# "rate_limit" error when creating bulk API requests

If you have received the `rate_limit` error message, you should limit background jobs, such as performing mass refunds, to a subset of the maximum. This allows time-sensitive events, such as live charges, to succeed even with additional traffic.
## Additional information
* If you expect to hit this limit regularly, see [Scaling your API with rate limiters](https://stripe.com/blog/rate-limiters) on the Stripe Blog, which provides details on rate-limiting strategies to help you avoid this error in the longer term.
* Stripe has a rate limit of 100 parallel requests per second for live mode transactions and 25 parallel requests per second for test mode transactions.