Call Hangup Cause Codes (Q.850 Standard)

In telecommunication systems—whether ISDN, VoIP, or other networks—understanding why a call ended is critical for troubleshooting, billing, analytics, and improving call quality. The Q.850 Cause Codes provide a standardized way to indicate the precise reason for a call disconnection or hangup.

What Are Q.850 Cause Codes?

The Q.850 Cause Codes are a set of standardized numeric values defined by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) under the ITU-T Recommendation Q.850. They provide a consistent way for telecommunication systems, including ISDN and VoIP, to indicate why a call was disconnected or terminated.

In our system, the "hangup Cause" field uses these codes descriptions to give you detailed information on the cause of call disconnection in your webhook and Call Detail Records (CDR).

The keys listed below can be used to obtain these values from the webhook payload. These parameters are included only in the call hangup event, regardless of whether the call was answered or missed.

{
  "uuid": "$uuid",
  "call_to_number": "$call_to_number",
  "caller_id_number": "$caller_id_number",

  // ... other webhook parameters ...
 
  "hangup_cause_description": "$hangupcause_desc",
  "hangup_cause_code": "$hangupcause_code",
  "hangup_cause_key": "$hangupcause_key"
}

Q.850 Cause Codes — Complete List with Details

Hangup codeHangup keyHangup description
0UNSPECIFIEDUnspecified. No other cause codes applicable.
1UNALLOCATED_NUMBERUnallocated (unassigned) number
2NO_ROUTE_TRANSIT_NETNo route to specified transmit network
3NO_ROUTE_DESTINATIONNo route to destination
6CHANNEL_UNACCEPTABLEChannel unacceptable
7CALL_AWARDED_DELIVEREDCall awarded and being delivered in an established channel
16NORMAL_CLEARINGNormal call clearing
17USER_BUSYUser busy
18NO_USER_RESPONSENo user responding
19NO_ANSWERNo answer from user (user alerted)
20SUBSCRIBER_ABSENTSubscriber absent
21CALL_REJECTEDCall rejected
22NUMBER_CHANGEDNumber changed
27DESTINATION_OUT_OF_ORDERDestination out of order
28INVALID_NUMBER_FORMATnvalid number format
29FACILITY_REJECTEDFacility rejected
30RESPONSE_TO_STATUS_ENQUIRYResponse to STATUS ENQUIRY
31NORMAL_UNSPECIFIEDNormal, unspecified
34NORMAL_CIRCUIT_CONGESTIONNo circuit/channel available
38NETWORK_OUT_OF_ORDERNetwork out of order
41NORMAL_TEMPORARY_FAILURETemporary failure
42SWITCH_CONGESTIONSwitching equipment congestion
43ACCESS_INFO_DISCARDEDAccess information discarded
44REQUESTED_CHAN_UNAVAILRequested circuit/channel not available
45PRE_EMPTEDPre empted
50FACILITY_NOT_SUBSCRIBEDRequested facility not subscribed
52OUTGOING_CALL_BARREDOutgoing call barred
54INCOMING_CALL_BARREDIncoming call barred
57BEARERCAPABILITY_NOTAUTHBearer capability not authorized
58BEARERCAPABILITY_NOTAVAILBearer capability not presently available
65BEARERCAPABILITY_NOTIMPLBearer capability not implemented
66CHAN_NOT_IMPLEMENTEDChannel type not implemented
69FACILITY_NOT_IMPLEMENTEDRequested facility not implemente
81INVALID_CALL_REFERENCEInvalid call reference value
88INCOMPATIBLE_DESTINATIONIncompatible destination
95INVALID_MSG_UNSPECIFIEDInvalid message, unspecified
96MANDATORY_IE_MISSINGMandatory information element is missing
97MESSAGE_TYPE_NONEXISTMessage type non-existent or not implemented
98WRONG_MESSAGEMessage not compatible with call state or message type non-existent or not implemented
99IE_NONEXISTInformation element /parameter nonexistent or not implemented
100INVALID_IE_CONTENTSInvalid information element contents
101WRONG_CALL_STATEMessage not compatible with call state
102RECOVERY_ON_TIMER_EXPIRERecovery on timer expiry
103MANDATORY_IE_LENGTH_ERRORParameter non-existent or not implemented, passed on
111PROTOCOL_ERRORProtocol error, unspecified
127INTERWORKINGInterworking, unspecified
47RESOURCE_UNAVAILABLEResource unavailable, unspecified
4SPECIAL_INFORMATION_TONESend special information tone
5MISDIALLED_TRUNK_PREFIXMisdialled trunk prefix
8PREEMPTIONPre-emption
9PREEMPTION_REUSEPre-emption – circuit reserved for reuse
13CALL_COMPLETED_ELSEWHERECall completed elsewhere
23REDIRECTION_TO_NEW_DESTINATIONRedirection to new destination
25EXCHANGE_ROUTING_ERRORExchange – routing error
26NON_SELECTED_USER_CLEARNINGNon-selected user clearing
39CONNECTION_OUT_OF_SERVICEPermanent frame mode connection out of service
40CONNECTION_OPERATIONALPermanent frame mode connection operationa
46PRECEDENCE_CALL_BLOCKEDPrecedence call blocked
49QOS_NOT_AVAILABLEQuality of service not available
53OUTGOING_CALLS_BARRED_CUGOutgoing calls barred within CUG
55INCOMING_CALLS_BARRRED_CUGIncoming calls barred within CUG
62INCONSISTENT_OUTGOING_INFO_ELEMENTInconsistency in designated outgoing access information and subscriber class
63SERVICE_UNAVAILABLEService or option not available, unspecified
70RESTRICTED_BEARER_CAPABILITY_AVAILABLEOnly restricted digital information bearer capability is available
79SERVICE_NOT_IMPLEMENTEDService or option not implemented, unspecified
82CHANNEL_DOES_NOT_EXISTIdentified channel does not exist
83SUSPENDED_CALL_EXISTSA suspended call exists, but this call identity does not
84CALL_IDENTITY_INUSECall identity in use
85NO_CALL_SUSPENDEDNo call suspended
86CALL_IDENTITY_CLEAREDCall with the requested call identity has been cleared
87USER_NOT_MEMBER_OF_CUGUser not member of CUG
90NON_EXISTENT_CUGNon-existent CUG
91INVALID_TRANSIT_NETWORK_SELECTIONInvalid transit network selection
110MESSAGE_WITH_UNRECOGNIZED_PARAMETERMessage with unrecognized parameter discarded

Additional Resources

For further reference and deeper understanding of Q.850 hangup cause codes, mappings, and signaling behavior across telecommunication networks, the following resources are recommended: