403 PERMISSION_DENIED "Your project has been denied access" — persists across fresh project, fresh API key, no billing

Gemini API
1

ello Google AI team,

I’m getting a persistent 403 PERMISSION_DENIED error on all Gemini API generateContent calls (tested via curl directly, not through a client library).

Error:

{
  "error": {
    "code": 403,
    "message": "Your project has been denied access. Please contact support.",
    "status": "PERMISSION_DENIED"
  }
}
2

Hello @Jennie_Lewis ,

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. If you’re on the free tier with no billing attached, you should consider setting up billing. In most cases this is enough to clear any flag on your account. Please note this will mean you lose your free tier quota. You should also see a banner in AI studio prompting you to set up billing.

  2. If you are on a paid tier, check for banners / error callouts in the AI Studio Projects page & the Billing page. Mostly these flags cause visible banners or other errors on these pages with concrete next steps / appeal links. You can also check the email address associated with your project for information on next steps.

3

I need to stay on the free account.