The WooCommerce plugin PayPal express payment gateway for WooCommerce may throw certain API errors and warning codes during the checkout process. Listed below are some of the most commonly occurring error codes with their possible reasons/solutions.
Getting 10002 error – Security header is not valid message
This error commonly arises if you have entered the wrong values in the API keys field under plugin settings.
Kindly check and verify the keys. You can get the keys under the same names from your PayPal account.
- Log into your PayPal business account.
- Get API Access credential in any of the two ways:
- Go to Activity at the top of the page and choose API Access or
- From Account settings > API Access > View/Update.
- Scroll down to NVP/SOAP API Integration (Classic) and click Manage API Credentials.
- Create keys if not already. Else, copy the following credentials:
- API Username
- API Password
- Signature

- Next, go to plugin settings and paste the credentials into corresponding fields under the PayPal plugin settings.

Getting 10565 error – The merchant country is not supported
The direct credit card checkout from site option is facilitated by PayPal Payment Pro and it is available for US, UK, and Canada only. This is a limitation imposed by PayPal. You can disable this feature and still use the express checkout option without any issues.
Getting 10548 error – The merchants account is not able to process transactions.
Kindly ensure that the merchant account has the PayPal Payments Pro feature enabled. Please note that direct credit card checkout is available for the US, UK, and Canada only.
Getting 10413 error – The totals of the cart item amounts do not match order amounts.
This error usually comes when there is some other plugin or code updating the cart totals sent over to PayPal. Kindly share the details of any implementation on the site.
Eg: Discount plugins, Extra fees, or Shipping charge altering plugins.
Fix the mod_security error
Please refer to this article for fixing the mod_security errors.
Getting ‘An error occured during checkout’ message
Kindly enter the correct PayPal API credentials under the plugin settings.
Follow the steps given below to input the API credentials:
- Go to WooCommerce > Settings > Payments > PayPal Express. Enable the gateway and click on Manage.
- Input the PayPal API credentials in the field provided.
- To get the API credentials:
- Log into your PayPal business account.
- Click Activity near the top of the page and select API Access.
- Scroll down to NVP/SOAP API Integration (Classic) and click Manage API Credentials.
- Create keys if not done already. Else, copy the API Username, API Password, and Signature and paste it into the respective fields of the plugin.
Different error?
Although we’ve listed all the commonly occurring error codes, it may be likely that you have encountered with entirely different ones, please refer to the list of other PayPal error codes and messages.Still, if you are facing difficulty, please feel free to contact our support team with the error code and log file to get further assistance.
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Comments (30)
Rahman
December 19, 2022
Getting this message (Could not retrieve order.) when trying to purchase using paypal
Mike
January 12, 2023
Hi Rahman,
Sounds like you need some technical assistance. Please create a ticket from our support forum for further assistance: https://www.webtoffee.com/support/. Make sure to include all information regarding the error including your WooCommerce System status report (WooCommerce -> Status -> Get system status report), PayPal logs, screenshots of the error, etc
Larry Wu
August 4, 2022
Let’s make a website where it’s impossible to checkout. This place must be a scam! I can only imagine what following your steps actually does.
Mark
August 26, 2022
Hi Larry,
If you are having any trouble with checkout from our website, kindly reach out to us via the support forum explaining the issue.
Raji Adeseye
August 1, 2022
Hello Support, Am unable to place order with my paypal.
Here is the error message receiving; 10002 error – Account is restricted. Refer to the article to troubleshoot the error.
Mark
August 26, 2022
Hi Raji,
As this error is generated directly from the PayPal side, there is not much the plugin or webtoffee can do. Here is what we found regarding the error message that you received: https://docs.qpilot.cloud/docs/2000-paypal-failure-code-10002-account-is-restricted
Hope you will find this useful. Feel free to comment if anything else.
zouyesan
July 29, 2022
Getting 10565 error – The merchant country is not supported
How can I disable this feature and still use the express checkout option without any issues?
Mark
August 26, 2022
Hi Zouyesan,
Greetings from Webtoffee!
You can switch to EXPRESS CHECKOUT mode from the plugin settings under WooCommerce Settings > Payment > PayPal Express. Please set the Payment Button as Express Checkout.
Hope this helps.
Linda M. Cohen
May 12, 2022
Unable to place my order due to error with PayPal and unable to process using my credit card! I have given up after spending more than 2 hours trying to place an order!!!!!
Shesna
May 12, 2022
Hi Linda,
Sorry to know that you are experiencing this way. We are here to help. Please ensure that your API credentials are entered correctly within the plugin. However, you can reach out to our technical support team with the log file (WooCommerce>Status>Logs) for direct assistance.
Luis
June 1, 2022
Ho, I have followed these steps; I created the API and I entered the requested informazioni, but It still showing error. (1060)
Can you help me?
Shesna
June 1, 2022
Hi Luis,
Sorry to know that you are experiencing this way. Please reach out to our technical support team with the log file (WooCommerce>Status>Logs) for resolving the same.
cracy
May 5, 2022
Hi, I got an error on 10525. I used a 100off coupon and it says the amount is charged as zero. But it went well before, can you solve my problem. It terribly brings bad effects on my website. Thanks.
Shesna
May 6, 2022
Hi Cracy,
Sorry to know that you are experiencing this way. Please feel free to reach out to our technical support with the log (WooCommerce>Status>Logs) file.
Cynthia Lee
April 7, 2022
I was having difficulty buying this ticket so I am not sure if the payment went through or I bought more than one ticket to the House of RA event.
Alan
April 8, 2022
Hi Cynthia,
Sorry, we couldn’t understand your query. If you are facing a dispute with your Paypal payment, please contact the PayPal support team. Or if your concern is regarding the PayPal payment gateway for the WooCommerce plugin, please reach out to our support team.
Kendall
April 7, 2022
I keep getting the error message when completing my payment by submitting my card info. What’s the problem?
Alan
April 7, 2022
Hi,
If you are getting the error message on the PayPal page then it’s generated by PayPal. Please try contacting the PayPal support team regarding this. On the other hand, if you are getting the error message on the site checkout page itself then please reach us via support.
john astbury
February 24, 2022
FAKE WEBPAGE WITH FAKE ERROR CODE
Mark
February 28, 2022
Hi John,
Sorry to know that you felt this way about the article. We have only listed the most common errors encountered by our plugin users. We fully understand that this won’t cover the entire list of error codes from PayPal which is why we have included a link to PayPal error listing page directly in the article itself. You can find the link above.
If you have some other errors, you can always reach out to the plugin support team via this link.
Kyle
February 23, 2022
Cant i just use my debit card ? I dont use paypal
Mark
February 28, 2022
Hi Kyle,
Greetings from Webtoffee! The plugin indeed supports direct debit card/credit card checkouts without using a PayPal account provided that your country and account supports it.
nelson
February 5, 2022
I’m getting error 10427 simply cant place order on paypal express checkout
Mark
February 16, 2022
Hi Nelson,
According to the information here, this error occurs when the shipping total amount is invalid. Kindly check if you are using any plugins or codes to alter the default woocommerce shipping charge calculation process. Try disabling them and test the checkout. Although our plugin is equipped to handle the default Wooocommerce totals, custom codes or plugins could cause conflicts.
Ali
January 24, 2022
I rewrote the API credentials more than 5 times and I still get the error 10002. When I use the API’s for the sandbox account everything works fine. But the moment I switch to live and use the live ones I get this error. Could you please help me
Alan
February 3, 2022
Hi,
Since the issue is only occurring with the live credentials it might be due to any issues with the keys. Can you please try contacting PayPal support and check the credentials? If the issue persists please reach us via support.
B. Edwards
January 4, 2022
I can’t place this order.Why?
Mark
February 2, 2022
It might have been some temporary issue. Hope you were able to place the order later.
For queries like these, kindly contact the support forum. The comment section can be used only to discuss concerns related to the article.
Connie Blaine
February 5, 2022
Error 10417 not addressed in the “article”.
Don’t have PayPal.
Can’t I just use my Visa card?
Mark
February 16, 2022
Hi Connie,
Error 10417 means that the payment method selected by the customer has some issues. Users may need to try again with a different method like a different card. Kindly ask to try that.