> For clean Markdown of any page, append .md to the page URL.
> For a complete documentation index, see https://docs.shimi.cash/api-reference/shimi-api/airtime-data-bills-vtu/list-service-categories/llms.txt.
> For AI client integration (Claude Code, Cursor, etc.), connect to the MCP server at https://docs.shimi.cash/_mcp/server.

# List Service Categories

GET https://shimi-waas-api-9493532b9281.herokuapp.com/api/v1/vtu/service/{serviceId}/categories

Lists categories under a service (e.g. network providers for Airtime/Data, billers for Utility/Cable TV) and their `serviceCategoryId`s.

**Path:** `serviceId` (string, required) from **List Services**. Returns active categories only; an unknown `serviceId` returns `200` with an empty `data` array. `isFixedAmount: true` means purchases use a product from **List Category Products** (Data, Cable TV); `false` means you send your own `amount` (Airtime, Utility).

**Error format:** body validation failures (Joi) return `{ "status": "error", "message": "Validation error", "details": [ ... ] }`; all other errors return `{ "success": false, "message": "..." }`. Money fields (`amount`, `fee`) are Prisma Decimals and are serialized as **strings** (e.g. `"1000"`).

Reference: https://docs.shimi.cash/api-reference/shimi-api/airtime-data-bills-vtu/list-service-categories

## Authentication

- `Authorization` header (bearer token, required) — Access token from Generate Access Token (valid 15 minutes).

## Request

### Path parameters

- `serviceId` (string, required) — A service ID from List Services.

## Response

### 200

OK

- `success` (boolean, optional)
- `data` (list of VtuServiceServiceIdCategoriesGetResponsesContentApplicationJsonSchemaDataItems, optional)

## Errors

### 401 Unauthorized Error

Unauthorized

- `message` (string, optional)

### 403 Forbidden Error

Invalid or expired access token / KYB not approved / Account deactivated

- `message` (string, optional)
- `code` (string, optional)
- `kybStatus` (string, optional)

### 500 Internal Server Error

Internal Server Error

- `success` (boolean, optional)
- `message` (string, optional)

## Types

### VtuServiceServiceIdCategoriesGetResponsesContentApplicationJsonSchemaDataItems

- `serviceCategoryId` (string, optional)
- `serviceCategoryName` (string, optional)
- `logo` (string, optional)
- `isFixedAmount` (boolean, optional)

## Examples

**Response**

```json
{
  "success": true,
  "data": [
    {
      "serviceCategoryId": "cm1v1b2c30010mtn9ab12cd3",
      "serviceCategoryName": "MTN",
      "logo": "https://res.cloudinary.com/shimiwaas/image/upload/v1727700000/vtu/mtn.png",
      "isFixedAmount": false
    },
    {
      "serviceCategoryId": "cm1v1b2c30011atl4cd56ef7",
      "serviceCategoryName": "Airtel",
      "logo": "https://res.cloudinary.com/shimiwaas/image/upload/v1727700000/vtu/airtel.png",
      "isFixedAmount": false
    },
    {
      "serviceCategoryId": "cm1v1b2c30012glo6gh78ij9",
      "serviceCategoryName": "Glo",
      "logo": "https://res.cloudinary.com/shimiwaas/image/upload/v1727700000/vtu/glo.png",
      "isFixedAmount": false
    }
  ]
}
```

**SDK Code**

```python 200 Success (Airtime networks)
import requests

url = "https://shimi-waas-api-9493532b9281.herokuapp.com/api/v1/vtu/service/serviceId/categories"

headers = {"Authorization": "Bearer <token>"}

response = requests.get(url, headers=headers)

print(response.json())
```

```javascript 200 Success (Airtime networks)
const url = 'https://shimi-waas-api-9493532b9281.herokuapp.com/api/v1/vtu/service/serviceId/categories';
const options = {method: 'GET', headers: {Authorization: 'Bearer <token>'}};

try {
  const response = await fetch(url, options);
  const data = await response.json();
  console.log(data);
} catch (error) {
  console.error(error);
}
```

```go 200 Success (Airtime networks)
package main

import (
	"fmt"
	"net/http"
	"io"
)

func main() {

	url := "https://shimi-waas-api-9493532b9281.herokuapp.com/api/v1/vtu/service/serviceId/categories"

	req, _ := http.NewRequest("GET", url, nil)

	req.Header.Add("Authorization", "Bearer <token>")

	res, _ := http.DefaultClient.Do(req)

	defer res.Body.Close()
	body, _ := io.ReadAll(res.Body)

	fmt.Println(res)
	fmt.Println(string(body))

}
```

```ruby 200 Success (Airtime networks)
require 'uri'
require 'net/http'

url = URI("https://shimi-waas-api-9493532b9281.herokuapp.com/api/v1/vtu/service/serviceId/categories")

http = Net::HTTP.new(url.host, url.port)
http.use_ssl = true

request = Net::HTTP::Get.new(url)
request["Authorization"] = 'Bearer <token>'

response = http.request(request)
puts response.read_body
```

```java 200 Success (Airtime networks)
import com.mashape.unirest.http.HttpResponse;
import com.mashape.unirest.http.Unirest;

HttpResponse<String> response = Unirest.get("https://shimi-waas-api-9493532b9281.herokuapp.com/api/v1/vtu/service/serviceId/categories")
  .header("Authorization", "Bearer <token>")
  .asString();
```

```php 200 Success (Airtime networks)
<?php
require_once('vendor/autoload.php');

$client = new \GuzzleHttp\Client();

$response = $client->request('GET', 'https://shimi-waas-api-9493532b9281.herokuapp.com/api/v1/vtu/service/serviceId/categories', [
  'headers' => [
    'Authorization' => 'Bearer <token>',
  ],
]);

echo $response->getBody();
```

```csharp 200 Success (Airtime networks)
using RestSharp;

var client = new RestClient("https://shimi-waas-api-9493532b9281.herokuapp.com/api/v1/vtu/service/serviceId/categories");
var request = new RestRequest(Method.GET);
request.AddHeader("Authorization", "Bearer <token>");
IRestResponse response = client.Execute(request);
```

```swift 200 Success (Airtime networks)
import Foundation

let headers = ["Authorization": "Bearer <token>"]

let request = NSMutableURLRequest(url: NSURL(string: "https://shimi-waas-api-9493532b9281.herokuapp.com/api/v1/vtu/service/serviceId/categories")! as URL,
                                        cachePolicy: .useProtocolCachePolicy,
                                    timeoutInterval: 10.0)
request.httpMethod = "GET"
request.allHTTPHeaderFields = headers

let session = URLSession.shared
let dataTask = session.dataTask(with: request as URLRequest, completionHandler: { (data, response, error) -> Void in
  if (error != nil) {
    print(error as Any)
  } else {
    let httpResponse = response as? HTTPURLResponse
    print(httpResponse)
  }
})

dataTask.resume()
```