HTTP 402 Payment Required Explained

Understand HTTP 402 and distinguish a payment challenge from authorization and successful delivery.

HTTP 402 Payment Required Explained is a 4-page PDF field guide. HTTP status semantics, payment challenges and delivery verification.

• The status is a signal: HTTP 402 indicates payment is required but does not by itself define asset, network or proof format.

• Terms must be machine-readable: Price, recipient, expiry, resource and payment method need unambiguous representation.

• Retry must be bound: Payment proof should attach to the intended request and resist replay or substitution.

• Delivery is separate: A valid transfer does not prove that the requested resource was correct or accepted.

Action checklist: Specify price and denomination; Bind terms to resource and expiry; Validate network and recipient; Protect proof against replay; Return deterministic errors; Record payment and delivery evidence.

Protocol support and settlement finality vary by implementation and network.