HTTP 202 Accepted means the server received the request and accepted it for processing, but the processing has not finished. There is no guarantee the request will be fulfilled — it may be rejected during asynchronous processing. This is used for long-running operations like batch jobs or queued tasks.
Status
202 AcceptedExample
POST /contact HTTP/1.1
Host: www.example.com
User-Agent: curl/8.6.0
Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded
Content-Length: 62
name=Bob+Smith&email=bob%40example.com&message=Hello+there%21HTTP/1.1 202 Accepted
Content-Type: text/html; charset=utf-8
Content-Length: 401
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<title>Message received - Example</title>
</head>
<body>
<h1>Thanks for reaching out!</h1>
<p>Your message has been received. We will get back to you within 1-2 business days.</p>
</body>
</html>How to Troubleshoot
Check for a status URL
The response may include a Location or Link header pointing to a status endpoint where you can poll for completion.
Implement polling or webhooks
Poll the status endpoint periodically or register a webhook to be notified when processing completes.
Check server logs for processing errors
If the job never completes, check the server's background job processor for failures.
Common Causes
Asynchronous job queued
highThe server placed the request in a processing queue and will handle it later.
Webhook or callback-based processing
mediumThe server will process the request and notify the client via a callback URL when done.
Related Status Codes
References
| Specification | Section |
|---|---|
| HTTP Semantics | RFC 9110 §15.3.3 |
Frequently Asked Questions
This reference was compiled from official RFCs, protocol specifications, and hands-on troubleshooting experience. AI tools were used primarily for formatting and organizing the content on the page.