Does it work if the e-way bill was created yesterday?

Yes. It looks the document up directly, not by date, so the age of the e-way bill does not matter.

How is this different from getting details by e-way bill number?

This one starts from your own document number. If you already have the 12-digit e-way bill number, use the details call, which returns the whole document.

All e-way bill and e-invoice API calls

Find an e-way bill by document type and number

POST /v1/ewaybill/lookup

Short answer

Send the document type and document number you used when you generated the e-way bill, and get its e-way bill number, date and validity back. It does not depend on when the e-way bill was created, so a document filed just before midnight is found the next day.

Cost: 1 credit per call that reaches the government network, including one that finds nothing. A request that never reaches it (missing fields, no credits) is free.

Every call accepts "test_mode": true and returns a sample in the live shape, free. Set up your API credentials before the first real call.

When to use it

Call it after a generate request answers that the document was already generated, or whenever you have a document number but lost the e-way bill number. It is also the recovery path for a document generated outside gstinapi.in.

Use it only when you need it. Each call that reaches the government network is charged, including one that finds nothing.

doc_type must match exactly

The lookup matches the document type and number exactly as they were submitted. An e-way bill filed as a delivery challan (CHL) is not found when you ask for INV: you get the "No record found" answer, and it is still charged.

Request fields

Field	Type	Required	Meaning
gstin	string	Yes	The GSTIN you act as, with API access set up.
gstin_username	string	Yes	The e-way bill API username for that GSTIN. Never stored.
password	string	Yes	The matching API password. Never stored.
doc_type	string	Yes	Document type exactly as submitted, for example INV, CHL, BIL.
doc_no	string	Yes	Document number exactly as submitted.
test_mode	boolean	No	true returns a sample in the live shape: free, nothing is filed.

Send your API key in the x-api-key header. Government API credentials are used for the one call and never stored.

Example

The request below runs in test mode, so it is free and files nothing. Remove test_mode for a real call.

curl -X POST "https://www.gstinapi.in/v1/ewaybill/lookup" \
  -H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{ "gstin": "24AAAAA0000A1Z5", "gstin_username": "YOUR_EWB_API_USER", "password": "YOUR_EWB_API_PASSWORD", "doc_type": "INV", "doc_no": "INV-1001", "test_mode": true }'

Response

{
  "success": true,
  "ewaybill_no": "351000000123",
  "ewaybill_date": "23/10/2026 10:50:00 AM",
  "valid_upto": "24/10/2026 11:59:00 PM",
  "doc_no": "INV-1001",
  "billed_to": "paid",
  "credits_remaining": 199
}

Errors you can expect

Code	Message	What to do
418	No record found	No e-way bill matches that document type and number for this GSTIN. Check the document type first: it must match what was filed.

All e-way bill API error codes

Questions

Does it work if the e-way bill was created yesterday?: Yes. It looks the document up directly, not by date, so the age of the e-way bill does not matter.
How is this different from getting details by e-way bill number?: This one starts from your own document number. If you already have the 12-digit e-way bill number, use the details call, which returns the whole document.

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