Idempotency & Deduplication

Idempotency means that sending the same request twice won't create duplicate records — like pressing an elevator button multiple times still only calls the elevator once. This is important because network issues can sometimes cause your system to send the same request more than once, and you don't want duplicate messages going out to court participants.

eCourtDate automatically checks for duplicate messages within a 30-minute window. If a duplicate is detected, the API returns HTTP 409 Conflict rather than creating a second message.

Controlling Duplicate Detection

Option	Description
skip_duplicate=true	Skip duplicate checking entirely for this request.
duplicate_buffer / duplicate_interval	Customize the length of the deduplication window.
Unique client_reference	Assign a unique reference per client record to avoid overlap.
Unique event_reference	Assign a unique reference per event record to avoid overlap.

Tracking Records with UUIDs

Every successful create operation returns a uuid in the response body. Always store this value. It serves as the primary identifier for the record across all subsequent API calls.

• Use the uuid with PATCH endpoints to update existing records instead of creating duplicates.
• Use the uuid with GET endpoints to retrieve the current state of a record.
• Use the uuid with DELETE endpoints to remove a record.

Best Practice

Always store the uuid returned from creation responses. When you need to update a record, use the PATCH endpoint with the stored uuid rather than creating a new record. This prevents duplicates and keeps your data consistent.