBOX_LIMIT_ERROR | The number of items in the file exceeds the sandbox file limit (sandbox only). |
SCHEDULED_TIME_ERROR | The payout can be scheduled a maximum of seven days in advance. |
SUMMARY_AMOUNT_INVALID_FORMAT | The summary amount must be a decimal. Other special characters aren't allowed. |
SUMMARY_AMOUNT_NON_POSITIVE | The total payout amount in the summary line must be greater than zero. |
SUMMARY_AND_PAYOUT_MATCH_CONFLICT | The payout amount in the summary line doesn't match the total item value. |
SUMMARY_LINES_NON_INTEGER | The total number of payments field in the summary line must be an integer. |
SUMMARY_LINES_NON_POSITIVE | The total number of payments field in summary line must be greater than zero. |
SUMMARY_MISSING | The summary line is missing from the payout input file. |
TOTAL_PAYMENTS_MISMATCH | The TOTAL_NO_OF_PAYMENTS in the PAYOUTS_SUMMARY row must match the total records in the payout input file. |
INVALID_PURPOSE | The purpose specified for the transaction is invalid. |
Overview
Send payouts to over 15,000 recipients in a single batch using PayPal's Large Batch Payouts. For fewer payouts, use Standard Payouts or Payouts Web.
Overview
Learn how to send up to 5,000 payments per file using Payouts Web. Use .csv files to manage bulk payouts efficiently and integrate with PayPal's payment system.