*REST API › Endpoint reference › CRM › Contacts*

# Delete a contact

> Deletes the contact and everything hanging from it: its relationships with other contacts (in both directions), its notes, its files, its tasks, its payment methods and its customer portal access.

> **Not reversible:** This operation cannot be undone.

The related contacts themselves are NOT deleted. It is NOT reversible. Responds 204 with no body: the contact no longer exists for the API (its GET responds 404). 409 `contact_in_use` if anything still uses the contact — orders, projects (also as their contact person), quotes, invoices, proformas, credit notes, sales receipts, supplier invoices, contracts, subrents (as provider), purchase orders (as supplier), SEPA mandates, receipts or consignments —: nothing is deleted and `errors[]` carries one entry per type that uses it (`path` is the type, `count` how many). Archive it instead with [`PATCH /api/v1/contacts/{contactId}`](https://docs.filmo.io/rest-api/endpoint-reference/contacts/update-a-contact) and `status: archived`. 404 if the contact does not exist or belongs to another account.

`DELETE /api/v1/contacts/{contactId}` — scope `contacts:write`

Scope: `contacts:write` · 120/min · Inherited tenancy · Idempotency-Key · If-Match · Not reversible · MCP: `filmo_contacts_delete`

## Authorizations

Bearer API key with the scope below. `contacts:write`

## Headers

| Name | Type | Required | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `Idempotency-Key` | string | No | Unique identifier of the request, chosen by the client (a UUID works). Between 1 and 255 characters: an empty header is rejected with 400 `validation_error`, because the client would believe itself protected. Repeating the same key with the SAME body within 24 h returns the stored response without executing again, with the `Idempotent-Replay: true` header. With a DIFFERENT body it returns 422. It is the safe way to retry after a network timeout. |
| `If-Match` | string | No | Optimistic locking: the `ETag` you read from the resource (or `*`). If the resource changed since, the write is rejected with `412 precondition_failed` before doing anything; read it again and retry. Without the header the write always proceeds. |

## Path parameters

| Name | Type | Required | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `contactId` | string | Yes | Contact identifier. |

## Request examples

*Delete a contact*

**cURL**

```bash
curl https://app.filmo.io/api/v1/contacts/cont_8f2a1c \
  --request DELETE \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer $FILMO_API_KEY" \
  --header "Idempotency-Key: $(uuidgen 2>/dev/null || cat /proc/sys/kernel/random/uuid)"
```

**Node.js**

```javascript
fetch('https://app.filmo.io/api/v1/contacts/cont_8f2a1c', {
  method: 'DELETE',
  headers: {
    Authorization: 'Bearer YOUR_FILMO_API_KEY',
    'Idempotency-Key': crypto.randomUUID()
  }
})
```

**Python**

```python
import uuid
import requests

requests.delete(
    "https://app.filmo.io/api/v1/contacts/cont_8f2a1c",
    headers={
      "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_FILMO_API_KEY",
      "Idempotency-Key": str(uuid.uuid4())
    }
)
```

## Response

| Status | Description |
| --- | --- |
| 204 | No content. |
| 401 | Authentication failed (unauthorized, api_key_invalid, api_key_revoked, api_key_expired, api_key_owner_inactive, api_key_owner_not_admin). |
| 403 | Not allowed (insufficient_scope: the API key does not have the required scope, named in `requiredScope`; forbidden: the owner of the key lacks the permission the operation requires). `insufficient_scope` is answered before the request counts against the rate limit, so it carries no `RateLimit-*` headers; `forbidden` does. |
| 404 | Resource not found (not_found): it does not exist or is outside the scope of the API key. |
| 409 | Conflict (conflict): the current state of the resource prevents the operation, a request with that Idempotency-Key is already in progress, or another conditional write (`If-Match`) held the resource for more than five seconds. `errors[0].code` says which: `in_progress` and `lock_timeout` are solved by retrying; `invalid_state` is not, because the state of the resource forbids the operation. |
| 412 | Precondition failed (precondition_failed): the `If-Match` entity tag does not match the current representation. Read the resource again and retry. |
| 422 | Idempotency-Key reused (idempotency_key_reused): the same key was used before with a different body. Change the key. |
| 429 | Rate limit exceeded (rate_limited): retry after `Retry-After` seconds; `RateLimit-*` says which quota ran out. |
| 500 | Internal error (internal_error). |

204: No body.

## Errors

| Status | Codes | Meaning |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 404 | `not_found` | It does not exist or is outside the scope of the API key. |
| 409 | `conflict`, `contact_in_use` | The current state of the resource prevents the operation, a request with that Idempotency-Key is already in progress, or another conditional write (`If-Match`) held the resource for more than five seconds. `errors[0].code` says which: `in_progress` and `lock_timeout` are solved by retrying; `invalid_state` is not, because the state of the resource forbids the operation. |
| 412 | `precondition_failed` | The `If-Match` entity tag does not match the current representation. Read the resource again and retry. |
| 422 | `idempotency_key_reused` | The same key was used before with a different body. Change the key. |

## Deprecation

This operation is not deprecated. Deprecations are announced with a Deprecation header and a sunset date.

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Canonical URL: https://docs.filmo.io/rest-api/endpoint-reference/contacts/delete-a-contact  
Last updated: 2026-10-25