HTTP 303 See Other — Meaning, Causes & How to Fix
The response to the request can be found under another URL using a GET method.
- Code
- 303
- Name
- See Other
- Class
- 3xx Redirection
- Specification
- RFC 9110 §15.4.4
- Cacheable by default
- Only with explicit Cache-Control / Expires
What HTTP 303 means
303 See Other tells the client to fetch a different URL with GET. It is the correct response after a form submission (the Post/Redirect/Get pattern): reloading the result page then does not resubmit the form.
Common causes
- A POST form handler redirecting to a confirmation or result page.
- An API pointing to a separate resource that describes the result.
How to fix it
For site owners
- Use 303 after POST so refreshing the page does not repeat the action (no duplicate orders).
For visitors & developers
- Always follow a 303 with GET, whatever the original method.
SEO impact
Little SEO relevance: it is used after form submissions, which crawlers do not perform. Use 301/308 for moved pages.
Example 303 response
HTTP/1.1 303 See Other
Location: /orders/1042/confirmation
Content-Length: 0Related status codes
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Open HTTP Status Codes tool →All status codesFrequently asked questions
What does HTTP 303 mean?
HTTP 303 See Other is a 3xx Redirection status code. The response to the request can be found under another URL using a GET method.
Why use 303 instead of 302 after a form?
303 explicitly requires the follow-up request to be a GET, which is exactly what Post/Redirect/Get needs. 302 left this ambiguous historically.
Which specification defines 303?
It is defined in RFC 9110 §15.4.4.
Is a 303 response cacheable?
Not by default. A 303 response is only stored by caches when it carries explicit freshness information such as Cache-Control: max-age or Expires.