ErrorFindly
4144xx Client ErrorMedium

HTTP 414 URI Too Long

Defined in RFC 7231

What Does HTTP 414 Mean?

The URI provided in the request is longer than the server is willing to interpret.

Common Causes

  1. 1Query string with too many or too long parameters
  2. 2GET request with data that should be in POST body
  3. 3Redirect loop appending parameters each time
  4. 4Encoded data making URL excessively long

Impact

  • ⚠Page fails to load
  • ⚠Search or filter operation fails

Developer Fix

For web developers and application engineers

  1. 1Use POST requests for large data submissions
  2. 2Move query parameters to request body
  3. 3Shorten URLs with server-side parameter encoding
  4. 4Check for redirect loops appending parameters

Server Admin Fix

For system administrators and DevOps engineers

  1. 1Increase URI length limit if legitimately needed
  2. 2Configure LimitRequestLine in Apache
  3. 3Adjust large_client_header_buffers in nginx

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the maximum URL length?
There's no official limit in HTTP, but browsers typically support 2,000-8,000 characters. Servers vary: Apache defaults to 8,190 bytes, nginx to 8KB. IE limited URLs to 2,083 characters.
How do I fix a 414 error?
Switch from GET to POST and put the data in the request body. If you can't change the method, shorten query parameters or use URL shortening on the server side.

Related HTTP Status Codes

400Bad Request431Request Header Fields Too Large

About the Author

Web Infrastructure Team

Verified against official RFC specifications and real-world server configurations. HTTP status code behavior confirmed across Apache, Nginx, and Cloudflare.