496 SSL Certificate Required

496

SSL Certificate Required

Example HTTP Response

HTTP Response

HTTP/1.1 496 SSL Certificate Required
Content-Type: text/html

<html><body>A client certificate is required</body></html>

Common Causes

nginx configured with ssl_verify_client on
Client did not send a certificate during TLS handshake
Client certificate authentication required but not provided
Missing client certificate in mutual TLS (mTLS) setup

Technical Details

What does this mean?

Where's your hall pass? This server requires a client certificate to enter, but you showed up empty-handed. No ticket, no entry!

Technical Definition

The nginx server requires a client SSL certificate, but the client did not provide one during the SSL/TLS handshake.

Code Snippets

Ready-to-use code for returning this HTTP status in your application:

Node.js

// Express.js
app.get('/example', (req, res) => {
  res.status(496).json({
    error: 'SSL Certificate Required',
    message: 'Your error message here'
  });
});

// Native HTTP
const http = require('http');

http.createServer((req, res) => {
  res.writeHead(496, { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' });
  res.end(JSON.stringify({
    error: 'SSL Certificate Required',
    message: 'Your error message here'
  }));
}).listen(3000);

Related Status Codes

🔐401Unauthorized 🚫403Forbidden 🎫495SSL Certificate Error

496 SSL Certificate Required FAQ

What causes a 496 SSL Certificate Required error?

nginx configured with ssl_verify_client on. Client did not send a certificate during TLS handshake. Client certificate authentication required but not provided. Missing client certificate in mutual TLS (mTLS) setup.

// Express.js app.get('/example', (req, res) => { res.status(496).json({ error: 'SSL Certificate Required', message: 'Your error message here' }); }); // Native HTTP const http = require('http'); http.createServer((req, res) => { res.writeHead(496, { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' }); res.end(JSON.stringify({ error: 'SSL Certificate Required', message: 'Your error message here' })); }).listen(3000);