# Create Department

`POST /departments`

Group: People Management › Departments · Operation ID: `createDepartment`

Creates a department. The response is only the new department's id, so read the full record with GET departments/:id.

[Open in the interactive reference](https://docs.api.lensing.ai/?op=createDepartment)

## Parameters

| Name | In | Type | Required | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `Api-Version` | header | `"v1"` | yes | The API version this request targets, named by its public identifier. Required on every request; omitting it, or naming a version this company does not have, is answered with 400. This document describes version `v1`. |
| `Idempotency-Key` | header | string | no | An opaque caller-chosen string (1-255 characters) that makes this request safe to retry. Repeating the same key with an identical request body replays the original response instead of re-executing - but only once that original request succeeded; a failed attempt re-executes on retry. Repeating the key with a different body is answered with 422. A key still in flight is answered with 409 - as is a key whose original request was interrupted before it finished, for a few minutes afterwards, until that attempt is presumed dead. A completed response stays replayable for 24 hours. The key is scoped to the caller, not to the action: reusing it for a different action is answered with 409 or 422 rather than treated independently. On read actions this header is ignored. On write actions that cannot offer the guarantee it is answered with `400 IDEMPOTENCY_NOT_SUPPORTED` rather than silently ignored. |

## Request body

Required, `application/json`: createDepartmentInput.

| Field | Type | Required | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `name` | string | yes | The display name of the department. |
| `departmentCode` | string | no | A short code for the department, for example 'IT', 'HR' or 'FIN'. Must be unique across departments. When omitted, the system-generated department number is used as the code. |
| `description` | string | no | A free-form description of the department's purpose and responsibilities. |
| `managerId` | string | no | The identifier of the employee who manages the department. See id on GET people/:id. |
| `parentId` | string | no | The identifier of the parent department. Omit for a top-level department. See id on GET departments/:id. |
| `startDate` | string | yes | The date the department becomes active. Use format YYYY-MM-DD. |
| `endDate` | string | no | The date the department becomes inactive. Use format YYYY-MM-DD. Omit for an open-ended department. |
| `externalIdentifiers` | array of object | no | The department's identifiers in other systems, one per configured field name. A field name not configured for your tenant fails with UNKNOWN_EXTERNAL_IDENTIFIER. |
| `externalIdentifiers[].fieldName` | string | yes | The configured field name of the identifier, for example 'netsuiteDepartmentId'. |
| `externalIdentifiers[].value` | string | yes | The identifier in the other system. |
| `externalIdentifiers[].externalUrl` | string | no | A link to the record in the other system. |

Example:

```json
{
  "name": "<name>",
  "departmentCode": "<departmentCode>",
  "description": "<description>",
  "managerId": "3fa85f64-5717-4562-b3fc-2c963f66afa6",
  "parentId": "3fa85f64-5717-4562-b3fc-2c963f66afa6",
  "startDate": "<startDate>",
  "endDate": "<endDate>",
  "externalIdentifiers": [
    {
      "fieldName": "<fieldName>",
      "value": "<value>",
      "externalUrl": "<externalUrl>"
    }
  ]
}
```

## Response

`200` Success

Under `data` (createDepartmentOutput):

| Field | Type | Required | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `id` | string | yes | The unique identifier for the created department. |

## Response headers

- `Idempotency-Replayed` — Present and `true` only when this response replays a previously stored one for the same Idempotency-Key, rather than reflecting a live execution. Absent on a live response - never sent as `false`.

## Errors

| Code | Status |
| --- | --- |
| `MANAGER_NOT_FOUND` | 400 |
| `PARENT_DEPARTMENT_NOT_FOUND` | 400 |
| `DUPLICATE_DEPARTMENT_CODE` | 400 |
| `UNKNOWN_EXTERNAL_IDENTIFIER` | 400 |
| `DUPLICATE_EXTERNAL_IDENTIFIER` | 400 |
| `IDEMPOTENCY_KEY_CONFLICT` | 409 |
| `IDEMPOTENCY_PAYLOAD_MISMATCH` | 422 |

## Statuses

- `400` — Invalid request or business failure. Codes: MANAGER_NOT_FOUND, PARENT_DEPARTMENT_NOT_FOUND, DUPLICATE_DEPARTMENT_CODE, UNKNOWN_EXTERNAL_IDENTIFIER, DUPLICATE_EXTERNAL_IDENTIFIER
- `401` — Missing or invalid access token
- `403` — Not authorized
- `404` — Not found
- `409` — The Idempotency-Key is still being processed by another request.
- `422` — The Idempotency-Key was already used with a different request payload.
- `429` — Too many requests
- `500` — Internal server error