diff --git a/migrations/012_shrink_fail_reason.sql b/migrations/012_shrink_fail_reason.sql
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e97c29b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/migrations/012_shrink_fail_reason.sql
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+ALTER TABLE stacktach_instanceexists MODIFY `fail_reason` varchar(300);
diff --git a/stacktach/models.py b/stacktach/models.py
index eabad54..6150d6f 100644
--- a/stacktach/models.py
+++ b/stacktach/models.py
@@ -130,7 +130,7 @@ class InstanceExists(models.Model):
     status = models.CharField(max_length=50, db_index=True,
                               choices=STATUS_CHOICES,
                               default=PENDING)
-    fail_reason = models.CharField(max_length=500, null=True,
+    fail_reason = models.CharField(max_length=300, null=True,
                                    blank=True, db_index=True)
     raw = models.ForeignKey(RawData, related_name='+', null=True)
     usage = models.ForeignKey(InstanceUsage, related_name='+', null=True)