diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index a464094..a79a14f 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ services:
             --providers.docker=true
             --providers.docker.network=default
             --experimental.plugins.captcha-protect.modulename=github.com/libops/captcha-protect
-            --experimental.plugins.captcha-protect.version=v1.3.2
+            --experimental.plugins.captcha-protect.version=v1.4.0
         volumes:
             - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock:z
             - /CHANGEME/TO/A/HOST/PATH/FOR/STATE/FILE:/tmp/state.json:rw
@@ -95,7 +95,7 @@ services:
 | `captchaProvider`       | `string` (required)     | `""`                    | The captcha type to use. Supported values: `turnstile`, `hcaptcha`, and `recaptcha`.                                                                                                      |
 | `siteKey`               | `string` (required)     | `""`                    | The captcha site key.                                                                                                                                                                     |
 | `secretKey`             | `string` (required)     | `""`                    | The captcha secret key.                                                                                                                                                                   |
-| `rateLimit`             | `uint`                  | `20`                     | Maximum requests allowed from a subnet before a challenge is triggered.                                                                                                                  |
+| `rateLimit`             | `uint`                  | `20`                    | Maximum requests allowed from a subnet before a challenge is triggered.                                                                                                                   |
 | `window`                | `int`                   | `86400`                 | Duration (in seconds) for monitoring requests per subnet.                                                                                                                                 |
 | `ipv4subnetMask`        | `int`                   | `16`                    | CIDR subnet mask to group IPv4 addresses for rate limiting.                                                                                                                               |
 | `ipv6subnetMask`        | `int`                   | `64`                    | CIDR subnet mask to group IPv6 addresses for rate limiting.                                                                                                                               |
@@ -104,6 +104,7 @@ services:
 | `goodBots`              | `[]string` (encouraged) | *see below*             | List of second-level domains for bots that are never challenged or rate-limited.                                                                                                          |
 | `protectParameters`     | `string`                | `"false"`               | Forces rate limiting even for good bots if URL parameters are present. Useful for protecting faceted search pages.                                                                        |
 | `protectFileExtensions` | `[]string`              | `""`                    | Comma-separated file extensions to protect. By default, your protected routes only protect html files. This is to prevent files like CSS/JS/img from tripping the rate limit.             |
+| `protectHttpMethods`    | `[]string`              | `"GET,HEAD"`            | Comma-separated list of HTTP methods to protect against                                                                                                                                   |
 | `exemptIps`             | `[]string`              | `privateIPs`            | CIDR-formatted IPs that should never be challenged. Private IP ranges are always exempt.                                                                                                  |
 | `challengeURL`          | `string`                | `"/challenge"`          | URL where challenges are served. This will override existing routes if there is a conflict.                                                                                               |
 | `challengeTmpl`         | `string`                | `"./challenge.tmpl.html"`| Path to the Go HTML template for the captcha challenge page.                                                                                                                             |
diff --git a/main.go b/main.go
index a89257e..1744553 100644
--- a/main.go
+++ b/main.go
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ type Config struct {
 	ProtectParameters     string   `json:"protectParameters"`
 	ProtectRoutes         []string `json:"protectRoutes"`
 	ProtectFileExtensions []string `json:"protectFileExtensions"`
+	ProtectHttpMethods    []string `json:"protectHttpMethods"`
 	GoodBots              []string `json:"goodBots"`
 	ExemptIPs             []string `json:"exemptIps"`
 	ChallengeURL          string   `json:"challengeURL"`
@@ -70,13 +71,14 @@ type captchaResponse struct {
 
 func CreateConfig() *Config {
 	return &Config{
-		RateLimit:         20,
-		Window:            86400,
-		IPv4SubnetMask:    16,
-		IPv6SubnetMask:    64,
-		IPForwardedHeader: "",
-		ProtectParameters: "false",
-		ProtectRoutes:     []string{},
+		RateLimit:          20,
+		Window:             86400,
+		IPv4SubnetMask:     16,
+		IPv6SubnetMask:     64,
+		IPForwardedHeader:  "",
+		ProtectParameters:  "false",
+		ProtectRoutes:      []string{},
+		ProtectHttpMethods: []string{},
 		ProtectFileExtensions: []string{
 			"html",
 		},
@@ -117,6 +119,14 @@ func New(ctx context.Context, next http.Handler, config *Config, name string) (h
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("you must protect at least one route with the protectRoutes config value. / will cover your entire site")
 	}
 
+	if len(config.ProtectHttpMethods) == 0 {
+		config.ProtectHttpMethods = []string{
+			"GET",
+			"HEAD",
+		}
+	}
+	config.ParseHttpMethods()
+
 	var tmpl *template.Template
 	if _, err := os.Stat(config.ChallengeTmpl); os.IsNotExist(err) {
 		log.Warn("Unable to find template file. Using default template.", "challengeTmpl", config.ChallengeTmpl)
@@ -317,6 +327,10 @@ func (bc *CaptchaProtect) serveStatsPage(rw http.ResponseWriter, ip string) {
 }
 
 func (bc *CaptchaProtect) shouldApply(req *http.Request, clientIP string) bool {
+	if !strInSlice(req.Method, bc.config.ProtectHttpMethods) {
+		return false
+	}
+
 	_, verified := bc.verifiedCache.Get(clientIP)
 	if verified {
 		return false
@@ -545,6 +559,18 @@ func ParseLogLevel(level string) (slog.Level, error) {
 	}
 }
 
+// log a warning if protected methods contains an invalid method
+func (c *Config) ParseHttpMethods() {
+	for _, method := range c.ProtectHttpMethods {
+		switch method {
+		case "GET", "HEAD", "POST", "PUT", "PATCH", "DELETE", "CONNECT", "OPTIONS", "TRACE":
+			continue
+		default:
+			log.Warn("unknown http method", "method", method)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
 func (bc *CaptchaProtect) saveState(ctx context.Context) {
 	ticker := time.NewTicker(1 * time.Minute)
 	defer ticker.Stop()
@@ -641,3 +667,12 @@ func getDefaultTmpl() string {
   </body>
 </html>`
 }
+
+func strInSlice(s string, sl []string) bool {
+	for _, a := range sl {
+		if a == s {
+			return true
+		}
+	}
+	return false
+}