Verify API

The verification API enables you to verify whether a user currently has access to a given phone number or email address by sending them an OTP and requesting that they verify the code sent to them.

This can be achieved by using the following API endpoints below.

Currently, Verify supports Email, WhatsApp, and SMS channels

Sending a Verification

In order to send a message, you must have an active channel and perform an HTTP request to the following endpoint using a valid access key.

Creates a new verification message

post

Creates a new verification message

Authorizations

accessKey

HTTPRequired

Uses the Authorization header: 'AccessKey ' followed by your access key token

Path parameters

workspaceIdstring · uuidRequired

The unique identifier of the workspace.

Body

application/json

localestring · locale-bcp47Optional

The locale/language of the message sent to the user. If not provided, we will attempt to determine the locale from the user's phone number. If we are unable to determine the locale, we will default to "en-US".

maxAttemptsinteger · min: 1 · max: 10Optional

The maximum number of attempts to verify the user. [Default: 3]

Default: 3

timeoutinteger · min: 30 · max: 3600Optional

The time in seconds before this verification expires. Once expired, it can no longer be verified. [Default: 600]

Default: 600

codeLengthinteger · min: 6 · max: 12Optional

The length of the verification code. [Default: 6]

Default: 6

Responses

202

Verify request was accepted for processing

application/json

400

An error

application/json

422

An error

application/json

post

/workspaces/{workspaceId}/verify

HTTPcURLJavaScriptPython

POST /workspaces/{workspaceId}/verify HTTP/1.1
Host: api.bird.com
Authorization: AccessKey YOUR_SECRET_TOKEN
Content-Type: application/json
Accept: */*
Content-Length: 135

{
  "identifier": {
    "phonenumber": "text",
    "emailaddress": "text"
  },
  "locale": "text",
  "maxAttempts": 3,
  "timeout": 600,
  "codeLength": 6,
  "steps": [
    null
  ]
}

{
  "id": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000",
  "identifier": {
    "phonenumber": "text",
    "emailaddress": "text"
  },
  "locale": "text",
  "maxAttempts": 3,
  "failedAttempts": 1,
  "timeout": 600,
  "codeLength": 6,
  "status": "accepted",
  "currentStepIndex": 1,
  "steps": [
    {
      "channelId": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000",
      "navigatorId": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000",
      "identifier": "text",
      "template": {
        "name": "text",
        "projectId": "a1405560-c8d3-4b1a-877d-3f449ad95352",
        "version": "a1405560-c8d3-4b1a-877d-3f449ad95352",
        "locale": "text",
        "attachments": [
          {
            "mediaUrl": "https://example.com",
            "filename": "text",
            "inline": true
          }
        ],
        "shortLinks": {
          "enabled": true,
          "domain": "text"
        },
        "utmParameters": [
          {
            "key": "text",
            "value": "text"
          }
        ],
        "parameters": [
          {
            "type": "string",
            "key": "text",
            "value": "text"
          }
        ],
        "settings": {
          "disallowMmLite": true
        }
      },
      "email": {
        "from": {
          "username": "text",
          "displayName": "text"
        }
      },
      "status": "unused",
      "attempts": [
        {
          "messageId": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000",
          "status": "prepared",
          "verified": true,
          "sentAt": "2026-05-16T15:02:18.380Z",
          "verifiedAt": "2026-05-16T15:02:18.380Z"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "createdAt": "2026-05-16T15:02:18.380Z",
  "updatedAt": "2026-05-16T15:02:18.380Z",
  "expiresAt": "2026-05-16T15:02:18.380Z"
}

Here is an example of a basic verify request body for SMS

{
  "identifier": {
    "phonenumber": "[phone]"
  },
  "steps": [
    {
      "channelId": "SMS_CHANNEL_UUID"
    }
  ]
}

Steps

You can use Steps to implement a failover strategy between different channels. The minimum number of steps is one. Calling the failover endpoint will cause it to move to the next step.

{
  "identifier": {
    "phonenumber": "[phone]",
    "emailaddress": "[email protected]"
  },
  "locale": "en-US",
  "maxAttempts": 3,
  "timeout": 300,
  "codeLength": 6,
  "steps": [
    {
      "channelId": "CHANNEL_UUID"
    },
    {
      "channelId": "FAILOVER_CHANNEL_UUID"
    }
  ]
}

Instead of using an SMS channel step, use an SMS navigator. Navigators offer two key advantages:

• Improve Reliability: Your integration remains consistent, preventing any changes, additions, or deletions to your channels from impacting your verification requests.

• Improved Coverage: The best available channel will be used based on the country of the number you are trying to verify, increasing your conversion rate.

You can achieve this by using the following syntax, based on the UUID you can find in Developers -> Navigators -> Navigator Setup -> OTP:

"steps": [
    {
        "navigatorId": "OTP_navigator_UUID"
    }
]

Email steps

For steps referencing an email channel, you can provide additional information on the step configuration to set the sender. Given you have an email channel set up with the acme.com domain, the snippet below would trigger an email from ACME <[email protected]>.

{
  "steps": [
    {
      "channelId": "EMAIL_CHANNEL_UUID",
      "email": {
        "from": {
          "username": "verify",
          "displayName": "ACME"
        }
      }
    }
  ]
}

Templates

Verify supports using templates for some channels. The following is an example of using a channel with a template.

{
  "identifier": {
    "phonenumber": "[phone]",
  },
  "steps": [
    {
      "channelId": "CHANNEL_UUID",
      "template": {
        "projectId": "TEMPLATE_UUID",
        "version": "TEMPLATE_VERSION_UUID|latest",
        "locale": "en"
      }
    }
  ]
}

SMS Templates

Sending SMS Verify messages can be done in two ways:

1. Using our pre-defined message body. You can change the language by setting the locale of the verification; the body language is derived from the given locale.

   1. Supported languages include:

      1. Afrikaans (af)

      2. Arabic (ar)

      3. German (de)

      4. English (en)

      5. Spanish (es)

      6. French (fr)

      7. Italian (it)

      8. Dutch (nl)

      9. Polish (pl)

      10. Portuguese (pt)

      11. Russian (ru)

      12. Turkish (tr)

      13. Finnish (fi)

      14. Norwegian (nb, no)

      15. Swedish (sv)

      16. Czech (cs)

2. Using a customer-defined template. The template should contain a variable named otp which is used for the generated OTP Code.

Email Templates

For emails, templates work just as you would expect via the channels API, with the addition of a variable for the Verify OTP Code.

When setting up a template for Email, select {} -> Verify -> OTP from the list of variables

WhatsApp Templates

Templates for WhatsApp channels are required. To send an OTP message to a WhatsApp channel, you must have an Authentication Template set up.

Verifying the code

Once you have received a code from one of your users, you will have to confirm if the code is valid.

Verifies a code of a verification message

post

Verifies a code of a verification message

Authorizations

accessKey

HTTPRequired

Uses the Authorization header: 'AccessKey ' followed by your access key token

Path parameters

workspaceIdstring · uuidRequired

The unique identifier of the workspace.

verificationIdstring · uuidRequired

The ID for a verification

Body

application/json

codestring · min: 6 · max: 12Required

Responses

200

Code was successfully verified

application/json

idstring · uuidOptional

localestring · locale-bcp47Optional

The locale/language of the message sent to the user. If not provided, we will attempt to determine the locale from the user's phone number. If we are unable to determine the locale, we will default to "en-US".

maxAttemptsinteger · min: 1 · max: 10Optional

The maximum number of attempts to verify the user. [Default: 3]

Default: 3

failedAttemptsintegerOptional

The number of times an attempt was made to verify with an incorrect code.

timeoutinteger · min: 30 · max: 3600Optional

The time in seconds before this verification expires. Once expired, it can no longer be verified. [Default: 600]

Default: 600

codeLengthinteger · min: 6 · max: 12Optional

The length of the verification code. [Default: 6]

Default: 6

statusstring · enumOptional

The current status of the verification.

Possible values:

currentStepIndexintegerOptional

The index of the current active step in the steps array.

createdAtstring · date-timeOptional

The time the verification was created.

updatedAtstring · date-timeOptional

The time the verification was last updated.

expiresAtstring · date-timeOptional

The time after which the verification can no longer be verified.

400

Verification failed

application/json

404

An error

application/json

422

An error

application/json

post

/workspaces/{workspaceId}/verify/{verificationId}

HTTPcURLJavaScriptPython

POST /workspaces/{workspaceId}/verify/{verificationId} HTTP/1.1
Host: api.bird.com
Authorization: AccessKey YOUR_SECRET_TOKEN
Content-Type: application/json
Accept: */*
Content-Length: 15

{
  "code": "text"
}

{
  "id": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000",
  "identifier": {
    "phonenumber": "text",
    "emailaddress": "text"
  },
  "locale": "text",
  "maxAttempts": 3,
  "failedAttempts": 1,
  "timeout": 600,
  "codeLength": 6,
  "status": "accepted",
  "currentStepIndex": 1,
  "steps": [
    {
      "channelId": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000",
      "navigatorId": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000",
      "identifier": "text",
      "template": {
        "name": "text",
        "projectId": "a1405560-c8d3-4b1a-877d-3f449ad95352",
        "version": "a1405560-c8d3-4b1a-877d-3f449ad95352",
        "locale": "text",
        "attachments": [
          {
            "mediaUrl": "https://example.com",
            "filename": "text",
            "inline": true
          }
        ],
        "shortLinks": {
          "enabled": true,
          "domain": "text"
        },
        "utmParameters": [
          {
            "key": "text",
            "value": "text"
          }
        ],
        "parameters": [
          {
            "type": "string",
            "key": "text",
            "value": "text"
          }
        ],
        "settings": {
          "disallowMmLite": true
        }
      },
      "email": {
        "from": {
          "username": "text",
          "displayName": "text"
        }
      },
      "status": "unused",
      "attempts": [
        {
          "messageId": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000",
          "status": "prepared",
          "verified": true,
          "sentAt": "2026-05-16T15:02:18.380Z",
          "verifiedAt": "2026-05-16T15:02:18.380Z"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "createdAt": "2026-05-16T15:02:18.380Z",
  "updatedAt": "2026-05-16T15:02:18.380Z",
  "expiresAt": "2026-05-16T15:02:18.380Z"
}

Resend a code for a specific verification step

Using the following endpoint, you can also resend a message for a given verification step.

By not setting a value for stepIndex, it will default to the currently active step.

Resend verification code

post

Attempt resending a verification code for a given step

Authorizations

accessKey

HTTPRequired

Uses the Authorization header: 'AccessKey ' followed by your access key token

Path parameters

workspaceIdstring · uuidRequired

The unique identifier of the workspace.

verificationIdstring · uuidRequired

The ID for a verification

Body

application/json

stepIndexinteger · nullableOptional

The index of the step to use.

Default: null

Responses

202

Resend request was accepted for processing

application/json

400

An error

application/json

404

An error

application/json

422

An error

application/json

post

/workspaces/{workspaceId}/verify/{verificationId}/resend

HTTPcURLJavaScriptPython

POST /workspaces/{workspaceId}/verify/{verificationId}/resend HTTP/1.1
Host: api.bird.com
Authorization: AccessKey YOUR_SECRET_TOKEN
Content-Type: application/json
Accept: */*
Content-Length: 15

{
  "stepIndex": 1
}

{
  "id": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000",
  "identifier": {
    "phonenumber": "text",
    "emailaddress": "text"
  },
  "locale": "text",
  "maxAttempts": 3,
  "failedAttempts": 1,
  "timeout": 600,
  "codeLength": 6,
  "status": "accepted",
  "currentStepIndex": 1,
  "steps": [
    {
      "channelId": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000",
      "navigatorId": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000",
      "identifier": "text",
      "template": {
        "name": "text",
        "projectId": "a1405560-c8d3-4b1a-877d-3f449ad95352",
        "version": "a1405560-c8d3-4b1a-877d-3f449ad95352",
        "locale": "text",
        "attachments": [
          {
            "mediaUrl": "https://example.com",
            "filename": "text",
            "inline": true
          }
        ],
        "shortLinks": {
          "enabled": true,
          "domain": "text"
        },
        "utmParameters": [
          {
            "key": "text",
            "value": "text"
          }
        ],
        "parameters": [
          {
            "type": "string",
            "key": "text",
            "value": "text"
          }
        ],
        "settings": {
          "disallowMmLite": true
        }
      },
      "email": {
        "from": {
          "username": "text",
          "displayName": "text"
        }
      },
      "status": "unused",
      "attempts": [
        {
          "messageId": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000",
          "status": "prepared",
          "verified": true,
          "sentAt": "2026-05-16T15:02:18.380Z",
          "verifiedAt": "2026-05-16T15:02:18.380Z"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "createdAt": "2026-05-16T15:02:18.380Z",
  "updatedAt": "2026-05-16T15:02:18.380Z",
  "expiresAt": "2026-05-16T15:02:18.380Z"
}

Failover to the next step

You can failover to another verification step by calling the following endpoint.

By not setting a value for stepIndex, it will default to the next step in the array.

Auto Failover

Verify will automatically failover to the next step when a step fails to send or deliver, provided the next step is on a different platform.

Examples:

1. Different Platforms:

   • If two steps are used: the 1st is WhatsApp, and the 2nd is SMS, the SMS will automatically be sent if the WhatsApp message fails to send or deliver.

   • If two steps are used: the 1st is SMS, and the 2nd is Email, the email will automatically be sent if the SMS fails to send or deliver.

2. Same Platform:

   • If two steps are used, and both are SMS, the second SMS will not be automatically selected if the first SMS fails.

   • This is because Bird assumes that if one type of SMS fails, all SMS will fail, as they rely on the same infrastructure.

Failover to next step

post

Failover to the next step of the verification process

Authorizations

accessKey

HTTPRequired

Uses the Authorization header: 'AccessKey ' followed by your access key token

Path parameters

workspaceIdstring · uuidRequired

The unique identifier of the workspace.

verificationIdstring · uuidRequired

The ID for a verification

Body

application/json

stepIndexinteger · nullableOptional

The index of the step to use.

Default: null

Responses

202

Failover request was accepted for processing

application/json

400

An error

application/json

404

An error

application/json

422

An error

application/json

post

/workspaces/{workspaceId}/verify/{verificationId}/failover

HTTPcURLJavaScriptPython

POST /workspaces/{workspaceId}/verify/{verificationId}/failover HTTP/1.1
Host: api.bird.com
Authorization: AccessKey YOUR_SECRET_TOKEN
Content-Type: application/json
Accept: */*
Content-Length: 15

{
  "stepIndex": 1
}

{
  "id": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000",
  "identifier": {
    "phonenumber": "text",
    "emailaddress": "text"
  },
  "locale": "text",
  "maxAttempts": 3,
  "failedAttempts": 1,
  "timeout": 600,
  "codeLength": 6,
  "status": "accepted",
  "currentStepIndex": 1,
  "steps": [
    {
      "channelId": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000",
      "navigatorId": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000",
      "identifier": "text",
      "template": {
        "name": "text",
        "projectId": "a1405560-c8d3-4b1a-877d-3f449ad95352",
        "version": "a1405560-c8d3-4b1a-877d-3f449ad95352",
        "locale": "text",
        "attachments": [
          {
            "mediaUrl": "https://example.com",
            "filename": "text",
            "inline": true
          }
        ],
        "shortLinks": {
          "enabled": true,
          "domain": "text"
        },
        "utmParameters": [
          {
            "key": "text",
            "value": "text"
          }
        ],
        "parameters": [
          {
            "type": "string",
            "key": "text",
            "value": "text"
          }
        ],
        "settings": {
          "disallowMmLite": true
        }
      },
      "email": {
        "from": {
          "username": "text",
          "displayName": "text"
        }
      },
      "status": "unused",
      "attempts": [
        {
          "messageId": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000",
          "status": "prepared",
          "verified": true,
          "sentAt": "2026-05-16T15:02:18.380Z",
          "verifiedAt": "2026-05-16T15:02:18.380Z"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "createdAt": "2026-05-16T15:02:18.380Z",
  "updatedAt": "2026-05-16T15:02:18.380Z",
  "expiresAt": "2026-05-16T15:02:18.380Z"
}

Retrieving Verifications

Retrieving a list of Verifications

List all verifications

get

List all verifications for this workspace

Authorizations

accessKey

HTTPRequired

Uses the Authorization header: 'AccessKey ' followed by your access key token

Path parameters

workspaceIdstring · uuidRequired

The unique identifier of the workspace.

Query parameters

limitinteger · min: 1 · max: 1000Optional

Limits the number of results to return.

Default: 25

pageTokenstringOptional

The cursor that keeps track of the current position in the results.

reversebooleanOptional

Reverses the order in which the results are returned.

Default: false

startAtstring · date-timeOptional

Start date for the query

endAtstring · date-timeOptional

End date for the query

Responses

200

OK

application/json

nextPageTokenstringOptional

The token that can be passed as pageToken in URL to retrieve the next set of results. If missing, no more results to display.

404

An error

application/json

get

/workspaces/{workspaceId}/verify

HTTPcURLJavaScriptPython

GET /workspaces/{workspaceId}/verify HTTP/1.1
Host: api.bird.com
Authorization: AccessKey YOUR_SECRET_TOKEN
Accept: */*

{
  "nextPageToken": "text",
  "results": [
    {
      "id": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000",
      "identifier": {
        "phonenumber": "text",
        "emailaddress": "text"
      },
      "locale": "text",
      "maxAttempts": 3,
      "failedAttempts": 1,
      "timeout": 600,
      "codeLength": 6,
      "status": "accepted",
      "currentStepIndex": 1,
      "steps": [
        {
          "channelId": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000",
          "navigatorId": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000",
          "identifier": "text",
          "template": {
            "name": "text",
            "projectId": "a1405560-c8d3-4b1a-877d-3f449ad95352",
            "version": "a1405560-c8d3-4b1a-877d-3f449ad95352",
            "locale": "text",
            "attachments": [
              {
                "mediaUrl": "https://example.com",
                "filename": "text",
                "inline": true
              }
            ],
            "shortLinks": {
              "enabled": true,
              "domain": "text"
            },
            "utmParameters": [
              {
                "key": "text",
                "value": "text"
              }
            ],
            "parameters": [
              {
                "type": "string",
                "key": "text",
                "value": "text"
              }
            ],
            "settings": {
              "disallowMmLite": true
            }
          },
          "email": {
            "from": {
              "username": "text",
              "displayName": "text"
            }
          },
          "status": "unused",
          "attempts": [
            {
              "messageId": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000",
              "status": "prepared",
              "verified": true,
              "sentAt": "2026-05-16T15:02:18.380Z",
              "verifiedAt": "2026-05-16T15:02:18.380Z"
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "createdAt": "2026-05-16T15:02:18.380Z",
      "updatedAt": "2026-05-16T15:02:18.380Z",
      "expiresAt": "2026-05-16T15:02:18.380Z"
    }
  ]
}

Retrieving a single Verification

Get verification message

get

Get a verification message

Authorizations

accessKey

HTTPRequired

Uses the Authorization header: 'AccessKey ' followed by your access key token

Path parameters

workspaceIdstring · uuidRequired

The unique identifier of the workspace.

verificationIdstring · uuidRequired

The ID for a verification

Responses

200

OK

application/json

idstring · uuidOptional

localestring · locale-bcp47Optional

The locale/language of the message sent to the user. If not provided, we will attempt to determine the locale from the user's phone number. If we are unable to determine the locale, we will default to "en-US".

maxAttemptsinteger · min: 1 · max: 10Optional

The maximum number of attempts to verify the user. [Default: 3]

Default: 3

failedAttemptsintegerOptional

The number of times an attempt was made to verify with an incorrect code.

timeoutinteger · min: 30 · max: 3600Optional

The time in seconds before this verification expires. Once expired, it can no longer be verified. [Default: 600]

Default: 600

codeLengthinteger · min: 6 · max: 12Optional

The length of the verification code. [Default: 6]

Default: 6

statusstring · enumOptional

The current status of the verification.

Possible values:

currentStepIndexintegerOptional

The index of the current active step in the steps array.

createdAtstring · date-timeOptional

The time the verification was created.

updatedAtstring · date-timeOptional

The time the verification was last updated.

expiresAtstring · date-timeOptional

The time after which the verification can no longer be verified.

404

An error

application/json

get

/workspaces/{workspaceId}/verify/{verificationId}

HTTPcURLJavaScriptPython

GET /workspaces/{workspaceId}/verify/{verificationId} HTTP/1.1
Host: api.bird.com
Authorization: AccessKey YOUR_SECRET_TOKEN
Accept: */*

{
  "id": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000",
  "identifier": {
    "phonenumber": "text",
    "emailaddress": "text"
  },
  "locale": "text",
  "maxAttempts": 3,
  "failedAttempts": 1,
  "timeout": 600,
  "codeLength": 6,
  "status": "accepted",
  "currentStepIndex": 1,
  "steps": [
    {
      "channelId": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000",
      "navigatorId": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000",
      "identifier": "text",
      "template": {
        "name": "text",
        "projectId": "a1405560-c8d3-4b1a-877d-3f449ad95352",
        "version": "a1405560-c8d3-4b1a-877d-3f449ad95352",
        "locale": "text",
        "attachments": [
          {
            "mediaUrl": "https://example.com",
            "filename": "text",
            "inline": true
          }
        ],
        "shortLinks": {
          "enabled": true,
          "domain": "text"
        },
        "utmParameters": [
          {
            "key": "text",
            "value": "text"
          }
        ],
        "parameters": [
          {
            "type": "string",
            "key": "text",
            "value": "text"
          }
        ],
        "settings": {
          "disallowMmLite": true
        }
      },
      "email": {
        "from": {
          "username": "text",
          "displayName": "text"
        }
      },
      "status": "unused",
      "attempts": [
        {
          "messageId": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000",
          "status": "prepared",
          "verified": true,
          "sentAt": "2026-05-16T15:02:18.380Z",
          "verifiedAt": "2026-05-16T15:02:18.380Z"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "createdAt": "2026-05-16T15:02:18.380Z",
  "updatedAt": "2026-05-16T15:02:18.380Z",
  "expiresAt": "2026-05-16T15:02:18.380Z"
}