> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.uptiq.ai/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.uptiq.ai/document-ai/cookbooks/discovering-document-types.md).

# Discovering document types

**Goal.** Fetch the list of document types and accepted file formats programmatically, so your integration does not carry a hardcoded copy that silently goes stale.

New document types are added as configuration rather than as a release. A list you hardcode today will be incomplete at some point, and you will not get an error when it happens — you will get a rejected or badly-routed document.

### Before you start

Nothing. The main endpoint here is the one operation on the API that needs no key.

### Step 1 — List the document types

Use [List supported documents](/document-ai/developer-documentation/utility-1/list-all-supported-document-types-from-yaml-configs.md) for the complete response schema.

```bash
curl -s "https://api-docai-uat.uptiq.ai/listSupportedDocuments"
```

```json
{
  "status": "success",
  "documents": [
    {
      "type": "BalanceSheet",
      "name": "Balance Sheet",
      "category": "Financial Report",
      "description": "Statement of assets, liabilities and equity at a point in time"
    }
  ],
  "taxForms": {
    "Business": [ ],
    "BusinessTaxForms": [ ],
    "IndividualTaxForms": [ ]
  }
}
```

| Field         | Use                                                                    |
| ------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `type`        | The value you send as `documentType`. **This is the one that matters** |
| `name`        | Human-readable label, for your own UI                                  |
| `category`    | Grouping — useful for building a picker or routing by family           |
| `description` | What the type covers, for disambiguation                               |

{% hint style="warning" %}
`taxForms` is a **separate object**, not part of `documents`, and it is keyed by group (`Business`, `BusinessTaxForms`, `IndividualTaxForms`) rather than being a flat list. Code that reads only `documents` will miss every tax form. Handle both.
{% endhint %}

### Step 2 — Build a lookup

```bash
curl -s "https://api-docai-uat.uptiq.ai/listSupportedDocuments" \
  | jq -r '.documents[] | "\(.category)\t\(.type)\t\(.name)"' \
  | sort > document-types.tsv
```

Or as a validation set:

```python
import json, urllib.request

with urllib.request.urlopen("https://api-docai-uat.uptiq.ai/listSupportedDocuments") as r:
    registry = json.load(r)

valid = {d["type"] for d in registry["documents"]}
for group in registry.get("taxForms", {}).values():
    valid.update(group if isinstance(group, list) else group.keys())

def check(document_type):
    if document_type not in valid:
        raise ValueError(f"{document_type!r} is not a supported document type")
```

Refresh it as part of your build, and fail the build when a type you depend on disappears. That turns a silent runtime misroute into a visible build failure.

### Step 3 — Check accepted file formats

Formats vary **by document type** — a bank statement accepts spreadsheets, an ID document does not. This endpoint **does** require a key, despite sitting in the same group as the public one.

Use [Get supported file types](/document-ai/developer-documentation/utility-1/get-supported-file-types-for-all-document-types.md) for the complete response schema.

```bash
curl -s "https://api-docai-uat.uptiq.ai/document/supported-file-types" \
  -H "X-Api-Key: $DOCAI_API_KEY"
```

```json
{
  "count": 115,
  "data": {
    "BalanceSheet":   ["pdf", "xlsx", "xls", "docx"],
    "BankStatements": ["pdf", "xlsx", "xls", "docx"],
    "AadhaarCard":    ["pdf", "jpg", "jpeg", "png"],
    "ArticlesOfIncorporation": ["pdf", "jpg", "jpeg", "png", "docx"]
  }
}
```

Validate before you spend a call — and before you spend the credit:

```python
formats = supported["data"].get(document_type, [])
if extension.lower().lstrip(".") not in formats:
    raise ValueError(f"{document_type} does not accept .{extension}")
```

### A caveat on counts

{% hint style="warning" %}
Do not hardcode the **number** of document types, and be careful about quoting one. This endpoint reports its own count, and the [Document Types](/document-ai/guides-1/document-types.md) page maintains a categorised list — the two do not currently agree, and they may be counting different things or reflecting different environments.

Read the registry for the set of valid `type` values, which is what your code actually needs. Treat any total as informational.
{% endhint %}

### Why bother

| Hardcoding                               | Reading the registry    |
| ---------------------------------------- | ----------------------- |
| Goes stale silently when types are added | Always current          |
| A typo becomes a runtime misroute        | Caught at build time    |
| Format rules duplicated in your code     | Authoritative, per type |
| New capability needs a code change       | Picked up automatically |

### Related pages

* [Utility API](/document-ai/developer-documentation/integration-guides/utility.md) — both endpoints in full.
* [Document Types](/document-ai/guides-1/document-types.md) — the same registry as a categorised, annotated reference.
* [Classify, then extract](/document-ai/cookbooks/classify-then-extract.md) — for when you cannot determine the type yourself.


---

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