Google Ads API V22 – Client Creation Fails with “Request contains an invalid argument” (UNKNOWN Error)

[Wim Lokal]

Hey everyone,

we’re trying to create a new client via the Google Ads API, but the request consistently fails with this response:

{
  "error": {
    "code": 400,
    "message": "Request contains an invalid argument.",
    "status": "INVALID_ARGUMENT",
    "details": [
      {
        "@type": "type.googleapis.com/google.ads.googleads.v22.errors.GoogleAdsFailure",
        "errors": [
          {
            "errorCode": {
              "requestError": "UNKNOWN"
            },
            "message": "The error code is not in this version."
          }
        ],
        "requestId": "ExNbo7FMI3-ux4gZyG6YhA"
      }
    ]
  }
}

All parameters look valid, but the API still returns this UNKNOWN requestError.
I also reproduced the issue using the official API Test Tool — same result.

Has anyone experienced this recently or figured out what triggers "The error code is not in this version"?
Could it be related to the API version (v22) or a mismatch in the request schema?

Any insights would be much appreciated!

— Michael

[Google Ads API Forum Advisor]

Hi,

 

Thank you for reaching out to the Google Ads API support team.

After reviewing your concern, it appears the UNKNOWN error you are encountering with the message "The error code is not in this version" is due to missing required fields in your request when attempting to create a customer client via the Google Ads API.

The request ID you provided indicates that you were only passing the descriptiveName field in the request body.

However, the API requires the descriptiveName and the currencyCode and timeZone to successfully create a new customer client.

To resolve this issue and receive a successful response, you must update your request to include the currencyCode and timeZone fields.

Here is an example of the corrected request body and response :

 

{

  "customerClient": {

    "descriptiveName": "Testname",

    "currencyCode": "yourcurrencycode",

    "timeZone": "YourTimezone"

  }

}

{

  "resourceName": "customers/6962391496"

}

 

Thanks,
 

Google Ads API Team

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[2025-11-05 07:26:52Z GMT] This message is in relation to case "ref:!00D1U01174p.!500Ht01vShVk:ref" (ADR-00338499)

[Wim Lokal]

Hi,

thanks for your reply and clarification.
We’ve tried your suggestion, but unfortunately there’s still no change in the result.

Here’s the exact request body we’re using:

{
  "customerClient": {
    "descriptiveName": "Test",
    "timeZone": "Europe/Berlin",
    "currencyCode": "EUR"
  }
}

And this is the response we get:

{
  "error": {
    "code": 400,
    "message": "Request contains an invalid argument.",
    "status": "INVALID_ARGUMENT",
    "details": [
      {
        "@type": "type.googleapis.com/google.ads.googleads.v22.errors.GoogleAdsFailure",
        "errors": [
          {
            "errorCode": {
              "requestError": "UNKNOWN"
            },

            "message": "The error code is not in this version."
          }
        ],
        "requestId": "SCeznyijr64s3l6F3TrbbA"
      }
    ]
  }
}

We also tested with both API v19 and v22 — same result.
Our script code hasn’t been modified for a while, so we’re wondering if anything has changed recently on your side or if there are any additional required fields now.

Any further ideas?

Best,
Michael

[Google Ads API Forum Advisor]

 

Hi,

 

With regard to your concern, I am checking with the rest of our team and one of our colleagues will reach out to you once we have an update.

 

Thanks,
 

Google Ads API Team

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[2025-11-06 07:07:17Z GMT] This message is in relation to case "ref:!00D1U01174p.!500Ht01vShVk:ref" (ADR-00338499)

[Edinho Bos]

We experience the exact same issue as described above (on 10+ accounts). So would be very interested in hearing about a solution.

We have also tested it on other versions of the API like V20 and V22, but with the same result.

A few of our responses including requestIds:

 { "message": "Request contains an invalid argument.", "code": 3, "status": "INVALID_ARGUMENT", "details": [ { "@type": "type.googleapis.com\/google.ads.googleads.v21.errors.GoogleAdsFailure", "errors": [ { "errorCode": { "requestError": "UNKNOWN" }, "message": "The error code is not in this version." } ], "requestId": "7W8fbjLYJzLmdunE-KqG-A" } ]}

{ "message": "Request contains an invalid argument.", "code": 3, "status": "INVALID_ARGUMENT", "details": [ { "@type": "type.googleapis.com\/google.ads.googleads.v21.errors.GoogleAdsFailure", "errors": [ { "errorCode": { "requestError": "UNKNOWN" }, "message": "The error code is not in this version." } ], "requestId": "Zr1k-54SEzf3cZza8jNnXw" } ]}

[Google Ads API Forum Advisor]

Hi,

 

Thanks for providing more information regarding this case. I have passed the new information onto the according engineering team. As of now we are still waiting for an update from them. Once we hear back we will update this case accordingly. Thanks. 

Thanks,
 

Da Yang Google Ads API Team

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[2025-11-11 09:42:33Z GMT] This message is in relation to case "ref:!00D1U01174p.!500Ht01vShVk:ref" (ADR-00338499)

[Wim Lokal]

OK, great — and thanks for the quick update. We’re really looking forward to the short dev feedback so we can proceed.

Best,
Michael

[Wim Lokal]

Hi all,

could you please share an update on when your developer will be able to take a look at this?
We’ve been waiting for the feedback for a while now, and it would really help us to understand a concrete timeframe so we can plan on our side.

Thanks in advance,
Michael