diff --git a/commcare_connect/users/helpers.py b/commcare_connect/users/helpers.py
index 5cfbe50b..04264954 100644
--- a/commcare_connect/users/helpers.py
+++ b/commcare_connect/users/helpers.py
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ def create_hq_user(user, domain, api_key):
     try:
         hq_request.raise_for_status()
     except httpx.HTTPStatusError as e:
-        if e.response.status_code == 400 and "already exists" in e.response.text:
+        if e.response.status_code == 400 and "already taken" in e.response.text:
             return True
         raise CommCareHQAPIException(
             f"{e.response.status_code} Error response {e.response.text} while creating user {user.username}"