Google Chrome ERR_ILLEGAL_CHARACTER: How to Fix It

Easy 5-20 minutes Medium Severity Verified June 2026
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Error Code
ERR_ILLEGAL_CHARACTER
Brand
Google Chrome
Product Type
browser
Severity
Medium
DIY Difficulty
Easy
Estimated Fix Time
5-20 minutes
The ERR_ILLEGAL_CHARACTER error in Google Chrome means the URL you are trying to visit contains a character that is not allowed in a standard web address. This often happens when a URL is copy-pasted from a document, email, or foreign-language source and includes special symbols, accented letters, or hidden formatting characters that Chrome cannot process. In most cases this is a quick fix involving correcting the URL, clearing browser data, or adjusting system settings.
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Tools You'll Need

How to Fix Error Code ERR_ILLEGAL_CHARACTER

  1. Check and Clean the URL

  2. Encode Special Characters in the URL

  3. Clear Chrome's Browsing Cache and Cookies

  4. Disable Chrome Extensions

  5. Check Your System's Language and Locale Settings

  6. Reset Chrome's Flags to Default

  7. Update Google Chrome to the Latest Version

  8. Reset Chrome Browser Settings

    Resetting Chrome will remove your customizations and disable extensions, but it will not delete your bookmarks, history, or saved passwords.

  9. Try the URL in Another Browser or Incognito Mode

  10. Reinstall Google Chrome

    Before uninstalling, make sure your bookmarks and passwords are synced to your Google account so you can restore them after reinstalling.
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When to Call a Professional

This error is almost always resolvable by the user without professional help. However, if the ERR_ILLEGAL_CHARACTER error appears on every website you visit and persists after a full Chrome reinstall and system locale check, it may indicate a deeper operating system or network configuration issue. In that case, contact your IT administrator if you are on a corporate network, or reach out to Google Chrome Support at support.google.com/chrome for further assistance.

Frequently Asked Questions

What causes ERR_ILLEGAL_CHARACTER in Chrome?
ERR_ILLEGAL_CHARACTER is caused by a URL containing characters that are not permitted in a standard web address. Common causes include copy-pasting URLs from documents or emails that contain special symbols, curly quotes, accented letters, invisible formatting characters, or spaces. Non-Latin scripts (such as Arabic or Chinese) also need to be percent-encoded before Chrome can load them correctly.
Does ERR_ILLEGAL_CHARACTER mean a website is down?
No. This error is about the URL itself, not the website's availability. The page may load perfectly fine once the URL is corrected or encoded. If you see this error, the problem is almost certainly with how the web address was entered or formatted in your browser, not with the server hosting the website.
Can a Chrome extension cause ERR_ILLEGAL_CHARACTER?
Yes. Some browser extensions — particularly those that modify URLs, redirect traffic, or translate page content — can inject illegal characters into web addresses, triggering this error. Disabling all extensions and re-enabling them one by one is an effective way to identify and remove the culprit extension.
How do I encode special characters in a URL for Chrome?
You can use a free online URL encoder tool to convert special characters into their percent-encoded equivalents. For example, a space is encoded as '%20', a hash symbol as '%23', and an ampersand as '%26'. Simply paste your URL into the encoder, copy the output, and paste it into Chrome's address bar. Alternatively, if you are a developer, most programming languages have built-in URL encoding functions.
Will resetting Chrome fix ERR_ILLEGAL_CHARACTER?
Resetting Chrome can fix the error if it is caused by a misconfigured setting, a problematic flag, or an extension that is modifying URLs. However, if the error is caused simply by a malformed URL, you need to correct the URL itself. Resetting Chrome is recommended as a late-stage fix after simpler solutions like cleaning the URL and clearing the cache have been tried.

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