---
title: "HTTP status code: plain-language definition | Am I Ready for Agents?"
description: "HTTP status code: The three-digit code a server returns with every page, such as 200 for found and 403 for forbidden. Dated and sourced."
canonical: https://amireadyforagents.com/glossary/http-status-code
site: "Am I Ready for Agents?"
last_updated: 2026-11-04
section: "Glossary"
---

# HTTP status code: plain-language definition | Am I Ready for Agents?

> HTTP status code: The three-digit code a server returns with every page, such as 200 for found and 403 for forbidden. Dated and sourced.

Source: https://amireadyforagents.com/glossary/http-status-code
Site: Am I Ready for Agents?
Last reviewed: 2026-11-04

# HTTP status code

## In short

An HTTP status code of 403 returned to agents is the second of the two changes that stopped retrieval in Ora's test. In the network crawl of 4 Nov 2026, 12.9 percent of home pages returned 401 or 403 to a labelled agent user agent. Read on in Self-check question 2.

## Definition

The three-digit code a server returns with every page, such as 200 for found and 403 for forbidden. Agents trust these codes.

## A dated example

-   Read 4 Nov 2026
    
    In the network crawl of 4 Nov 2026, 12.9 percent of home pages returned 401 or 403 to a labelled agent user agent.
    
    [Scorecard methodology: the crawl of 4 Nov 2026](https://amireadyforagents.com/scorecards/methodology), read 4 Nov 2026
    

## Where it matters

A 403 returned to agents is the second of the two changes that stopped retrieval in Ora's test.

-   [Self-check question 2](https://amireadyforagents.com/self-check#q2)

## Related terms

-   [Bot management](https://amireadyforagents.com/glossary/bot-management)Tools at your CDN, host or firewall that identify automated visitors and allow, challenge or block them.
-   [Initial HTML](https://amireadyforagents.com/glossary/initial-html)The page as your server first sends it, before any scripts run.

## Sources

1.  [Scorecard methodology: the crawl of 4 Nov 2026](https://amireadyforagents.com/scorecards/methodology) (amireadyforagents.com/scorecards/methodology), read 4 Nov 2026.
2.  [Sector scorecards dataset, edition 4 Nov 2026](https://amireadyforagents.com/scorecards) (amireadyforagents.com/scorecards), read 4 Nov 2026.

Last reviewed 4 November 2026

Reviewed 4 November 2026. [2 sources](#sources), each with the day it was read.