410 Gone

This is an educational reference page about HTTP 410 Gone. The page itself is served as 200 OK so it can be indexed as HTTP documentation.

The target resource is no longer available at the origin server, and the condition is likely to be permanent.

Specification

Registered in the IANA HTTP Status Code Registry as Gone. Defined in RFC 9110, Section 15.5.11.

What it means

HTTP 410 Gone means the resource was removed and is not expected to return. RFC 9110 says to use 404 instead when the server does not know whether the removal is permanent. 410 tells clients, caches, and other site owners that links to the URL should be removed.

When to use it

Return 410 for content removed on purpose, such as an expired promotion, a deleted account's public profile, or a retired API version.
Return 404 when you are not sure the resource will stay gone.
Return 301 or 308 instead when the content moved to a new URL.

Common causes

The site owner deleted the page or file and configured the server to say so.
An API version or endpoint reached its end-of-life date.
A user deleted content that used to be public.

How to fix it

Remove or update links that point to the URL.
Look for a replacement resource in the response body or API docs.
As a site owner, redirect instead if there is a close replacement.

Examples

Retired API version

GET /v1/orders HTTP/1.1
Host: api.example.com

HTTP/1.1 410 Gone
Content-Type: application/problem+json

{
  "type": "https://api.example.com/problems/version-retired",
  "title": "API v1 was retired on 2026-06-30",
  "status": 410,
  "detail": "Use /v2/orders."
}

Common mistakes

Returning 410 for content that might return. Use 404 until you know.
Returning 410 when a replacement exists. Redirect to it instead.
Forgetting that 410 is heuristically cacheable. Caches may keep serving 410 after you restore the content.

Developer notes

RFC 9110 says you do not need to mark every removed resource as gone, or keep the 410 forever. It is a maintenance signal for clients, caches, and people who link to you.

Questions

What does HTTP 410 Gone mean?

HTTP 410 means the resource was removed and the removal is likely permanent.

Should I use 404 or 410 for deleted pages?

Use 410 when you removed the page on purpose and it will not return. Use 404 when you are not sure.

Header and content rules

RFC 9110 adds no header or content rule specific to 410. The 4xx class rules also apply. See 410 in the response obligations table.