200-901 Understanding and Using APIs Practice Question
A developer is writing a Python script that calls the Cisco Webex Teams API. The script must handle the case where the access token has expired. Which HTTP status code should the script check for to detect an expired or invalid token?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates confuse 401 Unauthorized with 403 Forbidden, when only 401 specifically signals that the token is missing, expired, or invalid.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
401 Unauthorized
Cisco Webex APIs return HTTP 401 Unauthorized when the access token is expired, revoked, or invalid. The client should detect this status and trigger a token refresh or re-authentication flow. Other status codes such as 403, 404, or 429 represent different conditions and would not correctly identify an expired token.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
403 Forbidden
Why it's wrong here
403 Forbidden means the server understood the request but refuses to authorize it, often due to insufficient permissions. While it can occur with valid tokens lacking scope, it is not the primary signal for an expired token. Cisco Webex returns 401 for invalid or expired tokens, so checking 403 would miss the expiration case.
- ✓
401 Unauthorized
Why this is correct
HTTP 401 Unauthorized indicates that the request lacks valid authentication credentials. For Cisco Webex APIs, an expired or invalid access token produces a 401 response. The client should then refresh the token or re-authenticate. Checking for 401 allows the script to handle token expiration gracefully.
- ✗
429 Too Many Requests
Why it's wrong here
429 Too Many Requests signals rate limiting, not authentication failure. It occurs when the client exceeds allowed request frequency. While important to handle, it is unrelated to token expiration. The script should check 401 for expired tokens and handle 429 separately with backoff.
- ✗
404 Not Found
Why it's wrong here
404 Not Found indicates the requested resource does not exist. It has no relationship to authentication or token validity. An expired token would not cause a 404 unless the URL itself were wrong. The developer should check for 401 to detect authentication failures.
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Cisco exam blueprint
This 200-901 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Cisco certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the 200-901 exam.