REST Service - URI formation for unique check

Question

I've got a signup HTML form with a username field that I want to check against registered usernames to ensure uniqueness. I considered making a GET request to api/users/:username, if it returns 200 consider taken, if 404 consider available.

Is this overkill for what I'm trying to do since I would be returning the actual user at every request (which happens when the input field changes)? If so what alternatives would you guys suggest.

Answer 1

Make a HEAD request and just get the headers.