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FIX Error: Invalid Timestamp (52) – How to Fix

Tag 52 (SendingTime) must be in UTC and follow FIX timestamp format: YYYYMMDD-HH:MM:SS or YYYYMMDD-HH:MM:SS.sss. Invalid formats, timezone issues, or future timestamps cause rejects.

Root Cause

1) Timestamp format incorrect (wrong separator, missing parts), 2) Timezone not UTC, 3) Future timestamp (clock ahead), 4) Past timestamp too old, 5) Non-numeric characters in timestamp.

Broker/Exchange Action

Broker rejects with SessionRejectReason=11 (Incorrect data format) and RefTagID=52. Message is rejected.

Client/Your Action

1) Use UTC timezone, 2) Format as YYYYMMDD-HH:MM:SS or YYYYMMDD-HH:MM:SS.sss, 3) Ensure clock is synchronized (NTP), 4) Validate timestamp before sending, 5) Check for timezone conversion errors.

Example FIX Message

8=FIX.4.4|9=100|35=D|49=CLIENT|56=EXCHANGE|52=2023-11-16 10:30:00|11=ORDER123|10=123|

How FIX Doctor Detects This

FIX Doctor validates SendingTime format and flags invalid timestamps. Errors show the expected format.

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