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Troubleshoot cDocs Errors

Troubleshoot cDocs errors and unexpected document-sending behaviours with Common App — including error codes, status issues and blank or stuck document scenarios.

Written by MOHIT MMANGAL

Common Status Issues (Not Error Codes)

Document showing "Sending" or "Sending to ED" for longer than expected

If a document has been showing "Sending" status for more than 30 minutes and has not moved to "Sent", this can happen in the following scenarios:

  • Common App system delay: Common App may be experiencing a processing delay. Wait 15–30 minutes and refresh the page. If still stuck, proceed to the next steps.

  • ED/ED2 agreement not completed by the student: For Early Decision applications, the student must complete and sign the ED agreement on Common App before ED documents can be fully processed. Ask the student to log in to Common App and check if the ED agreement is pending their signature.

  • CEEB code mismatch: If the student's school CEEB code in Common App doesn't match, document sending may stall. Check the student's Common App account under Education → Current or Most Recent Secondary/High School and verify the CEEB code is correct.

Note : Contact Chat with Cialfo with the student's name, CAID, the document type, and whether there is an upcoming deadline if it is still stuck after 1 hour.


How to confirm document delivery to the university?

If you sent a document but are unsure whether it was received by the university:

  1. Refresh the cDocs page and check the status column — a green "Sent" status confirms the document was successfully delivered to Common App.

  2. Note that BridgeU and Common App sync every 24 hours — a brief delay in status updating is normal.

  3. If the status still shows "Ready to Send" (not "Sent"), the document was not successfully sent. Try sending again.

  4. If the status shows "Sent" but the university says they haven't received it, the university's internal processing may take additional time. Contact support with the student's CAID and university name — the team will contact Common App directly to confirm delivery.

The document was sent successfully; however, the university received a blank page.

If a document was sent and the status shows "Sent" but the university reports receiving a blank document, the most common causes are:

  • The PDF contains security restrictions: If the uploaded document has any password protection, encryption, or security settings, Common App may process it but the content will appear blank to the recipient. Re-export the PDF from your original source without any security settings and re-upload.

  • The PDF was not exported as a standard PDF: Ensure the file is exported as Acrobat 5.0 (PDF 1.4) standard or lower. Some newer PDF formats are not fully compatible with Common App. Re-export from your original transcript system and re-upload before attempting to send again.

  • File corruption during upload: Try re-uploading the document from a different device or browser and re-send.


Error: Bad Request

This error is showing because Common App may be experiencing an error on their system. Wait for a few minutes, then try again.

If the error persists, reach out to us through Chat with Cialfo with: student's name, student's Common App ID, type of document being sent, and any urgent application deadline.

Error: Common App is experiencing an issue, please try again later.

This error is showing because Common App may be experiencing an error on their system. Wait for a few minutes, then try again. If the error persists, reach out to Chat with Cialfo.

Error: Request Timed Out

This error is showing because Common App may be experiencing an error on their system. Wait for a few minutes, then try again. If the error persists, reach out to Chat with Cialfo.


Error: +######### is invalid format

The phone number of the recommender is deemed invalid — insufficient digits or a number that doesn't exist.

For a counselor document:

  • If you are the Common App counselor: go to your Settings page and update your phone number with the correct country code.

  • If this is another counselor: have an admin go to the People page to update their phone number.

  • Alternatively, update the School Phone Number under School Information.

For a teacher document: Inform the relevant teacher to update their phone number in their Settings, or have an admin update it via the People page. Once updated, retry sending the document.

Error: A counselor is already invited outside of Cialfo. Please contact Common App

This student has already invited a counselor directly from Common App, preventing Cialfo from linking recommenders.

  • Ask the student to log in to Common App and cancel the recommendation request they previously made.

  • Ensure the student has the correct school selected in their Common App Education section (use the school's CEEB code).

Alternatively, contact Common App support directly with the student's name and CAID to request removal.

Error: Form already submitted

The document you are trying to send has already been successfully submitted to Common App. Refresh the page to confirm the "Sent" status.

The “Form already submitted” message during document sending does not mean the submission failed. In most cases, it indicates that the form was already submitted successfully in an earlier session either via Cialfo or directly on Common App and verify the document status:

  • Refresh the cDocs Submissions page for the student.

  • If the status shows Sent, no further action is required.

  • If the status still shows Ready to Send along with the error, Cialfo Support should be contacted for further investigation.


Error: Invalid answer format. Cannot validate upload file for ...

The document does not meet Common App's standard requirements.

Ensure the following:

  • No security or password protection on the file

  • File format: Acrobat 5.0 (PDF 1.4) standard or lower

Re-upload and replace the previous version, then try sending again. If the error persists, re-export the PDF from your original transcript system, re-upload, and retry.


Error: Invalid answer format. Upload exceeds size limit for ...

The document file size exceeds Common App's limit.

  • File must be less than 2000kb (Cialfo recommends under 1900kb)

Compress the file and re-upload before retrying.


Error: Invalid answer format. Validation Failed ...

One or more values in the document are invalid per Common App requirements. If this relates to Job Title: ensure it is limited to 60 characters with no special characters.

Error: Invalid answer format. Value should be between [date & time]...

A date in the document falls outside the current Common App application cycle. Check the School Information section for the following date fields: School Profile — Graduation Date, GPA — GPA Date Range, Mid-Year Report — Approximately when are mid-year grades typically available, Class Rank — Rank date range.

Error: Invitation already exists

This student has already invited a recommender directly via Common App. The student needs to cancel their recommender request directly on Common App. Alternatively, counselors may contact Common App via live agent support or their contact form.


Error: Recommender has been invited by Common App or a different partner

The counselor's email address has already been used with Common App (likely by a student who invited them directly). Use ONE of these methods:

Option 1 — Contact Common App Support to remove the recommender request. Counselors can use live agent support or the contact form, providing their name and email address.

Option 2 — Change the email used with Common App — teacher/counselor logs into their Common App recommender account and updates to a different email. Then retry sending.

Option 3 — Use an alternate email on Cialfo — navigate to cDocs Recommenders, select the relevant person, and update the email to 'Create a new Recommender ID'. This is not preferred as it requires using a non-school email going forward.

Error: Secondary School Report must be submitted first.

The Common App School Report needs to be submitted before you can send the next document. If you have already sent it, refresh the page until you see a successful "Sent" status before proceeding.

Error: Your email address could not be successfully linked to Common App

The email of the recommender is already registered on Common App (note: this refers to the recommender, not the counselor trying to send).

This means either:

  1. The recommender has registered for a student, recommender, or advisor account on Common App using that email — they need to log in to their Common App account and change the email to a different one, then retry.

  2. One or more students have invited the recommender directly on Common App — contact Common App support with the recommender's email to remove the request.

Application Page Error

Students may sometimes experience unexpected issues on the Application Page, such as broken page elements, loading issues, or incorrect display behavior, even when the counselor-side configuration appears correct.

These issues are often caused by temporary session conflicts or syncing problems rather than configuration errors.

Troubleshooting

  • Logging out and logging back into Cialfo

  • Clearing browser cache

  • Trying a different browser or device

  • Confirming that the counselor has correctly saved the application configurations


Question ID Reference List

School Report

1214: Job title (CA Counselor)

1215: Phone Number (CA Counselor)

1248: School Profile

1286–1289: Transcripts (first through fourth)

1295: International official results

1797: Current Courses

Optional Report

1327: Optional Transcript

1334: Change explanation (Optional Report)

Mid-Year Report

1354: Mid-Year Transcript

1361: Change explanation (Mid-Year Report)

Final Report

1380: Final Transcript

1386: Change explanation (Final Report)

Teacher Evaluation

1392: Job Title (Teacher)

1393: Phone Number (Teacher)

1448: Teacher Recommendation

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