The choice of status code is based on the HTTP 1.0 specification, which states: "If the 302 status code is received in response to a request using the POST method, the user agent must not automatically redirect the request unless it can be confirmed by the user, since this might change the conditions under which the request was issued." Note: When automatically redirecting a POST request after receiving a 302 status code, some existing user agents will erroneously change it into a GET request."

In practice, most HTTP 1.0 User Agents handle 302 redirects after a POST as a GET. However, the HTTP 1.1 specification added a 303 redirect specification for this scenario and some HTTP 1.1 User Agents do not handle 302 redirects "conventionally". Therefore, applications should send a different redirect code for 1.1 User Agents.