423 Locked (WebDAV; RFC 4918)

This is an educational reference page about HTTP 423 Locked. The page itself is served as 200 OK so it can be indexed as HTTP documentation.

The resource that is being accessed is locked.

What it means

HTTP 423 Locked means the target resource is locked and the requested method cannot be applied right now.

Common causes

A WebDAV resource is locked by another client or workflow.
A document, file, or record is protected while an edit, migration, or approval process is active.
The server uses locking to prevent conflicting writes.

How to fix it

Wait until the lock expires or ask the lock owner to release it.
Send the required lock token when the API or WebDAV server expects one.
Use 409 Conflict instead when the problem is a state conflict rather than an explicit lock.

Example response

HTTP/1.1 423 Locked
Content-Type: application/xml

<error><lock-token-submitted /></error>

Developer notes

423 comes from WebDAV, but APIs sometimes use the same idea for locked files or records. Make the lock owner, expiry, or recovery path clear when possible.

Questions

What does HTTP 423 mean?

HTTP 423 means the resource is locked, so the server cannot apply the requested operation right now.

Is 423 only for WebDAV?

423 is defined by WebDAV, but some APIs use it for explicit file, record, or workflow locks.