HTTP 405 Method Not Allowed — What It Means and How to Fix It

Common Causes

• Attempting to use a POST request on a resource that only accepts GET requests (e.g., a static file).
• Trying to DELETE a resource that is not designed to be deleted via the API.
• Misconfiguration of the web server (e.g., Apache, Nginx) or application framework (e.g., Express, Django) where a route is defined but doesn't explicitly allow certain HTTP methods.
• Using an incorrect HTTP method for a RESTful API endpoint (e.g., sending a PUT to create a resource when POST is expected).

Code Examples to Handle HTTP 405

curl -I https://httpbin.org/status/405

fetch('https://httpbin.org/status/405')
  .then(response => {
    if (response.status === 405) {
      console.log('Handled Method Not Allowed');
    }
  });

import requests

response = requests.get('https://httpbin.org/status/405')
if response.status_code == 405:
    print("Received Method Not Allowed")

How to Fix It

1. Review the API documentation or server configuration to determine which HTTP methods are allowed for the specific resource path.
2. Verify the HTTP method being sent in your client-side request (e.g., check your fetch, axios, or form submission method).
3. If you control the server, check your routing definitions and ensure that the desired HTTP method is explicitly allowed for the endpoint in question.
4. Examine server-side logs for more detailed error messages that might indicate why the method was disallowed.

Related Status Codes