403 PERMISSION_DENIED "Your project has been denied access" on multiple fresh projects/keys

Gemini API
1

Hello Gemini API Team,

I am experiencing a persistent 403 PERMISSION_DENIED error on every generateContent request:

{
“error”: {
“code”: 403,
“message”: “Your project has been denied access. Please contact support.”,
“status”: “PERMISSION_DENIED”
}
}

What I have already verified:

  • The REST API can list models successfully (GET /v1beta/models returns HTTP 200 with a full model list).
  • generateContent fails through the official @google/genai Node.js SDK.
  • generateContent also fails via a direct REST request (curl), completely bypassing any SDK or backend code.
  • I have tried multiple models (gemini-3.6-flash, gemini-3.5-flash-lite) — all fail identically.
  • I have tried this on TWO separate, freshly created Google Cloud projects and API keys generated via Google AI Studio — the exact same error occurs on both, ruling out a single-project issue.
  • No prior usage history, no known policy violations, no quota/billing warnings shown in AI Studio or Cloud Console.

Affected Project Number: 1078461151087
Affected Project ID: fuoritraccia-1

Use case: personal music-discovery web app (non-commercial, low volume, standard generateContent calls with JSON response mode).

Could you please manually review and restore access for these project(s)? Happy to provide any additional diagnostic info needed.

Thank you.

2

Hello @Fuoritraccia ,

  1. Check Model Availability & Rate Limits:

    • Ensure that the model you are requesting is available on your current plan. For example, not all models are available on the free tier. You can verify model availability, quotas, and limits on the AI Studio Rate Limit dashboard.

  2. Verify your Google Account:

  3. Upgrade to a Paid Tier:

    • If verifying your account does not restore access (or if using a model requiring a paid tier), you can unlock access by adding prepayment credits directly in Google AI Studio or attaching a Google Cloud Billing account in the Google Cloud Console.