# Gemini API — Project access denied (HTTP 403)

**URL:** <https://discuss.ai.google.dev/t/gemini-api-project-access-denied-http-403/186200>\
**Category:** Gemini API\
**Tags:** bug\
**Created:** [October 1, 2026, 3:34am UTC](https://discuss.ai.google.dev/t/gemini-api-project-access-denied-http-403/186200 "2026-10-01T03:34:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Arman\_Elhami](https://d1dlmcr85iqnpo.cloudfront.net/user_avatar/discuss.ai.google.dev/arman_elhami/32/149253_2.png) [@Arman\_Elhami](https://discuss.ai.google.dev/u/Arman_Elhami)\
**Post date:** [October 1, 2026, 3:34am UTC](https://discuss.ai.google.dev/t/gemini-api-project-access-denied-http-403/186200/1 "2026-10-01T03:34:00Z")

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Hello,

My Google AI Studio project returns **HTTP 403 / PERMISSION\_DENIED** when I run a synthetic text-generation test:

> Your project has been denied access. Please contact support.

I am setting up an email reply drafting assistant for my company. I would like to use an eligible free-tier model without enabling paid billing.

The test uses fictional text only, contains no customer data, and sends no emails.

Could you please advise how to request a review of this restriction and restore legitimate project access? If you need project identifiers or other diagnostic details, please tell me how to provide them privately.

Thank you.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Sai\_Deepika\_K](https://d1dlmcr85iqnpo.cloudfront.net/user_avatar/discuss.ai.google.dev/sai_deepika_k/32/34803_2.png) [@Sai\_Deepika\_K](https://discuss.ai.google.dev/u/Sai_Deepika_K)\
**Post date:** [October 1, 2026, 4:33pm UTC](https://discuss.ai.google.dev/t/gemini-api-project-access-denied-http-403/186200/2 "2026-10-01T16:33:20Z")

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Hello @Arman_Elhami ,

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:

If you’re on the free tier with no billing attached, please try the below steps:

1. Check Model Availability & Rate Limits:

2. Ensure you have completed age verification by navigating to [Google Account Age Verification](https://myaccount.google.com/age-verification) and verifying date of birth in [Google Account Personal Info](https://myaccount.google.com/personal-info).

3. Once age verification is configured, retry your request or create a new API key in[Google AI Studio](https://aistudio.google.com/).

4. If completing these steps still does not restore access (or if using a model requiring a paid tier), you might want to consider adding prepayment credits directly in[Google AI Studio](https://aistudio.google.com/) and/ or attaching a Google Cloud Billing account in the[Google Cloud Console](https://console.cloud.google.com/billing). Please note this will mean you lose your free tier quota.