What Is the 405 Status Code? (Method Not Allowed)

Every HTTP request uses a method (also called a verb) that says what you want to do: GET reads a page, POST submits data, and so on. A 405 means the URL is real, but it doesn't accept the verb you sent — for example, sending GET to a URL that only allows POST. The server tells you which verbs are allowed in the Allow header. In short: the endpoint doesn't accept the HTTP method you used.

Scrapers usually trigger a 405 by using the wrong verb: doing a GET on a form action that requires POST, POSTing to a resource that is read-only, or using HEAD (a GET that returns headers but no body) where it isn't supported. It can also appear when a WAF — a web application firewall that filters incoming traffic — rewrites or rejects methods it considers unusual.

Start with the Allow header in the 405 response — it spells out exactly which methods are permitted. Switch to a supported verb, and make sure your content type and request body match what the endpoint expects. To get this exactly right, open the real site in your browser's DevTools and copy the method, headers, and payload the browser actually sends. If a WAF is the thing rejecting your method, routing the request through a real-browser flow with Web Access API avoids the mismatch.