---
title: "302 Found — what it means and how to fix it"
description: "The resource is temporarily at a different URL; keep using the original one. What causes an HTTP 302, what to try as a visitor, and what to check if it is your own site."
url: https://atoneplace.net/error/302/
site: "At One Place"
---

# HTTP 302 — Found

**HTTP 302: Found**

The resource is temporarily at a different URL; keep using the original one.

## What 302 actually means

A temporary redirect. The original URL is still the right one to remember — the server is just sending you elsewhere for now, typically to a login page, a maintenance notice, or a region-specific version. Historically, browsers changed POST requests into GET when following a 302, which was never what the specification said but became universal; 303 and 307 exist to make that behaviour explicit rather than accidental.

## Common causes

- Redirecting an unauthenticated visitor to a login page
- A temporary maintenance or promotional page
- Geographic or language-based routing
- A URL shortener or click tracker forwarding to the destination

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

1. Nothing — the browser follows this for you
2. If you end up in a redirect loop, clear that site's cookies; a stale session cookie is the usual cause

## If it's your site

1. If the move is permanent, use 301 — a 302 leaves the old URL indexed and splits ranking signals
2. For method-preserving temporary redirects use 307; for "POST succeeded, now go look at this" use 303
3. A 302 is not cached unless you add explicit `Cache-Control` headers, which is usually what you want

## Reference

- **Status code:** 302
- **Reason phrase:** Found
- **Category:** 3xx — Redirection
- **Cacheable by default:** No
- **Defined in:** RFC 9110 §15.4.3

## Common questions

### What does HTTP 302 mean?

The resource is temporarily at a different URL; keep using the original one. A temporary redirect. The original URL is still the right one to remember — the server is just sending you elsewhere for now, typically to a login page, a maintenance notice, or a region-specific version.

### How do I fix a 302 error?

Nothing — the browser follows this for you

### Is 302 a client error or a server error?

302 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/)
- [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/)
- [300 Multiple Choices](https://atoneplace.net/error/300/)
- [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)