diff --git a/plugins/http_plugin/http_plugin.cpp b/plugins/http_plugin/http_plugin.cpp
index 6e914d5702..892950e445 100644
--- a/plugins/http_plugin/http_plugin.cpp
+++ b/plugins/http_plugin/http_plugin.cpp
@@ -357,9 +357,9 @@ namespace eosio {
             ("max-body-size", bpo::value<uint32_t>()->default_value(my->plugin_state->max_body_size),
              "The maximum body size in bytes allowed for incoming RPC requests")
             ("http-max-bytes-in-flight-mb", bpo::value<int64_t>()->default_value(500),
-             "Maximum size in megabytes http_plugin should use for processing http requests. -1 for unlimited. 429 error response when exceeded." )
+             "Maximum size in megabytes http_plugin should use for processing http requests. -1 for unlimited. 503 error response when exceeded." )
             ("http-max-in-flight-requests", bpo::value<int32_t>()->default_value(-1),
-             "Maximum number of requests http_plugin should use for processing http requests. 429 error response when exceeded." )
+             "Maximum number of requests http_plugin should use for processing http requests. 503 error response when exceeded." )
             ("http-max-response-time-ms", bpo::value<int64_t>()->default_value(15),
              "Maximum time on main thread for processing a request, -1 for unlimited")
             ("verbose-http-errors", bpo::bool_switch()->default_value(false),
diff --git a/plugins/http_plugin/include/eosio/http_plugin/beast_http_session.hpp b/plugins/http_plugin/include/eosio/http_plugin/beast_http_session.hpp
index dac0468216..b24b1b0501 100644
--- a/plugins/http_plugin/include/eosio/http_plugin/beast_http_session.hpp
+++ b/plugins/http_plugin/include/eosio/http_plugin/beast_http_session.hpp
@@ -219,18 +219,18 @@ class beast_http_session : public detail::abstract_conn,
 
    virtual void send_busy_response(std::string&& what) final {
       error_results::error_info ei;
-      ei.code = static_cast<int64_t>(http::status::too_many_requests);
+      ei.code = static_cast<int64_t>(http::status::service_unavailable);
       ei.name = "Busy";
       ei.what = std::move(what);
-      error_results results{static_cast<uint16_t>(http::status::too_many_requests), "Busy", ei};
+      error_results results{static_cast<uint16_t>(http::status::service_unavailable), "Busy", ei};
       send_response(fc::json::to_string(results, fc::time_point::maximum()),
-                    static_cast<unsigned int>(http::status::too_many_requests) );
+                    static_cast<unsigned int>(http::status::service_unavailable) );
    }
    
    virtual std::string verify_max_bytes_in_flight(size_t extra_bytes) final {
       auto bytes_in_flight_size = plugin_state_->bytes_in_flight.load() + extra_bytes;
       if(bytes_in_flight_size > plugin_state_->max_bytes_in_flight) {
-         fc_dlog(plugin_state_->get_logger(), "429 - too many bytes in flight: ${bytes}", ("bytes", bytes_in_flight_size));
+         fc_dlog(plugin_state_->get_logger(), "503 - too many bytes in flight: ${bytes}", ("bytes", bytes_in_flight_size));
          return "Too many bytes in flight: " + std::to_string( bytes_in_flight_size );
       }
       return {};
@@ -242,7 +242,7 @@ class beast_http_session : public detail::abstract_conn,
 
       auto requests_in_flight_num = plugin_state_->requests_in_flight.load();
       if(requests_in_flight_num > plugin_state_->max_requests_in_flight) {
-         fc_dlog(plugin_state_->get_logger(), "429 - too many requests in flight: ${requests}", ("requests", requests_in_flight_num));
+         fc_dlog(plugin_state_->get_logger(), "503 - too many requests in flight: ${requests}", ("requests", requests_in_flight_num));
          return "Too many requests in flight: " + std::to_string( requests_in_flight_num );
       }
       return {};