Error codes
Last updated
Last updated
Ordnance Survey uses standard HTTP response codes to provide key information on the outcome of API requests. These codes serve as a straightforward means of communication, indicating the success or failure of each API request between your application and our APIs.
When a request is successful, you'll encounter codes within the 2xx
range. If the information in the request is incorrect (for example, missing query parameters), you'll receive codes within the 4xx
range, and 5xx
codes indicate an error with the OS APIs.
The following table details the HTTP response codes and their meaning within the context of OS APIs:
Code | Official description | Explanation in context of the API |
---|---|---|
200
OK
Request has been successful.
304
Not Modified
In response to a conditional GET
request this response indicates that the underlying data has not changed since the previous request, and cached results may be re-used.
400
Bad request
For example, missing query parameter or malformed syntax.
401
Unauthorized
The client has not provided authentication or has provided incorrect authentication.
403
Forbidden
The client has authenticated its access but does not have sufficient rights to complete the request.
404
Not found
The server has not found anything matching the Request-URI.
405
Method not allowed
The request used an unsupported HTTP method, for example, DELETE
or PUT
.
429
Too many requests
The number of requests per minute (rate-limit) has been exceeded.
500
Internal server error
A generic internal server error occurred.
503
Service unavailable
A temporary outage due to overloading or maintenance.