AADSTS700016

What it means

The application wasn't found in the directory.

How to fix it

Check the client ID and that the app is signing in to the right tenant.

How to investigate

1. Compare what the app sends (client ID, redirect URI, scopes, tenant) with the app registration.
2. Decode the token or request: the JWT and SAML decoders on this site show exactly what was sent.
3. Check the app's credentials (secrets and certificates) and whether the service principal exists and is enabled in this tenant.
4. Search the sign-in logs for the request ID or correlation ID from the troubleshooting details on the error page.

Guides on this site

• Managed identities vs service principals: which should your workload use?

Tools that help

• JWT decoder
• GUID lookup
• Microsoft's error lookup for 700016 ↗