diff --git a/examples/filters/rate_limit_filter_pipeline.py b/examples/filters/rate_limit_filter_pipeline.py
index d1e88236..4f8a8872 100644
--- a/examples/filters/rate_limit_filter_pipeline.py
+++ b/examples/filters/rate_limit_filter_pipeline.py
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import os
 from typing import List, Optional
+from fastapi import HTTPException
 from pydantic import BaseModel
 from schemas import OpenAIChatMessage
 import time
@@ -121,7 +122,10 @@ async def inlet(self, body: dict, user: Optional[dict] = None) -> dict:
         if user.get("role", "admin") == "user":
             user_id = user["id"] if user and "id" in user else "default_user"
             if self.rate_limited(user_id):
-                raise Exception("Rate limit exceeded. Please try again later.")
+                raise HTTPException(
+                    status_code=429,
+                    detail="Rate limit exceeded. Please try again later.",
+                )
 
             self.log_request(user_id)
         return body
diff --git a/main.py b/main.py
index e277d3a3..6233fa30 100644
--- a/main.py
+++ b/main.py
@@ -616,6 +616,8 @@ async def filter_inlet(pipeline_id: str, form_data: FilterForm):
             return body
         else:
             return form_data.body
+    except HTTPException:
+        raise
     except Exception as e:
         print(e)
         raise HTTPException(
@@ -648,6 +650,8 @@ async def filter_outlet(pipeline_id: str, form_data: FilterForm):
             return body
         else:
             return form_data.body
+    except HTTPException:
+        raise
     except Exception as e:
         print(e)
         raise HTTPException(