403 PERMISSION_DENIED — "Your project has been denied access" on freshly created project

Gemini API
1

Hello,

I’m requesting a review and unlock of Gemini API access for the project below. The error appears consistently on a freshly created project, with no prior usage history and no policy violation that I’m aware of.

Project Name: Leitor de Folha
Project ID: leitor-de-folha-5008..
Project Number: 6983921248..
Account type: Personal Google account
Project created: June 28, 2026
Region: Brazil

Error (occurs on every request, model gemini-2.5-flash, generateContent endpoint):
{
“error”: {
“code”: 403,
“message”: “Your project has been denied access. Please contact support.”,
“status”: “PERMISSION_DENIED”
}
}

What I’ve verified:

  • API key is an auth key (AQ…) created directly in AI Studio, linked to this project.
  • The key/project work fine inside AI Studio itself.
  • The 403 happens on every call, regardless of model used.
  • Billing tier: Free tier (billing not yet enabled).

Use case: a small internal accessibility/accounting tool for a municipal accounting team, reading payroll discount sheets via OCR. Very low expected volume.

Could someone please review and restore access to this project? Happy to provide any additional details needed.

Thank you.

2

Hello @Contabilidade_PMNM ,

Getting a 403 API error response and / or seeing “Unavailable” next to your project in AI audio indicates a flag has been placed on your account. To proceed:

  1. Check for banners / error callouts in the AI Studio Projects page & the Billing page.

  2. If the issue isn’t clear from the above, contact Cloud Billing Support.