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Troubleshooting HMRC Coding Notice Errors

Bright Support
  • Updated

The following provides more detail on how to troubleshoot common HMRC Data Provisioning Service (DPS) errors for coding notices

 

DPS_ERR_UNAUTHORISED_REFERENCE

What it means
Your HMRC Government Gateway credentials are not authorised to access coding notices for this employer.

What to do
Check that the employer’s PAYE reference is correctly registered for the Data Provisioning Service (DPS) in your HMRC online account. If needed, update the registration and try again. 

DPS_ERR_INVALID_CREDENTIALS / DPS_ERR_CREDENTIAL_AUTHENTICATION

What it means
The HMRC Government Gateway credentials provided are invalid.

What to do
Confirm that the user ID and password you’ve entered are correct, then try again. If you’ve recently changed your password, make sure you’ve updated it in BrightPay - Settings - Gateway Credentials  too.

DPS_ERR_TOKEN_AUTHENTICATION

What it means
Your HMRC session token is invalid or has expired.

What to do

Sign out of your HMRC online account and sign back in, carefully re‑entering your password.
Once that’s working, go to Settings > Gateway Credentials in BrightPay, remove the old credentials and enter the new HMRC credentials and try again. 

DPS_ERR_SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE

What it means
HMRC’s Data Provisioning Service is temporarily unavailable. 

What to do
Wait a short while and try again. If the problem persists, check HMRC service availability on GOV.UK or contact HMRC.

DPS_ERR_UNEXPECTED_ERROR

What it means
HMRC encountered an unexpected error processing your request.

What to do
Try again later. If you keep seeing this error, contact HMRC for further assistance.

Default / Unknown Error

What it means
HMRC has returned an error that is not recognised by your software.

What to do
Review the full HMRC error description shown on screen (labelled “HMRC Description”) and follow any guidance provided. If you’re unsure how to proceed, share that description with a member of the Support team when you contact them.

We are aware of an intermittent issue affecting some customers when downloading coding notices from HMRC. HMRC have confirmed that they are experiencing ongoing issues with the DPS in the live environment, and this is currently being investigated. They do not yet have an estimated resolution date, but they are encouraging all affected customers to contact them directly. You can reach them on the Employers’ Helpline on 0300 200 3200.

 

FAQs

 

Q: Why am I getting a “DPS GetToken request failed with status 403” error when downloading coding notices from HMRC?

A: This error means HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has rejected the request, usually due to an authentication or authorisation issue.

Common causes include:

  • Incorrect or expired credentials
    The user credentials linked to your HMRC connection may be invalid or no longer active.
  • HMRC account not properly enrolled
    The HMRC account you’re using must be enrolled for PAYE for Employers and have access to coding notices via DPS.
  • Agent authorisation issues
    If you are acting as an agent, you must have the correct authorisation in place for the employer.
 

How to resolve this

  1. Re‑enter and verify your HMRC credentials within BrightPay
    (Settings → Gateway Credentials)
  2. Ensure your HMRC account is enrolled for PAYE for Employers and has access to DPS coding notices.
  3. Log in to the HMRC Government Gateway portal and confirm the same details, ensuring that your password does not exceed 12 characters.

 

 

Important Note: We are aware of an issue that some customers are experiencing when trying to download coding notices from HMRC.
 
The HMRC support team have confirmed that they are experiencing ongoing issues with DPS in the live environment, and this is currently being investigated.
 
As a team, our developers are in contact with HMRC to help resolve this issue as soon as possible, and we are ready to make any necessary adjustments within BrightPay should they be required.
 
Update
We have found that the following steps are working for many customers:
 

  1. On your keyboard, press and hold the Shift key.
  2. While still holding the Shift key, click on “Coding Notices”.
  3. Still holding the Shift key, click on “Download Coding Notices”.

 
If the above steps do not resolve the issue, can you please try downloading the Coding Notices again - but this time select the spanner icon in the bottom right-hand corner and select Fetch Coding Notices from Cache (Skip HMRC Check):

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