Google Docs error: User rate limit exceeded when creating documents from templates

Hi ​@krismhc, welcome to the Community! 🎉

Sorry to hear that the Delay After Queue action didn’t resolve things. Usually, a single Delay After Queue action before the action that’s receiving rate limit errors does the trick—but since you’ve got multiple Zaps using the Create a Google Document From Template action, I wonder if that might be why you’re still running into issues. 

A Delay After Queue action creates a separate “queue” for each Zap unless they all use the same queue name. Have you got all three Zaps using the same queue? If not, then it’s possible the Google Docs actions are still running in close succession, which could be triggering those rate limit errors. See Sharing queues across Zaps for details on how to share a queue across.

That said, according to the Google Docs API documentation here, it allows up to 60 write requests per minute:

Could you share a bit more about the three Zaps that are experiencing this? Specifically:

• What triggers are they using?

• How spaced out have the errored runs been, and is that typical or were the Zap runs spaced out less than usual?

• Are there any other Google Docs actions in these or other Zaps that might be running around the same time—even if they aren’t failing?

​​​​
Just trying to get a clearer picture as to what might be increasing to the API request volume beyond the limits. 🤔

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Hi,

I'm experiencing the same issue that another user mentioned in the forum. I have three different Zaps that follow the same flow, and this issue started occurring earlier this week.

I've added a "Delay After Queue" step with the same queue name to all three Zaps, but the problem still persists.

I’d appreciate any help in identifying what might be causing this.

Thank you!

Thanks ​@SamB.

Here is the information you requested.

• What triggers are they using?

All Zaps are triggered from a new line in a Google Sheet, but there are different sheets per Zap

• How spaced out have the errored runs been, and is that typical or were the Zap runs spaced out less than usual?

The zaps run very infrequently, and very almost never concurrently. So they are spaced out by hours.

• Are there any other Google Docs actions in these or other Zaps that might be running around the same time—even if they aren’t failing?

The Zaps are pretty simple. It pulls the new records from Google Sheets, does a little bit of formatting to some of the data fields, and then populates the Google Doc.

From my perspective, there is nothing that has increased the API request volume. It seems strange that it was working well for a long period of time, and then just started throwing errors at random times. The first error I got was on May 26th. ​@ICHAGAS10 Do you know what date you started getting the error?

Thank you for looking into it for me.

​@krismhc,  

The first error started on May 26th

I am experiencing the same issue. Like others, I started receiving this error from 26 May. My Zap worked flawlessly for over a year and almost never runs concurrently. Does anyone have any other ideas? The other suggestions didn't fix the issue, unfortunately.

I too am running into the same issue across two different accounts that each use a separate drive.  The trigger is a 123form builder form submission. Flow is: find folder in drive, if not found create one: Then find file in G docs: Create File from Template in G Docs. : Then find file in G docs: Create File from Template in G Docs.  Note: each trigger creates 2 google doc files.  

Like others have said, this zap has ran flawlessly for a couple years until last week.  I tried the delay by queue action.  However, that seemed to make the issue worse.  

Has anyone found any sort of fix for this issue?   I opened a ticket With  support yesterday Morning and have yet to hear back.  

Hi ​@crk245,

It looks like you’ve reached out to our Support Team about this and they replied with a suggestion. I’ll share details of the suggestion here in case it’s helpful:

If you’ve got any questions regarding their suggestion it would be best to continue the conversation with them over email. If you can’t locate their reply I’d recommend searching your spam/junk folder or searching your inbox for any emails from zapier.com in case. Sometimes their emails can end up in the spam/junk folder by accident.

Experiencing the same problem - zaps getting stuck at create Google Docs from Template - zaps that have been working for months no issues. First time I used replay and it was fine but now they error even on replay. Can’t seem to find per-user rate limit in my Google Admin Console - are you able to provide instructions for finding this information?

Hi ​@LittleAnne,

If you're struggling with a Zap that creates Google Docs from a template, check the Google Workspace Status Dashboard for any service disruptions. Review your Zap setup for recent changes, and check your Google Cloud Console for API usage or quota limits. Examine the Zapier Zap History for error details, and if issues continue, try replaying the task or testing with a new or simplified template.

Feel free to ask if you need further assistance or have more questions. We're here to help.

I can not find the API rate limit on my Google Admin Console either.  I have looked everywhere.  I have an open ticket with Customer Service.  I have faith that they will find a solution to the issue.  Maybe if we can find a way to avoid the “find a file” step, we could avoid the error as it will reduce the number of times google is contacted by the zap.  Having to manually rerun each zap is defeats the whole purpose of automations.  It also uses up tasks.  

Hi ​@crk245,

To optimize Zapier workflows and prevent API rate limit issues, consider batching operations to reduce API calls, refine triggers to activate only when necessary, and introduce delay steps to distribute requests over time. Implement error handling to retry failed actions automatically and review API usage via Google Cloud Platform's dashboard for insights. Exploring alternative APIs or integration methods may further enhance efficiency. Since a support ticket has already been opened, Zapier support can provide tailored guidance for resolution.

Feel free to ask if you need further assistance or have more questions. We're here to help.

Thanks ​@ken.a. This seems to have helped me have to remember to manually replay the zap, so is very helpful. Thank you. 

Still seems a like a bit of a band-aid, as there seems to be a bigger error at play, maybe on the google side. Strange it happened all at once for a number of people.

Hi ​@krismhc,

No worries at all! I believe this issue is on the Google side since there’s a rate limit imposed by Google. I’d recommend opening a ticket to Google regarding the rate limit here: https://support.google.com/

Hopefully, this helps!

Thanks, ​@ken.a. I’ll investigate further. still seem strange, as my rate is literally 1 (sometimes a day), so not sure how I’m exceeding it.

Replay didn’t work and I can’t find anything on my Google Console either - I have found that assigning a new gmail account to each zap- just for the Create a file stage seems to have worked for now

Hi ​@LittleAnne,

To troubleshoot issues with Zapier’s Replay feature and Google Console access, check Zap History to confirm Zap runs and review error messages for insights. Verify Google account permissions and re-authenticate if needed. Check Zapier’s status page for potential outages. If using a new Gmail account helps, assess whether quotas, API access, or security settings affect the original account’s ability to create files.

Feel free to reach out for further assistance. We're here to help.

Replay it’s self worked but the Google side error persisted - hence the workaround

Thank you

The "User rate limit exceeded" error in Google Docs typically means you've hit a usage limit for your Google Workspace account—usually due to creating too many documents in a short time, especially from templates.

What to do:

• Wait 1–24 hours and try again (limits often reset daily).

• Spread out document creation over time.

• If you're using a script or automation (like Google Apps Script), reduce the frequency.

• Consider upgrading your Google Workspace plan if usage is consistently high.

Check Google's Quotas page for more details.

The "User rate limit exceeded" error means too many requests wait a bit or reduce the number of template-based document creations.

ChatGPT said:

The "User rate limit exceeded" error in Google Docs means you've made too many requests in a short time. Wait a bit and try again later, or reduce how often you're creating documents from templates.