Request for review — Gemini API returns 403 for a new personal project

Gemini API
,
1

Hello Google AI Developers team,

I’m developing SymptoCare, a student project for AI-assisted symptom analysis and health-risk screening.

I’m using my personal Google account and have completed the requested account verification steps. I created a new Google Cloud project named SymptoCare, imported it into Google AI Studio, and generated a new Gemini API key.

The Gemini 3.8 Flash model appears in my AI Studio Free-tier rate-limit dashboard, but API requests from the official Python SDK (google-genai) repeatedly return:

403 PERMISSION_DENIED: Your project has been denied access. Please contact support.

I also received a temporary 503 response on one attempt.

I have replaced the API key, verified the .env configuration, and tested again. The problem persists.

Could you please review my project’s Gemini API access and explain whether any restriction or eligibility issue needs to be resolved?

Project name: SymptoCare
Project ID: [insert your project ID]

Thank you for your help.

2

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

  5. 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.

  6. 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)