Content-Type for SOAP 1.1 (text/xml)

SOAP 1.1 Content-Type

SOAP 1.1 uses text/xml as its Content-Type and sends the action in a separate SOAPAction HTTP header.

The Headers

Content-Type: text/xml; charset=utf-8
SOAPAction: "http://example.com/GetWeather"

Key Differences from SOAP 1.2

In SOAP 1.1, the action is not part of the Content-Type. It goes in a dedicated SOAPAction header. This header:

• Must be present (even if empty: SOAPAction: "")
• Contains the URI identifying the intent of the message
• Is used by firewalls and routers for message routing

SOAP 1.1 Envelope

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<soap:Envelope xmlns:soap="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/envelope/"
               xmlns:web="http://example.com/">
  <soap:Body>
    <web:GetWeather>
      <web:City>Tokyo</web:City>
    </web:GetWeather>
  </soap:Body>
</soap:Envelope>

Charset Matters

Since text/xml defaults to US-ASCII when no charset is specified, always include charset=utf-8 to avoid encoding issues with international characters.

Migration Path

If you are building a new service, prefer SOAP 1.2 with application/soap+xml. SOAP 1.1 is considered legacy but remains widely deployed in enterprise environments.

curl Example

curl -X POST \
  -H "Content-Type: text/xml; charset=utf-8" \
  -H 'SOAPAction: "http://example.com/GetWeather"' \
  -d @request.xml \
  https://service.example.com/soap