# Gemini API returns 403 — Project denied access **URL:** \ **Category:** Gemini API\ **Tags:** bug\ **Created:** [October 19, 2026, 4:20am UTC](https://discuss.ai.google.dev/t/gemini-api-returns-403-project-denied-access/190682 "2026-10-19T04:20:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Le\_Nguy\_n\_Th\_Phong](https://d1dlmcr85iqnpo.cloudfront.net/user_avatar/discuss.ai.google.dev/le_nguy_n_th_phong/32/159370_2.png) [@Le\_Nguy\_n\_Th\_Phong](https://discuss.ai.google.dev/u/Le_Nguy_n_Th_Phong)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2026, 4:20am UTC](https://discuss.ai.google.dev/t/gemini-api-returns-403-project-denied-access/190682/1 "2026-10-19T04:20:02Z")
Subject: Gemini API returns 403 — Project denied access Project ID: gen-lang-client-043500887, Model: gemini-3.8-flash Date: 18 October 2026 A minimal Node.js request using [@google](https://discuss.ai.google.dev/groups/google)/genai returns: 403 PERMISSION\_DENIED “Your project has been denied access. Please contact support.” Google AI Studio’s app-building assistant responds successfully. Google Cloud Console shows no warning. The API key is loaded from .env, with no terminal override. The same error occurs outside our application. Please help identify why this project is denied Gemini API access and the steps required to restore access. ---
**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 19, 2026, 3:33pm UTC](https://discuss.ai.google.dev/t/gemini-api-returns-403-project-denied-access/190682/2 "2026-10-19T15:33:13Z")
Hello @Le_Nguy_n_Th_Phong , Could you please confirm if you are on the Free tier or Paid tier in Google AI Studio for this project?