What does Windows error code 8260 (ERROR_DS_REFERRAL_LIMIT_EXCEEDED) mean?

ERROR_DS_REFERRAL_LIMIT_EXCEEDED

ERROR_DS_REFERRAL_LIMIT_EXCEEDED (0x00002044) is an Active Directory Domain Services LDAP result. The LDAP client reached its configured limit while chasing referrals.

Log the complete referral path and identify repeated or unexpectedly deep hops. Correct directory referral topology or narrow the search scope rather than merely increasing the chase limit and allowing the same path to grow longer.

What to check

• Review the referral sequence and determine why the expected object was not found in the first target naming context.
• Fix referral loops, stale DNS records, or incorrect search bases before simply raising the limit.
• Use a domain-specific or partition-specific LDAP endpoint when the target location is known.

Useful command

Get-ADRootDSE -Server "<dc-fqdn>" | Select-Object namingContexts

Microsoft: AD DS LDAP operations · Microsoft: LDAP ETW tracing · Microsoft: AD DS diagnostic logging