Using special characters in URIs
concept australia Updated Sep 10, 2026 1 min read c_UsingSpecialCharactersInURIs.md
A REST function URI or function variable may use special characters, such as pipe (|) characters.
When using these characters in a REST message, use URL encoding to escape these characters. For example, to use a parameter value of user|title, enter user%7Ctitle. Entering special characters directly may cause the REST message to fail and display the response Invalid uri <URI>: Invalid query.
Parent Topic:Create a REST message
23 lines · 1.2 KB
--- title: Using special characters in URIs description: A REST function URI or function variable may use special characters, such as pipe \(\|\) characters. locale: en-US canonical_url: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/api-reference/web-services/c\_UsingSpecialCharactersInURIs.html release: australia product: Web Services classification: web-services topic_type: concept last_updated: "2026-09-10" reading_time_minutes: 1 breadcrumb: [Create a message, REST, Outbound, Web services, API implementation, API implementation and reference] --- # Using special characters in URIs A REST function URI or function variable may use special characters, such as pipe \(\|\) characters. When using these characters in a REST message, use URL encoding to escape these characters. For example, to use a parameter value of **user\|title**, enter `user%7Ctitle`. Entering special characters directly may cause the REST message to fail and display the response Invalid uri <URI>: Invalid query. **Parent Topic:**[Create a REST message](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/api-reference/web-services/t_ConfiguringARESTMessage.md)
| title | Using special characters in URIs |
| description | A REST function URI or function variable may use special characters, such as pipe \(\|\) characters. |
| locale | en-US |
| canonical_url | https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/api-reference/web-services/c\_UsingSpecialCharactersInURIs.html |
| release | australia |
| product | Web Services |
| classification | web-services |
| topic_type | concept |
| last_updated | 2026-09-10 |
| reading_time_minutes | 1 |
| breadcrumb | Create a messageRESTOutboundWeb servicesAPI implementationAPI implementation and reference |