diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/indices/IndexPrimaryShardNotAllocatedException.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/indices/IndexPrimaryShardNotAllocatedException.java
index e4434a36e5a..1c1caed81f6 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/indices/IndexPrimaryShardNotAllocatedException.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/indices/IndexPrimaryShardNotAllocatedException.java
@@ -35,6 +35,6 @@ public class IndexPrimaryShardNotAllocatedException extends IndexException {
 
     @Override
     public RestStatus status() {
-        return RestStatus.CONFLICT;
+        return RestStatus.INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR;
     }
 }