How do I troubleshoot "ThrottlingException" and "Rate exceeded" errors in Amazon SNS?

Short description

Amazon SNS API calls can't exceed the maximum allowed API request rate for each AWS account and Region. If API requests exceed this API throttling quota, further API calls are throttled and Amazon SNS returns a ThrottlingException error.

To prevent or mitigate ThrottlingException errors in Amazon SNS, you can implement one or more of the best practices outlined in this article.

Amazon SNS ThrottlingException error message examples

• "An error occurred (ThrottlingException) when calling the Subscribe operation: Rate exceeded"
• "An error occurred (ThrottlingException) when calling the ListOriginationNumbers operation: Rate exceeded"
• "An error occurred (ThrottlingException) when calling the ListPhoneNumbersOptedOut operation: Rate exceeded"
• "An error occurred (ThrottlingException) when calling the publish operation: Rate exceeded"
• "An error occurred (ThrottlingException) when calling the GetSMSAttributes operation: Rate exceeded"

Note: Amazon SNS API calls are throttled to improve service performance. For more information about Amazon SNS API throttling quotas, see Amazon SNS endpoints and quotas.

Resolution

Best practices for preventing ThrottlingException errors in Amazon SNS

• Reduce the frequency of the API calls.
• Stagger the intervals of the API calls.
• Implement error retries and exponential backoff.

If you still receive ThrottlingException errors after implementing these best practices, request a service quota increase for the API action that's receiving the error.

To request an Amazon SNS service quota increase

Follow the instructions in AWS service quotas. When you enter your Use case description, make sure that you include the time frame of the throttling issue and the reason for the quota increase request.

Important: You can request service quota increases for Soft Amazon SNS quotas only. You can't increase Hard Amazon SNS quotas. For more information, see Amazon SNS endpoints and quotas.