Fix ChatGPT Error 429 Too Many Requests Rate Limit (2025)

Updated: 11/29/2025

You are in the middle of an important ChatGPT session, you send your next prompt, and instead of a reply you see Error 429 Too Many Requests or a similar rate limit message. It feels unfair because you might not think you were spamming, yet the system suddenly shuts you out. This error does not mean your account is broken, it simply means you or your app have hit OpenAI’s request limits and need to back off for a bit.

Table of Contents

Method 1: Slow Down Manual Usage In The Web Or Mobile App

Spamming the Regenerate button after every answer can quickly trip rate limits, especially on heavy conversations. If a reply is not what you expect, clarify your instructions and send a single refined prompt rather than hammering regenerate repeatedly.

Method 2: Respect API Rate Limits In Code Or Automation

When the API returns status 429, read any Retry-After header or error message that suggests a wait time, then pause new requests for at least that long plus a small buffer. Do not immediately retry in a tight loop, as that can extend or worsen rate limit penalties.

Warning: Hard coding extremely aggressive retry loops after 429 errors can lead to automated abuse detection and longer term restrictions on your key or account, always back off instead of escalating.

Method 3: Clean Up Sessions, Tokens, And Client Configuration

If you regularly hit 429 errors despite careful usage because your workload is growing, review higher tier plans or contact OpenAI sales or support about increased rate limits. This is especially important for production applications that must serve many users reliably.