> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.permitcore.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Cardinality check timed out

> 504 — The pre-flight cardinality check exceeded its timeout.

The pre-flight cardinality check exceeded its timeout.

```json 504 application/problem+json theme={null}
{
  "type": "https://docs.permitcore.io/errors/cardinality-check-timeout",
  "title": "Cardinality check timed out",
  "status": 504,
  "detail": "…",
  "instance": "/v1/territory/rollup",
  "request_id": "req_1f07fb45782b445e9f6312ba23921234"
}
```

Every PermitCore error is [RFC 9457](https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9457)
`application/problem+json`. **Branch on `type` (a stable URI)**, not on `title`
or `detail` (human-readable, may change).

## When it occurs

The guard that estimates result cardinality before running an aggregation exceeded its own timeout — usually a sign the filters are too broad.

## How to fix

Narrow the filters and retry.

**Retryable** — retry with exponential backoff (respect `Retry-After` on `429`/`503`).

See the full [error catalog](/errors) for the response shape and retry matrix.
Every response carries an `x-request-id` header — include it in any support request.