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Kraken API errors follow a consistent format: a string beginning with a capital-E category prefix, followed by a colon-separated description. Every response includes an error array — if non-empty, the request failed.

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Authentication errors

Cause: The API-Key header is missing, malformed, or refers to a key that has been deleted or revoked.Fix: Verify the key exists in your Kraken account under Settings → API. Regenerate if needed and update your client. Repeatedly sending a key that doesn’t exist triggers EGeneral:Temporary lockout for every API key used from your IP address.
Cause: The API-Sign header does not match the expected HMAC-SHA512 signature.Common causes:
  • Wrong API secret (base64-decoded correctly?)
  • Nonce or POST body included in the wrong order
  • Extra whitespace or encoding issue in the payload
Fix: Review the authentication guide and reproduce the signature step-by-step. Use the API test endpoint /0/private/Balance with a minimal payload to isolate the issue.
Cause: The nonce submitted is less than or equal to the last accepted nonce for this API key.Fix: Use a monotonically increasing nonce. The most reliable source is the current Unix timestamp in milliseconds. If multiple threads share the same API key, use a counter with a mutex, not the system clock.
Cause: Too many requests from your IP address used an API key that doesn’t exist, for example one that was deleted or has expired. To prevent brute-force attempts, API key requests from that IP address are temporarily blocked. The lockout applies to every API key sent from that IP address, including valid ones.Fix:
  1. Find the client sending the invalid key. Look for EAPI:Invalid key responses just before the lockout started, then remove or replace that key.
  2. Stop retrying requests that fail with EAPI:Invalid key. Retrying won’t succeed.
  3. Wait about 20 minutes without sending the invalid key. The lockout then clears by itself. Requests made during the lockout don’t extend it, but sending the invalid key again after it clears starts a new one.
Cause: The API key exists and authenticated correctly, but does not have the permission required for this endpoint.Fix: Check which permissions the key has under Settings → API. Add the required permission or use a different key that has it.
Cause: The account has been temporarily suspended, usually due to security concerns or compliance review.Fix: Contact Kraken support.
Cause: The account email has not been verified.Fix: Complete email verification before making authenticated requests.
Cause: Too many authentication attempts in a short period.Fix: Back off and retry. Do not hammer the auth endpoints.

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Order errors

Cause: The account does not have enough available balance to place this order (for the quote currency on buys, base currency on sells).Fix: Check your balance via /0/private/Balance or BalanceEx. Account for any fees that will be deducted.
Cause: The order volume is below the ordermin for this pair.Fix: Query /0/public/AssetPairs and check the ordermin field. Increase the order size.
Cause: The total cost (price × volume) is below the costmin for this pair.Fix: Check costmin in /0/public/AssetPairs. Increase price or volume so their product exceeds the minimum.
Cause: The price submitted is not a valid multiple of the pair’s tick_size.Fix: Round your price to the nearest valid tick. tick_size is returned by /0/public/AssetPairs.
Cause: The submitted price is zero, negative, or otherwise invalid.Fix: Validate price inputs before sending. Market orders should not include a price parameter.
Cause: The account’s order rate limit counter has reached its threshold.Fix: See the rate limits guide. Slow down order placement and cancellation. Consider using amend instead of cancel + replace.
Cause: The account has too many open orders.Fix: Cancel some open orders before placing new ones. See rate limits for the open order cap by tier.
Cause: The domain rate limit (master + all sub-accounts) has been reached.Fix: Rate limit is shared across all sub-accounts. Reduce order activity across the whole account group. See sub-accounts.
Cause: Too many scheduled (trigger) orders are open simultaneously.Fix: Cancel some scheduled orders before adding more.
Cause: The account has reached the maximum number of open margin positions.Fix: Close existing positions before opening new ones.
Fix: Only use reduce_only when you have an open position in the matching direction.
Cause: The referenced position ID does not exist or belongs to a different account.Fix: Verify the position ID via /0/private/OpenPositions.

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Margin errors

Cause: The account tier or account type is not eligible for margin trading.Fix: Upgrade your account tier or complete margin trading verification. Check eligibility in your account settings.
Cause: The order would exceed the account’s total margin allowance.Fix: Reduce position size or close existing positions.
Cause: The account has insufficient equity or collateral to support this position.Fix: Add funds or reduce open position size to restore margin level.
Cause: The order would cause the account to exceed the maximum allowed position size for this pair.Fix: Check the pair’s position size limit. Reduce order size.
Cause: Kraken’s exchange-side margin pool does not have sufficient funds for this trade. This is a platform-level constraint, not an account issue.Fix: Retry later. If this persists, contact support.

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Service errors

Cause: The matching engine or API is offline, typically during a maintenance window.Fix: Check the system status page. Implement backoff and retry logic. Subscribe to the status WebSocket channel for advance notice.
Cause: The market is in cancel_only mode — no new orders can be placed, only cancellations.Fix: Wait for the market to return to normal. Check SystemStatus endpoint or the status WebSocket channel.
Cause: The market is in post_only mode — only maker orders are accepted.Fix: Submit limit orders with post_only=true, or wait for normal mode to resume.
Cause: The request timed out before the trading engine processed it. Can occur if the deadline parameter was set too short, or under high load.Fix: Increase your deadline or remove it. Before retrying, check OpenOrders — the order may have been placed despite the timeout.

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General errors

Cause: The request payload is malformed, missing required parameters, or contains invalid values.Fix: Validate all parameters against the endpoint documentation before sending. Check for incorrect types (string vs number), missing required fields, or unknown parameters.
Cause: Index pricing is unavailable for stop or profit orders on this pair.Fix: Use a limit price instead of an index-based trigger for this pair.
Cause: An unexpected error occurred on Kraken’s side. The error may include a numeric code (e.g. EGeneral:Internal error:5).Fix: Retry with exponential backoff. If the error persists, contact Kraken support with the full request details and timestamp.
Cause: The trade request is structurally invalid.Fix: Review the endpoint documentation. Ensure all required fields are present and correctly typed.
Cause: The account does not have the permissions required to perform this action.Fix: Contact Kraken support or check account tier requirements.

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Funding errors

Authentication

Signature generation, nonce management, and EAPI error fixes

API key permissions

Which permissions to grant to avoid EGeneral:Permission denied

Rate limits

How rate limit counters work and how to avoid EOrder:Rate limit exceeded

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Error handling patterns