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HTTP error 404.13 - CONTENT_LENGTH_TOO_LARGE in IIS

Original product version:   Internet Information Services 10.0 and later versions
Original KB number:   942074

Summary

This article helps you fix HTTP Error 404.13 - CONTENT_LENGTH_TOO_LARGE in Internet Information Services (IIS). You get this error when a request exceeds the maxAllowedContentLength limit in web.config or ApplicationHost.config.

Symptoms

Consider the following scenario. You have a web site that is hosted on a server that is running IIS 10.0 and later versions. When a user visits this web site, the user receives an error message that resembles the following error message:

Server Error in Application "<ApplicationName>"
HTTP Error 404.13 - CONTENT_LENGTH_TOO_LARGE
HRESULT: 0
Description of HRESULT # The operation completed successfully.

Cause

This problem occurs because the client request contains a Content-Length header that is larger than the value (in bytes) that is specified for the maxAllowedContentLength attribute in the ApplicationHost.config file or the site-level web.config file.

Solution

To resolve this problem, use one of the following methods.

Add or update the maxAllowedContentLength attribute in your site's web.config file. Set the value (in bytes) to match or exceed the size of the Content-Length header that the client sends. By default, the value of maxAllowedContentLength is 30000000 bytes (approximately 28.6 MB).

For example, to allow up to 50 MB, add the following inside the <system.webServer> section of your web.config file:

<system.webServer>
  <security>
    <requestFiltering>
      <requestLimits maxAllowedContentLength="52428800" />
    </requestFiltering>
  </security>
</system.webServer>

Edit the server-wide ApplicationHost.config file

  1. Select Start. In the Start Search box, type Notepad. Right-click Notepad, and then select Run as administrator.

    Note

    If you are prompted for an administrator password or for a confirmation, type the password, or select Continue.

  2. On the File menu, select Open. In the File name box, type %windir%\system32\inetsrv\config\applicationhost.config, and then select Open.

  3. In the ApplicationHost.config file, locate the <requestLimits> node.

  4. Set the maxAllowedContentLength attribute to a value (in bytes) that matches or exceeds the size of the Content-Length header that the client sends as part of the request. By default, the value of maxAllowedContentLength is 30000000 bytes (approximately 28.6 MB). Alternatively, remove the attribute to revert to the default value.

    For example, modify the following configuration data inside the <requestFiltering> section:

    <requestLimits maxAllowedContentLength ="<ContentLengthInBytes>" />

  5. Save the ApplicationHost.config file.

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