Source: https://docs.debitura.com/clients/getting-started/quickstart-create-first-case

# Quickstart

Create your first case in 2 minutes.

Prefer video? This walkthrough covers the same steps below, from generating your API key to a successful case creation:

<a id="prerequisites"></a>

## Prerequisites

Get your API key from [Creditor Portal → API Keys](https://app.debitura.com/CreditorApiKey). See [Authentication](https://docs.debitura.com/clients/getting-started/authentication.md) for details.

<a id="create-a-test-case"></a>

## Create a Test Case

```bash
curl -X POST https://customer-api.debitura.com/cases \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "XApiKey: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
    "isTest": true,
    "currencyCode": "EUR",
    "date": "2025-01-15",
    "amountToRecover": 1000.00,
    "debtor": {
      "type": "Company",
      "name": "Test Company",
      "address": "Test Street 1",
      "city": "Berlin",
      "countryAlpha2": "DE"
    }
  }'
```

<a id="success-response"></a>

## Success Response

```json
{
  "id": "3fa85f64-5717-4562-b3fc-2c963f66afa6",
  "reference": "Q8OAXF3W",
  "lifecycle": "Pending Verification Internal",
  "isTestCase": true
}
```

You've created a test case. Its initial pending lifecycle depends on your account's verification and contract configuration; newly created cases do not start directly as `Active`. It won't trigger real collection activity.

This quickstart uses one amount for one invoice. Before mapping production claims, choose the right [claim amount and age mode](https://docs.debitura.com/developer-concepts/claim-amount-and-age.md).

See [Create a Case](https://docs.debitura.com/clients/integration-guides/create-a-case.md) for the full field reference, [Track Case Status](https://docs.debitura.com/clients/integration-guides/track-case-status.md) to monitor progress via polling or [Webhooks](https://docs.debitura.com/clients/integration-guides/webhooks.md), and [Test Cases](https://docs.debitura.com/developer-concepts/test-cases.md) for testing your integration.