Request for Manual Review — Gemini API 403 PERMISSION_DENIED / Project Restricted / Billing Tier Unavailable

Gemini API
1

Hello Google Gemini API Team,

I am requesting a manual review of my Gemini API access.

My Google AI Studio project is currently shown as:

  • Status: Restricted
  • Billing tier: Unavailable

Every generateContent request returns:

HTTP 403 PERMISSION_DENIED
“Your project has been denied access. Please contact support.”

I performed direct REST API tests outside of any third-party application.

Test 1 — List models:

GET /v1beta/models
→ HTTP 200 OK
→ 50 models are returned successfully

This confirms that the API key is valid and authentication works.

Test 2 — Content generation:

POST /v1beta/models/gemini-flash-latest:generateContent
→ HTTP 403 PERMISSION_DENIED

Error:
“Your project has been denied access. Please contact support.”

I also created a brand-new Google Cloud / Gemini API project and generated a new API key, but the new project has exactly the same problem:

  • Status Restricted
  • Billing tier Unavailable
  • models.list succeeds
  • generateContent returns the same 403

This strongly suggests that the restriction is associated with my Google account/API eligibility rather than with one specific API key or project.

Additional context:

  • I have an active Google AI Pro subscription obtained through the Jio offer.
  • Gemini itself works normally for me.
  • I am trying to use the Gemini API for personal software development.
  • I am not attempting to bypass any quota or billing restriction.
  • Multiple newly created projects show the same restriction.

Could you please check whether an automated access, eligibility, security, Trust & Safety, or account-level restriction has been placed on my Gemini API access?

If this restriction was applied in error, I would appreciate a manual review and restoration of eligible Gemini API access.

I can provide my full Project ID, Project Number, timestamps, screenshots, and redacted diagnostic output privately if required.

For security reasons, I have NOT included any API key in this public post.

Thank you.

30 sept. 2026, 22_32_29
30 sept. 2026, 22_32_291203×406 27.6 KB

2

Hello @Michael17 ,

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:

    • 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. Ensure you have completed age verification by navigating to Google Account Age Verification and verifying date of birth in Google Account Personal Info.

  3. Once age verification is configured, retry your request or create a new API key in Google AI Studio.

  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 and/ or attaching a Google Cloud Billing account in the Google Cloud Console. Please note this will mean you lose your free tier quota.

If you are on a paid tier:

  1. 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.

  2. If your GCP project/ billing account is suspended, you must submit an appeal directly through the Google Cloud Console following the Project Suspension Guidelines (Help Center)