AADSTS700016 — "Application with identifier '' was not found in the directory." The
client_id in the request does not correspond to any application in the tenant the request
was routed to. Either the ID is wrong, or the ID is right but the request went to a tenant
where the app does not exist (and no service principal has been provisioned).
AADSTS700016
Application not found in the directory
What it means
Common causes
The authority points at the wrong tenant: a single-tenant app called via another tenant's endpoint (or
/common) lands in a directory that has no such app.Copy/paste error in the client ID (object ID used instead of application/client ID is a classic).
A multi-tenant app that has not been consented in the target tenant yet, so no service principal exists there.
The app registration was deleted.
How to fix it
Confirm the client ID: Entra admin center > App registrations > (app) > Overview > Application (client) ID — not the Object ID.
Match the authority to the app's audience: single-tenant apps must use their home tenant (
/{tenant-id}); multi-tenant apps need admin/user consent in the target tenant to create the service principal.Provision a multi-tenant app into a tenant via the admin consent URL:
https://login.microsoftonline.com/{tenant}/adminconsent?client_id={appId}.
Frequently asked
The app exists — why 'not found in the directory'?
It exists in *a* directory, but not the one the request targeted. Check the tenant in your authority URL against the tenant that owns the registration, and for multi-tenant apps make sure consent has created a service principal in the target tenant.