The 414 error code is often the result of too much data being encoded as a query-string of a GET request to the server. In this case, the request should be converted to a POST request.
T"Request-URI Too Long" previously.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does HTTP status code 414 mean?
HTTP 414 means the URI included in the request was too long for the server to process. It is a client-side error in the 4xx class, meaning the problem originates in how the request was formed rather than on the server itself.
When does a server return a 414 error?
Servers typically return 414 when a GET request encodes an excessive amount of data as query string parameters, making the URL longer than the server is willing to process. It can also occur when a client incorrectly converts a POST request into a GET request and moves the payload into the URL, or when a redirect loop causes the URI to grow unboundedly.
How do I fix an HTTP 414 error?
The standard fix is to convert the offending GET request into a POST request and move the data into the request body, which has no practical length restriction the way a URI does. On the server side, you can also raise the maximum URI length limit in your web server configuration if the long URL is genuinely required.
What is the difference between HTTP 414 and HTTP 400?
Both are client errors, but they signal different problems. HTTP 400 (Bad Request) means the server could not understand the request due to malformed syntax or invalid content in general, while HTTP 414 is a specific case where the request itself was valid in structure but the URI alone exceeded the server's length limit.
Is a 414 error the client's fault or the server's fault?
It is classified as a client error because the request was constructed in a way the server cannot process — most commonly by placing too much data in the URL. That said, developers can also address it from the server side by increasing the permitted URI length if the use case legitimately requires long URLs.
Why is HTTP 414 sometimes called "Request-URI Too Long"?
The label "Request-URI Too Long" was the earlier name for this status code before later HTTP specification updates standardized the name to "URI Too Long." Both names refer to the same condition, and you may encounter either phrase in server logs, browser error pages, or older documentation.
