# Cancel a verification (/docs/api-reference/verifications/cancel-verification)

Cancels a pending verification: its code stops working. Canceling it again returns it as is.

`POST https://api.coss.com/v1/verifications/{id}/cancel`

Authenticate with your API key as a bearer token (`Authorization: Bearer coss_test_…`). Responses are JSON with snake_case fields; errors are `{ error: { type, code, message, param?, issues?, request_id } }` (https://coss.com/docs/api-reference/errors.md).

## Path parameters

- `id` (string, required): The verification's id.

## Example request

TypeScript (the `coss` package):

```ts
import { Coss } from "coss";

const coss = new Coss({
  apiKey: process.env.COSS_API_KEY,
  baseUrl: "https://api.coss.com",
});

const { data, error } = await coss.verify.cancel("vrf_01k8e2m4q2f3e9v6t5r1n0p8yz");
```

HTTP:

```sh
curl -X POST "https://api.coss.com/v1/verifications/vrf_01k8e2m4q2f3e9v6t5r1n0p8yz/cancel" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $COSS_API_KEY"
```

## Response 200

The canceled verification.

- `object` ("verification", required)
- `id` (string, required)
- `channel` ("sms" | "email", required)
- `to` (string, required)
- `country` (string | null, required): ISO 3166 country of a phone number.
- `status` ("pending" | "approved" | "expired" | "canceled" | "failed" | "blocked", required): `pending` until the right code is checked (`approved`) or it ends: `expired`, `canceled`, `failed` (too many wrong codes, or the code couldn't be sent) or `blocked` (the fraud guard stopped it before anything was sent).
- `failure` (object | null, required): Why it `failed`.
  - `code` (string, required)
  - `message` (string, required)
- `reasons` (object[], required): Why it was `blocked` (empty otherwise).
  - `code` (string, required)
  - `value` (number)
- `attempts` (integer, required): Wrong codes checked so far.
- `max_attempts` (integer, required)
- `sends` (object[], required): Each time the code was sent.
  - `channel` ("sms" | "email", required)
  - `route` ("own_number" | "shared_number" | "email" | "coss_email", required): `own_number`: one of your numbers; `shared_number`: coss.com's; `email`: your sender; `coss_email`: coss.com's sender.
  - `sms_id` (string | null, required): The SMS, in your environment: `own_number`, or any in a sandbox environment (`null` for coss.com's shared numbers' messages).
  - `email_id` (string | null, required): The email (`email` route only).
  - `created_at` (string, required, date-time)
- `tags` (object[], required)
  - `name` (string, required)
  - `value` (string, required)
- `sandbox` (boolean, required): Made in a sandbox environment: simulated, and the code is always zeros.
- `expires_at` (string, required, date-time)
- `approved_at` (string | null, required, date-time)
- `created_at` (string, required, date-time)

Example:

```json
{
  "object": "verification",
  "id": "vrf_01k8e2m4q2f3e9v6t5r1n0p8yz",
  "channel": "sms",
  "to": "+14155550199",
  "country": "US",
  "status": "pending",
  "failure": null,
  "reasons": [],
  "attempts": 0,
  "max_attempts": 5,
  "sends": [
    {
      "channel": "sms",
      "route": "shared_number",
      "sms_id": "sms_01k8e2m4q2f3e9v6t5r1n0p8yz",
      "email_id": null,
      "created_at": "2026-11-10T12:00:00.000Z"
    }
  ],
  "tags": [],
  "sandbox": false,
  "expires_at": "2026-11-10T12:10:00.000Z",
  "approved_at": null,
  "created_at": "2026-11-10T12:00:00.000Z"
}
```

## Errors

- `400`: The `Coss-Version` header names an unknown API version (`invalid_api_version`).
- `401`: The API key is missing, invalid, revoked or expired (`authentication_error`).
- `403`: The API key lacks the permission this endpoint needs (`permission_error`), or its organization is suspended (`organization_suspended`).
- `404`: No such verification in the API key's environment (`not_found`).
- `422`: The verification isn't pending (`verification_not_cancelable`): approved, failed, blocked or expired.
- `429`: Too many requests with this API key (`rate_limited`), or too many requests with invalid keys from this address (`too_many_failed_authentications`). Retry after `Retry-After` seconds. Successful responses carry `RateLimit-Limit`, `RateLimit-Remaining` and `RateLimit-Reset` (seconds until the limit is fully restored).
- `500`: Unexpected server error (`api_error` / `internal_error`).
- `503`: The API key could not be verified right now; retry (`service_unavailable`).