errors / soap-web-services / invalid-id-value-reference-type
Invalid ID Value for a Reference ID Type
The error SOAP-ENV:Client.validationError — Invalid ID value. 'ABC123' is not a valid ID value for type Organization_Reference_ID
What it means
Your request referenced an object by ID, but Workday couldn't find any object of that type with that ID in this tenant. The value isn't wrong in format — it simply doesn't exist as that reference type here. This is a data problem, not a permissions or syntax problem.
Troubleshooting
- Confirm which reference ID type the request uses —
Organization_Reference_IDis not the same asCost_Center_Reference_IDor the organization's name. - In the tenant, run the Integration IDs report (or View Organization > Integration IDs) and check whether the value exists.
- Check the environment: IDs often differ between implementation and production tenants — a payload built for IMPL will fail in PROD.
- If the value comes from an upstream system, check for truncation, whitespace, or stale mappings.
⚡ Quick fix
Correct the ID in the request payload to one that exists in the target tenant (copy it from the Integration IDs report), then re-run the request.
✓ Permanent fix
Add a lookup/validation step in the integration that resolves IDs against the target tenant before the call, and maintain an environment-specific mapping table so IMPL payloads never reach PROD unmapped.