<iframe src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-M74D8PB" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden">
Loading
Skip to NavigationSkip to Main Content
Understanding Authorization Error “Custom Scopes Are Not Allowed for This Request”
Okta Classic Engine
Okta Identity Engine
API Access Management
Overview

This article covers the reason behind the error message below that is encountered during the /authorize call in Okta"

 

Custom Scopes Are Not Allowed for This Request

Applies To
  • Okta Identity Engine (OIE)
  • Classic Engine
  • Org Authorization Server
  • Custom Authorization Server
  • Authorization Code Grant
  • Implicit Grant
  • Interaction Code Grant
  • API Access Management
Cause

The primary cause of this error is when requesting custom scopes from the Org Authorization Server in Okta. The Org Authorization Server only supports Okta's default API scopes and does not recognize custom scopes, as they cannot be configured in the Org Authorization Server. This limitation leads to an error when custom scopes are included in the scopes parameter in the authorization request.

 

Example Authorization URL for Org Authorization Server:

https://{yourOktaDomain}/oauth2/v1/authorize?
     client_id={clientId}&
     response_type=code&
     scope=openid someCustomScope&
     redirect_uri=http://localhost:8080/authorization-code/callback&
     state=state-123

 

Example Error Response:

http://localhost:8080/authorization-code/callback?
    state=state-123&
    error=invalid_scope&
    error_description=Custom+scopes+are+not+allowed+for+this+request.

 

NOTE: The error message will be sent to the redirect_uri configured in the authorize call.

Solution

When requesting custom scopes while making the /authorize call, ensure that the request URL includes the custom authorization server ID where the custom scope is defined.

 

Example Authorization URL for Custom Authorization Server:

https://{yourOktaDomain}/oauth2/{customAuthorizationServerId}/v1/authorize?
     client_id={clientId}&
     response_type=code&
     scope=openid someCustomScope&
     redirect_uri=http://localhost:8080/authorization-code/callback&
     state=state-123

Related References

Loading
Understanding Authorization Error “Custom Scopes Are Not Allowed for This Request”