The 202 status code is less common than, say, 200 or 201, but plays an important role in situations where a request has been received but not yet fully processed. Thus, this status does not indicate an error, but neither does it indicate a completed action. It is exactly in between.
In this article, we explain what the 202 status code means, in what situations you might encounter it, and how to check for yourself whether your server or application is returning this status.
What is status code 202?
The status code 202 means Accepted. The server has received the request and acknowledged it as valid, but processing has not yet been completed. Thus, the action requested is performed asynchronously, and the final outcome is still unknown at the time of the response.
According to the IETF specification:
The 202 (Accepted) status code indicates that the request has been accepted for processing, but processing has not yet been completed. The request may still be pending or may be in the future.
An important detail is that the 202 status does not guarantee that processing will be successful. It is only a confirmation that the application has been received in good order.
When do you get a 202 status code?
You see the 202 status code especially in systems where requests cannot be processed immediately, but enter a queue or are handled by an external process. Consider:
- Starting a background process via an API
- Invoking an e-mail sending service
- Scheduling a task or cronjob
- Sending data to another system via an integration
An example: you fill out a form on a site that submits a request to an external service. At that time, the server cannot confirm whether the process has been completed successfully, but wants to let you know that your request has been received. In such a case, status code 202 is the appropriate response.
How can you check status codes yourself?
Want to find out what HTTP status codes your Web site or application is returning? There are several ways to make that insightful. With Screaming Frog SEO Spider you can scan your entire site and see what status code is returned for each URL. This makes it easy to discover which pages load well and where potential bottlenecks are. Also tools such as Ahrefs Site Audit and SEMrush offer clear reports listing all responses, from 200 to 500. Prefer to use something light in your browser? The extension Redirect Path (for Chrome) immediately shows what status code is returned when you visit a page. This allows you to check at lightning speed whether responses are running correctly, without having to manually open the network tab.
How do you recognize a 202 status code?
Because the 202 status does not result in an error message or visible confirmation in the browser, you only see it in technical tools or logs. Consider:
- Letter carrier or Insomnia when testing an API endpoint. The status line will then show 202 Accepted
- curl in the terminal indicates a successful but not yet executed request:
HTTP/1.1 202 Accepted - Browser DevTools in the Network tab. If an AJAX call or fetch request returns a 202 response, you will see it in the Status column
- Server logs or tools like Loggly, Kibana or WP Debug Log can log status 202 when a background process is started
In many cases, a 202 response contains little additional data. Sometimes it does include a Location header or tracking URL to later retrieve the status of the request.
Why is status code 202 important?
The 202 status code is important in modern Web applications where processes do not need to be completed immediately. Think email traffic, external links or bulk processing.
For developers, a 202 indicates that the request has been received correctly, without the need to delay waiting for processing. This makes it ideal for building scalable and fast interfaces.
It is also important for debugging purposes to know when an action is only accepted but has not yet been executed. You want to be able to see in your logging or monitoring if a request has actually been started, even if the outcome is still unknown.
Summary
The 202 status code means that a request has been received but not yet processed. It is a valuable mechanism for systems that operate asynchronously or invoke external processes.
Key points:
- Status code 202 means: request received, processing will follow later
- Used primarily in asynchronous or deferred processes
- No guarantee that processing will succeed
- Identifiable through tools such as Postman, curl and browser DevTools
- Can be combined with headers such as Location for tracking
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