Request for manual review – Gemini API 403 Project Access Denied

Gemini API
1

Hello Google Gemini API Team,

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

I am developing an educational project called “Sanyukt Vaani,” a multilingual cooperative governance and legal assistance chatbot. I am based in India and would like to use the Gemini API Free Tier for development and testing.

My project details are:

Project name: Default Gemini Project
Project ID: gen-lang-client-01974024..
Country/Region: India
Billing tier: Unavailable
Project status: Restricted
Billing account: Not configured

When I try to call the Gemini API using the official Google Gen AI Python SDK, I receive the following error:

403 PERMISSION_DENIED

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

I have already verified the following:

  • My API key is being loaded correctly from the .env file.
  • The official google-genai Python SDK is installed.
  • The API request reaches the Gemini API.
  • I generated a new API key.
  • I am using the same Google account associated with the API key.
  • I am using the correct model name suggested by the API.
  • I would like to use the Free Tier and do not want to enable paid billing at this stage.

Could you please review my project and explain why access has been restricted?

If my account and project are eligible, please enable Gemini API Free Tier access. If any additional verification or action is required, please let me know.

I have attached screenshots showing the Restricted project status and the 403 error. No API key or private credentials are included.

Thank you for your assistance.

Best regards,
Taufik Ali

2

Hello @TAUFIK_ALI12 ,

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, please try the below steps:

  2. 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.

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

  4. Complete Phone Verification and turn on 2-Step Verification (2SV) on the Google Account associated with your project.

  5. Once age, phone and 2sv are configured, retry your request or create a new API key in Google AI Studio.

  6. 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.