SIP

503 Service Unavailable

The server is temporarily unable to process the request due to overloading or maintenance. The client should retry after the time indicated in the Retry-After header.

When You See This Code

During server overload, maintenance windows, or when the server is rate-limiting requests. Common during traffic spikes.

How to Fix

Wait for the time specified in the Retry-After header. If persistent, check server capacity and consider load balancing across multiple SIP proxies.

Specification

View RFC / Specification →

Related Codes

Cross-Protocol Equivalents

Guides

Glossary