RequestExpired
AWS RequestExpired (Request Expired) means the request reached AWS outside the allowed signature time window. In AWS APIs, this error returns HTTP 400.
Last reviewed: February 15, 2026|Editorial standard: source-backed technical guidance
What Does Request Expired Mean?
When RequestExpired is returned, signed requests age out before AWS accepts them, so authenticated operations fail until clock accuracy and signing latency are corrected.
Common Causes
- -System clock drift causes
x-amz-dateto fall outside accepted time skew. - -Signed requests sit too long in queues, retries, or network buffers before reaching AWS.
- -Presigned URLs are used after expiration timestamp has already passed.
- -Time zone or UTC conversion bugs produce incorrect signing timestamps.
How to Fix Request Expired
- 1Synchronize hosts with reliable NTP and verify UTC clock accuracy before signing.
- 2Regenerate the request signature immediately before dispatch, not earlier in the pipeline.
- 3Reduce queue latency between signing and transmission for high-volume workloads.
- 4For presigned URLs, regenerate with appropriate TTL and enforce client-side expiry checks.
Step-by-Step Diagnosis for Request Expired
- 1Capture request ID,
x-amz-date, and server-receive timestamp from logs. - 2Compare host clock to trusted NTP source across all caller nodes.
- 3Measure time spent between signature generation and outbound transmission.
- 4Audit presigned URL TTL settings against real client usage behavior.
Clock and Signature Window Checks
- -Inspect host clock skew against trusted NTP across caller nodes (example: node clock drifts beyond the 15-minute acceptance window).
- -Verify signing timestamp generation uses UTC consistently (example: local-time conversion bug places
x-amz-datein the future).
Dispatch Latency and URL Expiry Audit
- -Trace time between signing and transmission for queued workloads (example: requests sit in queue long enough to expire before send).
- -Audit presigned URL TTL against real client behavior (example: mobile client resumes and reuses a URL after expiration).
How to Verify the Fix
- -Replay the same request path and confirm RequestExpired no longer appears.
- -Confirm time drift dashboards stay within acceptable milliseconds bounds.
- -Verify auth-related error rates drop without introducing new signature failures.
How to Prevent Recurrence
- -Standardize time synchronization policy for every compute environment handling SigV4 signing.
- -Sign requests as late as possible in the request lifecycle to minimize stale timestamps.
- -Alert on clock skew, queue delay, and expired-signature error trends.
Pro Tip
- -add a signer-side age budget check that aborts outbound calls when signature age is already near expiry threshold.
Decision Support
Compare Guide
HTTP 400 vs 422: Bad Request vs Unprocessable Content
Fix API payload issues faster by using 400 for malformed syntax and 422 for semantic validation failures, so clients correct format before business rules.
Playbook
CORS Error Fix Playbook (Preflight / Origin / Credentials)
Use this playbook to separate browser-enforced cross-origin policy failures from server-side CORS header and route defects and apply strict origin and credential controls safely.
Playbook
Validation Failure Playbook (400 / 422 / INVALID_ARGUMENT)
Use this playbook to separate malformed-request failures from semantic validation failures, then fix request contracts without broad server-side bypasses.
Official References
Provider Context
This guidance is specific to AWS services. Always validate implementation details against official provider documentation before deploying to production.