I have an open support case (Case 929589) about an AI Gateway API Key returning a 403 Forbidden error that was created on 1/19/2026. It has been several days since the case was created and last updated on 1/21/2026, but I have not received any response from the support team. I need assistance with this issue and would like human support to help resolve it.
Vercel Alum
Hey, ! Happy to help you out here whilst you wait for support.
For the 403 Forbidden error with AI Gateway API Key specifically, this could be related to:
API key permissions or scope issues
Rate limiting
Incorrect endpoint configuration
Authentication header formatting
If you can share more details about how you’re implementing the AI Gateway API calls, the community might be able to help troubleshoot.
Here is the error msg: {“error”:{“message”:“Forbidden.”,“type”:“access_denied”}}
I ‘m sure the key is right, And I regenerated a new key, still same error.
Exact same issues. Can’t use AI on hobby accounts even with a valid credit card on file and enough credits to spare.
But Hobby and Pro have no difference on AI Gateway
I ran into the same issue—starting yesterday I’ve been getting a 403 error.
Vercel Alum
Hey, everyone!
Thank you for your patience, flagging with the right team internally to help out.
In the meantime it's worth verifying your AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY, checking if a billing method is attached to your account, ensuring teamId is included for team projects, and checking for incorrect authorization scopes.
The 403 error indicates insufficient permissions, invalid/missing authentication, or billing issues.
Getting error above when using playground and 403 when using AI gateway; responseBody: ‘{“error”:{“message”:“Forbidden.”,“type”:“access_denied”}}’
I have (and have had for some time) a valid card which is used for billing and even adding credit to the AI gateway.
This has only happened recently, was working previously.
Project works great on another Pro account I have.
Vercel Alum
Hi, everyone! Thanks for your patience
We had some credit card validation issues for the free tier
You shouldn't see the 403 error now - let me know if you're still seeing it :)
Still same error
{“error”:{“message”:“Forbidden.”,“type”:“access_denied”}}%
reply to #19
Vercel Alum
Thank you folks! I've shared again with the team.
I am also facing this in hobby account.
reply to #21
I’m seeing the exact same error, and it’s directly impacting our product and customers.
This isn’t just a technical inconvenience, it’s affecting the experience of real users in production.
We urgently need clarification or a fix from the Vercel team, because this issue is causing customer-facing problems.
Still happening.
{
"error": {
"message": "Forbidden.",
"type": "access_denied"
}
}
I can confirm that I have a valid payment method on file, and it was previously working.
reply to #18
Vercel Staff
Support team is saying they don't see any of your teams in the list, are you seeing this on a different account than you're logged in here with?
I'm experiencing same consistent 403 Forbidden / access_denied errors when using Vercel AI Gateway for my project, despite having a Pro plan with valid billing and available AI Gateway credits.
I have verified:
Created multiple fresh AI Gateway API keys from the team-level AI Gateway API Keys page
API keys are active and have not been revoked
Correct request format with Bearer token authorization and proper model naming (provider/model-name format)
Tested with direct curl requests bypassing my application entirely
Same 403 error occurs from both deployed Next.js application and direct API calls
This is reproducible across multiple fresh API keys and occurs at the gateway level, indicating this is not a client-side configuration issue but rather an account- or project-level AI Gateway access issue. I suspect there may be an entitlement flag, internal restriction, or configuration preventing access despite my Pro plan status and available credits.
reply to #25
Hi Jacob, I am facing the issue in the same account from which I am messaging here.
reply to #25
No, I am seeing it on this email address. See the screenshot.
Also this used to work, just broken about 3 weeks ago and never recovered. See the screenshot.
We've shared internally. Thanks for your patience!
I cannot believe this has been happening for 3 weeks now.
reply to #30
It works now. Thanks.
I am still having the same issue, did you do anything different or it just started working. Also which tier/plan are you on?
reply to #30
Same issue as before.
same issue here
Vercel Staff
Hi , , , could you share the account/team name where you are seeing this issue?
same here, dubjafil’s projects
reply to #36
user: justinian-tomegea
team: energyaspects
reply to #36
Same here. I have having the exact same issue.
I’m on a free account, I keep getting 403; I did not change my code since Dec 2025.
project: motivational-quotes
username: achen7x7-3130
Vercel Alum
Hey everyone! We have our product team looking into this.
reply to #38
Vercel Staff
Hi , can you confirm if your issue has been resolved now?
I cannot, there is absolutely no change
Vercel Staff
Thanks for confirming let me check again with the team.
reply to #42
Vercel Staff
Hi , can you confirm the account again? As per our records the user and team you shared shouldn't be affected by this issue. Have you tried logging out and in again?
Yes, I’ve logged in, logged out, cleared cookie, cleared cache, logged in with passkey, logged in with github, nothing works
Which team are you on? Can you share your team ID with us? As Anshuman shared, your user/team should't be affected.
same team as pointed above : energyaspects
Vercel Alum
Yeah, as Anshuman shared, you shouldn't be affected by this issue - we've checked your account. It's weird!
But thank you for sharing all that information, we shared it with our product team to take a look. They are based out in SF so there will be delays in responses, appreciate you being patience
Sure, but this is not a product change, unless something really bad has happened 3-4 weeks ago. This is a pure technical error, as stated this used to work very well.
Hey, I also have the same issue. In case it helps, I have been using https://v0nanobananapro.vercel.app/ all this time with the free hobby credits without any problem. The moment I added 10€ a few days ago, it started to show this popup message and I cant use the app anymore:
Team Access Required
To use Nano Banana Pro, you need to grant access to at least one Vercel team. This allows the playground to use your AI Gateway credits.
Click the button below and select a team on the authorization screen.
I suppose its related to the underlying 403 issue I am having by creating another api key and trying to use it via AI SDK v6.
I’m not sure if this is the same issue. My error looks like this: {"type":"error","errorText":"Forbidden."}. It was working fine before and I haven’t changed any code.
reply to #49
Vercel Alum
This should be working for you now, JT! Thanks.
reply to #54
Vercel Alum
Looks similar - does it have the same 403 code?
reply to #55
Confirmed as fixed, thanks.
reply to #56
No — the status code is 200.
reply to #57
The 403 errors are back, what are you guys doing ?
reply to #56
It just started to happen again, today, same error, same call.
reply to #59
Vercel Alum
I'll pass to the team
However, your issue was specifically to the playground not gateway.
reply to #60
Correct, the issue is with the playground use but the error is the same and sharing the same back-end, last time this was working fine was yesterday.
Vercel Alum
Cool - I'll close this topic as the discussion is going in different directions!
As this has been happening a few times for you, can you raise a support ticket? vercel.com/help is the way to go. I wonder if it's account specific to you. Thanks!
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