501 Not Implemented

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This response error indicates the server doesn’t recognize the request method and cannot support it.

In most cases, servers will support GET and HEAD, so those methods should not generate this error.

In some cases, the error may also send a Retry-After header, indicated a time when the user can check to see if functionality of the method is supported.

If the server does recognize the method, but is designed not to support it, the server should respond with 405 Method Not Allowed.

There is no troubleshooting for this error, any fix must be deployed by server administration.

If you believe this method should be supported by the server, then contact server support.

The HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) 501 Not Implemented server error response code means that the server does not support the functionality required to fulfill the request.

This status can also send a Retry-After header, telling the requester when to check back to see if the functionality is supported by then.

501 is the appropriate response when the server does not recognize the request method and is incapable of supporting it for any resource. The only methods that servers are required to support (and therefore that must not return 501) are GET and HEAD.

If the server does recognize the method, but intentionally does not support it, the appropriate response is 405 Method Not Allowed.

Note:

  • A 501 error is not something you can fix, but requires a fix by the web server you are trying to access.
  • A 501 response is cacheable by default; that is, unless caching headers instruct otherwise.

Status

501 Not Implemented

Specifications

Specification
Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP/1.1): Semantics and Content
# status.501