---
title: "300 Multiple Choices — what it means and how to fix it"
description: "The requested URL has several representations and the server is not choosing between them. What causes an HTTP 300, what to try as a visitor, and what to check if it is your own site."
url: https://atoneplace.net/error/300/
site: "At One Place"
---

# HTTP 300 — Multiple Choices

**HTTP 300: Multiple Choices**

The requested URL has several representations and the server is not choosing between them.

## What 300 actually means

The resource exists in more than one form — different languages, different formats, different qualities — and the server is handing back a list rather than picking one. There is no standard machine-readable format for that list, which is why almost nobody uses it: content negotiation via `Accept` headers solves the same problem without a round trip. Apache's MultiViews can still produce one when a filename matches several files.

## Common causes

- Apache `MultiViews` found several files matching one request path
- A server implementing transparent content negotiation offered the options
- A resource genuinely available in several formats with no server-side preference

## If you're just trying to view the page

1. Pick one of the offered links if the page lists them
2. Nothing else to do — this is a server configuration choice, not an error on your end

## If it's your site

1. Prefer `Accept`-header negotiation with a `Vary` response header over returning 300
2. If you must return 300, include a `Location` header with the server's preferred choice so simple clients can follow it
3. Turn off `MultiViews` in Apache if you did not mean to enable extension-less negotiation

## Reference

- **Status code:** 300
- **Reason phrase:** Multiple Choices
- **Category:** 3xx — Redirection
- **Cacheable by default:** Yes
- **Defined in:** RFC 9110 §15.4.1

## Common questions

### What does HTTP 300 mean?

The requested URL has several representations and the server is not choosing between them. The resource exists in more than one form — different languages, different formats, different qualities — and the server is handing back a list rather than picking one. There is no standard machine-readable format for that list, which is why almost nobody uses it: content negotiation via `Accept` headers solves the same problem without a round trip.

### How do I fix a 300 error?

Pick one of the offered links if the page lists them

### Is 300 a client error or a server error?

300 is in the 3xx range, which means redirection. It is not an error at all.

## Related pages

- [301 Moved Permanently](https://atoneplace.net/error/301/)
- [302 Found](https://atoneplace.net/error/302/)
- [304 Not Modified](https://atoneplace.net/error/304/)
- [307 Temporary Redirect](https://atoneplace.net/error/307/)
- [308 Permanent Redirect](https://atoneplace.net/error/308/)
- [303 See Other](https://atoneplace.net/error/303/)
- [305 Use Proxy](https://atoneplace.net/error/305/)
- [306 (Unused)](https://atoneplace.net/error/306/)

## Sources

- Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) Status Code Registry — IANA (https://www.iana.org/assignments/http-status-codes/)
- RFC 9110: HTTP Semantics — IETF (https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9110.html)