# Issue with retrieving form document attachment in inbox Messages **URL:** \ **Category:** API & SDK\ **Created:** [February 18, 2026, 9:45pm UTC](https://community.servicem8.com/t/issue-with-retrieving-form-document-attachment-in-inbox-messages/1052 "2026-02-18T21:45:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![thibaut\_holl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@thibaut\_holl](https://community.servicem8.com/u/thibaut_holl)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2026, 9:45pm UTC](https://community.servicem8.com/t/issue-with-retrieving-form-document-attachment-in-inbox-messages/1052/1 "2026-02-18T21:45:18Z")
Hi team, I’m having an issue when a form is created “outside” of a job; the form response is linked to “regardin\_object = inboxMessage”, the record shows that a “document\_attachment\_uuid” exists however when trying to retrieve the attachment using the api call [https://api.servicem8.com/api\_1.0/dboattachment/{uuid}.json](https://api.servicem8.com/api_1.0/dboattachment/%7Buuid%7D.json) I get an error code 404 “record not found” I have tried to update the form response to associate it to a job, which in the ui gives me access to a pdf version of this completed form but I still can’t access that same attachment through the API. Any help would be greatly appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![Cody](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/community.servicem8.com/cody/32/52_2.png) [@Cody](https://community.servicem8.com/u/Cody)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2026, 9:48pm UTC](https://community.servicem8.com/t/issue-with-retrieving-form-document-attachment-in-inbox-messages/1052/2 "2026-02-21T21:48:32Z")
Hi Thibaut, In the API, a FormResponse’s `document_attachment_uuid` is intended to be the UUID of the document attachment generated from that form response (a PDF stored as an attachment). When you call `GET /dboattachment/{uuid}.json`, a 404 means the requested record doesn’t exist (or has been deleted). To confirm whether that UUID actually exists as an Attachment record in your account, try listing attachments with a filter on the UUID. Example: `GET /attachment.json?$filter=uuid eq '{document_attachment_uuid}'` (URL-encode the `$filter` expression in your real request). Because your FormResponse is linked to an Inbox Message (`regarding_object = inboxMessage`), it’s also worth fetching the inbox message itself via `GET /inboxmessage/{uuid}.json` and checking whether the PDF is referenced there instead. If your goal is to associate the message (and its attachments) to a job, the API also supports attaching an inbox message to an existing job via `POST /inboxmessage/{uuid}/attach-to-job.json`. If you still see `document_attachment_uuid` populated but it’s not returned by `/attachment.json` and `/dboattachment/{uuid}.json` is 404, email [support@servicem8.com](mailto:support@servicem8.com) with the FormResponse UUID and the `document_attachment_uuid` and we’ll investigate what’s happening in that specific case. Thanks, Cody ---
**Author:** ![thibaut\_holl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@thibaut\_holl](https://community.servicem8.com/u/thibaut_holl)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2026, 5:12pm UTC](https://community.servicem8.com/t/issue-with-retrieving-form-document-attachment-in-inbox-messages/1052/3 "2026-02-26T17:12:25Z")
Many thanks for the answer Cody! I have gone in a tried a few more things and will try and clarify what was done as I feel there might be a glitch or I might be glitchy myself. #### My original workflow objective and actions - I’m trying to save all our completed "pre-starts & T5” forms to our SharePoint for compliance: 1. I started with an API Call `/formresponse.json?$filer={` **`form_uuid}`** `eq ‘{`_`the pre-start form uuid`_`}’` 2. Saved responses to Sheet 3. Attempt to retrieve the { **document\_attachment\_uuid}** and am faced with the following issues: 1. When forms are completed outside of a job, the response is placed in the inbox as it should, the API calls returns a { **document\_attachment\_uuid}** but when attempting to retrieve the said attachment using `dboattachment/{document_attachment_uuid}.json` I receive the 404 response “record not found” 2. As a side note it appears that within the inbox, { **document\_attachment\_uuid}** records disappear after about a year - I assume that there is an automatic archive of older messages #### Following your advices I have used 1 of the form as an example and then tried to: 1. POST /inboxmessage/{uuid}/attach-to-job.json - I can see the form now appears in the UI against that job but the pdf doesn’t seem to have been generated. 2. running an API call to retrieve form response `Get formresponse/{uuid}.json` I confirmed the **document\_attachment\_uuid** and that the form response is now in **regarding\_object = Job** 3. Running API call to retrieve the attachment and am faced with the same issue @Cody is this something I could try differently? Is there an issue with the api and retrieving pdf from inboxmessage? is there an API call to generate a pdf using a form’s answers? Any additional suggestions I could try to achieve my primary goal? Many thanks for the help to date and looking forward to solving this curly one! ---
**Author:** ![Cody](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/community.servicem8.com/cody/32/52_2.png) [@Cody](https://community.servicem8.com/u/Cody)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2026, 5:15pm UTC](https://community.servicem8.com/t/issue-with-retrieving-form-document-attachment-in-inbox-messages/1052/4 "2026-03-01T17:15:01Z")
Hi Thibaut, From the API side, `document_attachment_uuid` on a FormResponse is intended to link to the PDF document attachment generated from that form response. If `GET /dboattachment/{document_attachment_uuid}.json` is returning 404, that means the attachment record doesn’t exist (or has been deleted). A couple of quick checks that usually narrow down what’s happening: 1. Confirm you’re filtering FormResponses using the documented `$filter` syntax (not `$filer`), for example: `GET /formresponse.json?$filter=form_uuid eq '{your_form_uuid}'` (and URL-encode in your real request). 2. Confirm the attachment record exists by listing attachments and filtering by UUID: `GET /attachment.json?$filter=uuid eq '{document_attachment_uuid}'`. 3. For forms completed “outside a job”, also pull the Inbox Message detail record (`GET /inboxmessage/{uuid}.json`) as this is designed to return the message details including attachments. 4. On the “disappearing after a year” side note: inbox messages can be archived (`is_archived`), and the list endpoint supports a `filter=archived` option, so it’s worth checking whether older items are archived rather than removed. Also worth noting: `POST /inboxmessage/{uuid}/attach-to-job.json` attaches an inbox message to an existing job, but it doesn’t generate (or regenerate) a PDF from a FormResponse as part of that operation. If you’re still seeing `document_attachment_uuid` populated on the FormResponse but (a) `/attachment.json?$filter=uuid eq '...'` returns nothing and (b) `/dboattachment/{uuid}.json` is 404, that looks like a data integrity issue we’ll need to inspect within your account. Email [support@servicem8.com](mailto:support@servicem8.com) with the FormResponse UUID, the `document_attachment_uuid`, and the InboxMessage UUID you’re seeing it under, and we’ll dig into that specific case. Thanks, Cody ---
**Author:** ![thibaut\_holl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@thibaut\_holl](https://community.servicem8.com/u/thibaut_holl)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2026, 6:21pm UTC](https://community.servicem8.com/t/issue-with-retrieving-form-document-attachment-in-inbox-messages/1052/5 "2026-03-02T18:21:39Z")
Many thanks for taking the time to respond and help me with this one Cody, I have tried all that you’ve suggested and still having issues so I will take it to support.