A 429 response has two different causes, and they are handled differently, so check the exact error body first. The error JSON shows which case it is.
model_overloaded (or overloaded_error) is the most common cause. It means the model or its upstream provider is temporarily at capacity. It is not a limit on your account, and a higher rate limit will not change it. Retry after a few seconds or switch to another model; these episodes usually clear quickly.
rate_limit_exceeded is an actual per-minute request or token limit on the account or model. It typically clears in about a minute. If you hit this regularly, implement exponential backoff and retry logic in your integration, which is standard practice for any API client. Venice rate limits are documented per tier at docs.venice.ai/api-reference/rate-limiting.
If you have consistently high request volumes and are genuinely constrained by the documented limits, contact support to discuss options for higher rate limits.