What Is a 409 Status Code?

A 409 Conflict status code means the request couldn’t be completed because it conflicts with the current state of the target resource. The client can often resolve the issue and try again.

The server SHOULD generate a payload that includes enough information for a user to recognize the source of the conflict.

Conflicts are most likely to occur in response to a PUT request. For example, if versioning were being used and the representation being PUT included changes to a resource that conflict with those made by an earlier (third-party) request, the origin server might use a 409 response to indicate that it can’t complete the request. In this case, the response representation would likely contain information useful for merging the differences based on the revision history.

• Source: RFC7231 Section 6.5.8

409 CODE REFERENCES

Rails HTTP Status Symbol :conflict

Go HTTP Status Constant http.StatusConflict

Symfony HTTP Status Constant Response::HTTP_CONFLICT

Python2 HTTP Status Constant httplib.CONFLICT

Python3+ HTTP Status Constant http.client.CONFLICT

Python3.5+ HTTP Status Constant http.HTTPStatus.CONFLICT

.NET HttpStatusCode.Conflict

Rust http::StatusCode::CONFLICT

Java java.net.HttpURLConnection.HTTP_CONFLICT

Apache HttpComponents Core org.apache.hc.core5.http.HttpStatus.SC_CONFLICT

Angular @angular/common/http/HttpStatusCode.Conflict

409 status code example

Here’s an example request and response for a 409 Conflict status code:

Request

PUT /api/users/123 HTTP/1.1
Host: example.com
Content-Type: application/json

{
"name": "John Smith",
"email": "[email protected]",
"password": "newpassword"
}

Response

HTTP/1.1 409 Conflict
Content-Type: application/json
Content-Length: 42

{
"error": "User with ID 123 already exists"
}

In this example, the request is trying to update a user with ID 123. However, the server responds with a 409 Conflict status code because a user with that ID already exists. The response includes a JSON error message indicating the cause of the conflict.

How to fix a 409 status code

To fix a 409 error, the client should take the following steps:

• Identify the cause of the conflict: The error message returned with the 409 status code should provide information on the cause of the conflict. The client should review the message to determine why the conflict occurred.
• Resolve the conflict: The client should take appropriate actions to resolve the conflict. This could involve updating the existing resource with correct information or deleting the conflicting resource if it is no longer needed. Use our free redirect checker tool to confirm if the new URL is correct and functional.
• Retry the request: Once the conflict is resolved, the client can retry the original request. If successful, the server should respond with a 2xx success status code, such as 200 OK or 201 Created.

It is important to note that the specific steps to fix a 409 error may vary depending on the context of the error. In some cases, the client may need to take additional steps to ensure that the resource is updated correctly and that the conflict is fully resolved.

What is the difference between a 409 status code and a 412 status code?

Does a 409 status code affect SEO?

A single 409 has little direct SEO impact, since it’s usually tied to APIs or update flows.

However, frequent or unresolved conflicts can cause broken content updates, failed CMS syncs, or incomplete submissions — leading to missing pages, outdated data, and usability issues. Over time, these can reduce engagement and signal lower site reliability to search engines.

Best practice:

• Monitor for recurring 409s in analytics or server logs.
• Fix conflicts promptly to maintain content freshness and crawl consistency.

Additional resources

• Learn about web development
• Learn about SEO
• Web development services from WebFX
• SEO services from WebFX
• MDN Web Docs
• W3Schools

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