Form Recognizer API (v2.0)

On 31 August 2026 Azure AI Document Intelligence (formerly known as Azure Form Recognizer) v2.0 API will be retired. Please transition to Azure AI Document Intelligence v3.1 API by that date following the detailed steps.

Form Recognizer extracts information from forms and images into structured data. It includes the following options: * Form - Extracts information from forms (PDFs and images) into structured data based on a model created from a set of representative training forms. Form Recognizer learns the structure of your forms to intelligently extract text and data. It ingests text from forms, applies machine learning technology to identify keys, tables, and fields, and then outputs structured data that includes the relationships within the original file. * Receipt - Detects and extracts data from receipts using optical character recognition (OCR) and our receipt model, enabling you to easily extract structured data from receipts such as merchant name, merchant phone number, transaction date, transaction total, and more. * Layout - Extracts text and table structure from documents using optical character recognition (OCR).

Analyze Layout - Analyze Layout

Extract text and layout information from a given document. The input document must be of one of the supported content types - 'application/pdf', 'image/jpeg', 'image/png' or 'image/tiff'. Alternatively, use 'application/json' type to specify the Url location of the document to be analyzed.

Select the testing console in the region where you created your resource:

Australia East Brazil South Canada Central Central India Central US Central US EUAP East Asia East US East US 2 France Central Germany West Central Japan East Japan West Korea Central North Central US North Europe South Africa North South Central US Southeast Asia Switzerland North Switzerland West UAE North UK South West Central US West Europe West US West US 2 West US 3 Norway East Jio India West

Request URL

Request headers

string
Media type of the body sent to the API.
string
Subscription key which provides access to this API. Found in your Cognitive Services accounts.

Request body

.json, .pdf, .jpg, .png or .tiff type file stream.

{
  "source": "http://example.com/test.jpg"
}
{
  "description": "Url to source data.",
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "source": {
      "description": "Url path.",
      "maxLength": 2048,
      "minLength": 0,
      "type": "string"
    }
  },
  "example": {
    "source": "http://example.com/test.jpg"
  }
}
{
  "source": "http://example.com/test.jpg"
}
{
  "description": "Url to source data.",
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "source": {
      "description": "Url path.",
      "maxLength": 2048,
      "minLength": 0,
      "type": "string"
    }
  },
  "example": {
    "source": "http://example.com/test.jpg"
  }
}
{
  "source": "http://example.com/test.jpg"
}
{
  "description": "Url to source data.",
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "source": {
      "description": "Url path.",
      "maxLength": 2048,
      "minLength": 0,
      "type": "string"
    }
  },
  "example": {
    "source": "http://example.com/test.jpg"
  }
}
{
  "source": "http://example.com/test.jpg"
}
{
  "description": "Url to source data.",
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "source": {
      "description": "Url path.",
      "maxLength": 2048,
      "minLength": 0,
      "type": "string"
    }
  },
  "example": {
    "source": "http://example.com/test.jpg"
  }
}
{
  "source": "http://example.com/test.jpg"
}
{
  "description": "Url to source data.",
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "source": {
      "description": "Url path.",
      "maxLength": 2048,
      "minLength": 0,
      "type": "string"
    }
  },
  "example": {
    "source": "http://example.com/test.jpg"
  }
}

Response 202

The service has accepted the request and will start processing soon. The client can query the operation status and result using the URL specified in the 'Operation-Location' response header. The URL expires in 48 hours.

Operation-Location URL containing the resultId used to track the progress and obtain the result of the analyze operation.
Example: https://cognitiveservice/formrecognizer/v2.0/layout/analyzeResults/{resultId}

Sample Response Header:

Content-Length: 0 Operation-Location: https://centraluseuap.api.cognitive.microsoft.com/formrecognizer/v2.0/layout/analyzeResults/4ebd1503-3c14-4f90-9127-da0ecfec7bcd apim-request-id: 4ebd1503-3c14-4f90-9127-da0ecfec7bcd Date: Fri, 04 Sep 2020 10:22:17 GMT

Response 400

Bad request error. Detailed error code and message are specified in the JSON response:

Error Code Description
BadArgument Bad or unrecognizable request JSON or binary file.
InvalidImageURL Image URL is badly formatted.
FailedToDownloadImage Failed to download image from input URL.
InvalidImage The input data is not a valid image or password protected.
UnsupportedImageFormat Image format unsupported. Supported formats include JPEG, PNG, PDF and TIFF.
InvalidImageSize The input image is too large. It should not be larger than 50MB.
InvalidImageDimension The input image dimension is out of range. The minimum image dimension is 50 x 50 pixels and the maximum is 10000 x 10000 pixels. The maximum PDF dimension is 17 x 17 inches. 

{
  "error": {
    "code": "BadArgument",
    "message": "Invalid input."
  }
}
{
  "type": "object",
  "required": [
    "error"
  ],
  "properties": {
    "error": {
      "type": "object",
      "required": [
        "code",
        "message"
      ],
      "properties": {
        "code": {
          "type": "string"
        },
        "message": {
          "type": "string"
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Response 415

Unsupported media type error. 'Content-Type' does not match the POST content.

  • For image URL, 'Content-Type' should be 'application/json'.
  • For binary PDF data, 'Content-Type' should be 'application/pdf'.
  • For binary image data, 'Content-Type' should be 'image/jpeg', 'image/png' or 'image/tiff'.

{
  "error": {
    "code": "BadArgument",
    "message": "Unsupported media type."
  }
}
{
  "type": "object",
  "required": [
    "error"
  ],
  "properties": {
    "error": {
      "type": "object",
      "required": [
        "code",
        "message"
      ],
      "properties": {
        "code": {
          "type": "string"
        },
        "message": {
          "type": "string"
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Response 500

Internal server error.

{
  "error": {
    "code": "Unspecified",
    "message": "Internal server error."
  }
}
{
  "type": "object",
  "required": [
    "error"
  ],
  "properties": {
    "error": {
      "type": "object",
      "required": [
        "code",
        "message"
      ],
      "properties": {
        "code": {
          "type": "string"
        },
        "message": {
          "type": "string"
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Response 503

Transient fault while querying Microsoft Azure storage services.

{
  "error": {
    "code": "StorageException",
    "message": "Transient fault occurred while querying Microsoft Azure storage services. Please try again later."
  }
}
{
  "type": "object",
  "required": [
    "error"
  ],
  "properties": {
    "error": {
      "type": "object",
      "required": [
        "code",
        "message"
      ],
      "properties": {
        "code": {
          "type": "string"
        },
        "message": {
          "type": "string"
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Code samples

@ECHO OFF

curl -v -X POST "https://japanwest.api.cognitive.microsoft.com/formrecognizer/v2.0/layout/analyze"
-H "Content-Type: application/json"
-H "Ocp-Apim-Subscription-Key: {subscription key}"

--data-ascii "{body}" 

using System;
using System.Net.Http.Headers;
using System.Text;
using System.Net.Http;
using System.Web;

namespace CSHttpClientSample
{
    static class Program
    {
        static void Main()
        {
            MakeRequest();
            Console.WriteLine("Hit ENTER to exit...");
            Console.ReadLine();
        }
        
        static async void MakeRequest()
        {
            var client = new HttpClient();
            var queryString = HttpUtility.ParseQueryString(string.Empty);

            // Request headers
            client.DefaultRequestHeaders.Add("Ocp-Apim-Subscription-Key", "{subscription key}");

            var uri = "https://japanwest.api.cognitive.microsoft.com/formrecognizer/v2.0/layout/analyze?" + queryString;

            HttpResponseMessage response;

            // Request body
            byte[] byteData = Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes("{body}");

            using (var content = new ByteArrayContent(byteData))
            {
               content.Headers.ContentType = new MediaTypeHeaderValue("< your content type, i.e. application/json >");
               response = await client.PostAsync(uri, content);
            }

        }
    }
}	
// // This sample uses the Apache HTTP client from HTTP Components (http://hc.apache.org/httpcomponents-client-ga/)
import java.net.URI;
import org.apache.http.HttpEntity;
import org.apache.http.HttpResponse;
import org.apache.http.client.HttpClient;
import org.apache.http.client.methods.HttpGet;
import org.apache.http.client.utils.URIBuilder;
import org.apache.http.impl.client.HttpClients;
import org.apache.http.util.EntityUtils;

public class JavaSample 
{
    public static void main(String[] args) 
    {
        HttpClient httpclient = HttpClients.createDefault();

        try
        {
            URIBuilder builder = new URIBuilder("https://japanwest.api.cognitive.microsoft.com/formrecognizer/v2.0/layout/analyze");


            URI uri = builder.build();
            HttpPost request = new HttpPost(uri);
            request.setHeader("Content-Type", "application/json");
            request.setHeader("Ocp-Apim-Subscription-Key", "{subscription key}");


            // Request body
            StringEntity reqEntity = new StringEntity("{body}");
            request.setEntity(reqEntity);

            HttpResponse response = httpclient.execute(request);
            HttpEntity entity = response.getEntity();

            if (entity != null) 
            {
                System.out.println(EntityUtils.toString(entity));
            }
        }
        catch (Exception e)
        {
            System.out.println(e.getMessage());
        }
    }
}


<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <title>JSSample</title>
    <script src="http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.9.0/jquery.min.js"></script>
</head>
<body>

<script type="text/javascript">
    $(function() {
        var params = {
            // Request parameters
        };
      
        $.ajax({
            url: "https://japanwest.api.cognitive.microsoft.com/formrecognizer/v2.0/layout/analyze?" + $.param(params),
            beforeSend: function(xhrObj){
                // Request headers
                xhrObj.setRequestHeader("Content-Type","application/json");
                xhrObj.setRequestHeader("Ocp-Apim-Subscription-Key","{subscription key}");
            },
            type: "POST",
            // Request body
            data: "{body}",
        })
        .done(function(data) {
            alert("success");
        })
        .fail(function() {
            alert("error");
        });
    });
</script>
</body>
</html>

#import <Foundation/Foundation.h>

int main(int argc, const char * argv[])
{
    NSAutoreleasePool * pool = [[NSAutoreleasePool alloc] init];
    
    NSString* path = @"https://japanwest.api.cognitive.microsoft.com/formrecognizer/v2.0/layout/analyze";
    NSArray* array = @[
                         // Request parameters
                         @"entities=true",
                      ];
    
    NSString* string = [array componentsJoinedByString:@"&"];
    path = [path stringByAppendingFormat:@"?%@", string];

    NSLog(@"%@", path);

    NSMutableURLRequest* _request = [NSMutableURLRequest requestWithURL:[NSURL URLWithString:path]];
    [_request setHTTPMethod:@"POST"];
    // Request headers
    [_request setValue:@"application/json" forHTTPHeaderField:@"Content-Type"];
    [_request setValue:@"{subscription key}" forHTTPHeaderField:@"Ocp-Apim-Subscription-Key"];
    // Request body
    [_request setHTTPBody:[@"{body}" dataUsingEncoding:NSUTF8StringEncoding]];
    
    NSURLResponse *response = nil;
    NSError *error = nil;
    NSData* _connectionData = [NSURLConnection sendSynchronousRequest:_request returningResponse:&response error:&error];

    if (nil != error)
    {
        NSLog(@"Error: %@", error);
    }
    else
    {
        NSError* error = nil;
        NSMutableDictionary* json = nil;
        NSString* dataString = [[NSString alloc] initWithData:_connectionData encoding:NSUTF8StringEncoding];
        NSLog(@"%@", dataString);
        
        if (nil != _connectionData)
        {
            json = [NSJSONSerialization JSONObjectWithData:_connectionData options:NSJSONReadingMutableContainers error:&error];
        }
        
        if (error || !json)
        {
            NSLog(@"Could not parse loaded json with error:%@", error);
        }
        
        NSLog(@"%@", json);
        _connectionData = nil;
    }
    
    [pool drain];

    return 0;
}

<?php
// This sample uses the Apache HTTP client from HTTP Components (http://hc.apache.org/httpcomponents-client-ga/)
require_once 'HTTP/Request2.php';

$request = new Http_Request2('https://japanwest.api.cognitive.microsoft.com/formrecognizer/v2.0/layout/analyze');
$url = $request->getUrl();

$headers = array(
    // Request headers
    'Content-Type' => 'application/json',
    'Ocp-Apim-Subscription-Key' => '{subscription key}',
);

$request->setHeader($headers);

$parameters = array(
    // Request parameters
);

$url->setQueryVariables($parameters);

$request->setMethod(HTTP_Request2::METHOD_POST);

// Request body
$request->setBody("{body}");

try
{
    $response = $request->send();
    echo $response->getBody();
}
catch (HttpException $ex)
{
    echo $ex;
}

?>
########### Python 2.7 #############
import httplib, urllib, base64

headers = {
    # Request headers
    'Content-Type': 'application/json',
    'Ocp-Apim-Subscription-Key': '{subscription key}',
}

params = urllib.urlencode({
})

try:
    conn = httplib.HTTPSConnection('japanwest.api.cognitive.microsoft.com')
    conn.request("POST", "/formrecognizer/v2.0/layout/analyze?%s" % params, "{body}", headers)
    response = conn.getresponse()
    data = response.read()
    print(data)
    conn.close()
except Exception as e:
    print("[Errno {0}] {1}".format(e.errno, e.strerror))

####################################

########### Python 3.2 #############
import http.client, urllib.request, urllib.parse, urllib.error, base64

headers = {
    # Request headers
    'Content-Type': 'application/json',
    'Ocp-Apim-Subscription-Key': '{subscription key}',
}

params = urllib.parse.urlencode({
})

try:
    conn = http.client.HTTPSConnection('japanwest.api.cognitive.microsoft.com')
    conn.request("POST", "/formrecognizer/v2.0/layout/analyze?%s" % params, "{body}", headers)
    response = conn.getresponse()
    data = response.read()
    print(data)
    conn.close()
except Exception as e:
    print("[Errno {0}] {1}".format(e.errno, e.strerror))

####################################
require 'net/http'

uri = URI('https://japanwest.api.cognitive.microsoft.com/formrecognizer/v2.0/layout/analyze')
uri.query = URI.encode_www_form({
})

request = Net::HTTP::Post.new(uri.request_uri)
# Request headers
request['Content-Type'] = 'application/json'
# Request headers
request['Ocp-Apim-Subscription-Key'] = '{subscription key}'
# Request body
request.body = "{body}"

response = Net::HTTP.start(uri.host, uri.port, :use_ssl => uri.scheme == 'https') do |http|
    http.request(request)
end

puts response.body