Why is my account in payment_required?

Symptoms

One of these:

• The API returns 402 payment_required or 403 subscription_required on verification creation.
• A running verification gets stuck on the payment_required state.
• The wallet screen shows a zero (or insufficient) balance, or a frozen / locked banner.

The two codes

Access is balance-first: a verification runs whenever your wallet has a positive spendable balance. Two codes signal why it can’t:

• 402 payment_required: the wallet can’t cover the operation, because the balance is too low or the wallet is locked/closed (for example, frozen by a card dispute). The fix is to add funds, or contact support if the wallet is locked.
• 403 subscription_required: your wallet holds a balance that is frozen because the subscription was canceled (or went past_due past the dunning grace). The funds are preserved, not forfeited. Re-subscribe to unfreeze them.

The standalone ID scan API (POST /v1/id-verification) also checks the price: a live call is refused with 402 payment_required before the document is read when the balance cannot cover one scan, even if it is positive. Top up, then send the call again with the same Idempotency-Key.

You do not need a subscription to spend prepaid funds. A subscription is a feature gate, not an access gate.

Both codes apply to live mode only. Test-mode verifications are free and never touch a wallet, so they never return 402/403 or park on funds.

Diagnosis

Open Billing → Wallet. The top of the screen shows your balance (total plus the grant / top-up split and per-grant expiry) and your subscription status (active and trial are spendable; past_due is in dunning grace; canceled and post-grace past_due freeze the balance). Cross-reference with the error code:

Code	Wallet	What to do
402 payment_required	Insufficient balance	Top up or enable auto-recharge.
402 payment_required	locked / closed	Contact support: a disputed or operator-locked wallet needs review.
403 subscription_required	Frozen after cancellation	Re-subscribe to unfreeze funds.
Verification parked	Ran out mid-flight	Add funds (or unfreeze); the parked verification resumes automatically, unless it stopped when it reached its document-signing step, before the document was prepared.
Verification parked at its document-signing step	Ran out, or frozen or locked, before the document was prepared	Fix the wallet as in the rows above (add funds, re-subscribe, or contact support to release a locked wallet), then start a new verification for the applicant: this one does not resume.

Fix

For 402 payment_required, open Billing → Top up and complete checkout. Preset amounts carry a checkout discount (you pay less than face value). To prevent future drops, enable auto-recharge. If the wallet is locked or closed, contact support.

For 403 subscription_required, open Billing → Subscription and re-subscribe. Your frozen balance becomes spendable the moment the subscription is active.

Verify

After funds land (or the wallet unfreezes), the balance updates within seconds. A parked verification resumes on the next workflow tick without re-running completed steps or double-charging. The applicant does not need to re-open the link. The one exception is a verification that stopped when it reached its document-signing step, before the document was prepared: it does not resume, so start a new verification for the applicant.

Still stuck?

If you completed checkout but the balance has not updated, see Why is my recharge pending?. If you are subscribed and still see 403 subscription_required, the subscription is likely past_due with the grace window exhausted. Open Billing → Subscription and retry the failed payment or update the payment method.