Vercel AI Gateway returns 403

Help
1

Hello Vercel Support,

I am unable to use Vercel AI Gateway from my account. Every request fails with a 403 error.

Error message:

openai.PermissionDeniedError: Error code: 403
{
“error”: {
“message”: “Forbidden.”,
“type”: “access_denied”
}
}

I have already checked my local network and confirmed that the request can reach Vercel’s
AI Gateway endpoint. The issue appears to be account, API key, or permission related.

Could you please help check whether my account, team, or AI Gateway access has been
restricted, disabled, or missing required permissions?

Thank you.

2

Hey, @madarax! Welcome :waving_hand:

We’ve seen this issue in the past, and some people managed to fix it by reviewing their debit/card details. Can you give that a go?

3

What I’ve verified:

  • API key was freshly generated from the AI Gateway API Keys page (vck_ prefix)
  • Tested both /v1/chat/completions and /v3/ai/language-model endpoints
  • Tested multiple models: openai/gpt-4o, openai/gpt-4.1,…
  • Same 403 across all models and endpoints — issue is account-level, not model-specific
  • Request format is correct (confirmed by getting 400 validation errors before fixing the payload, then 403 once the request was valid)
  • An invalid key returns 401 (authentication_error), confirming the key authenticates but access is denied
4

I’ve merged your post with this one, @moredigital! Can you check what I suggested above?

6

Hi Vercel team,

I’m getting a 403 Forbidden error when using a Vercel AI Gateway API Key.

{
  "error": {
    "message": "Forbidden.",
    "type": "access_denied"
  }
}

Team ID:
team_Q3xr89YFWHvqTRO0X0bmHkoU

What I’ve already tried
Re-Added a valid credit card to the Vercel account
Re-created a new AI Gateway API Key
Confirmed I am using the newly created key
Retried the request, but the same 403 access_denied error still occurs

Expected behavior
The API key should authenticate successfully and allow requests through AI Gateway, or return a more specific error if there is a configuration or billing issue.

7

Hi @risin42, I’ve merged your post here to keep you all updated at once.

I’m working with the team to restore access.

9

Hi @risin42, @moredigital, @madarax, I’ve fixed the AI Gateway 403 issues with your accounts. Let me know if you encounter the issue again.

11

@anshumanb

I also got same issue, please check my account up too

12

Hi @storypalse-7526, sorry about that. Could you share your team ID here? Let me check with the team.

13

thank you @anshumanb!! here’s my team id “storypalse-7526s-projects”

15

The debit/card update didn’t solve the issue, but @anshumanb intervention did. Thanks!

16

Hi @storypalse-7526, you should be able to use your AI Gateway keys now. Thanks for being patient.

17

@anshumanb Thank you so much!!! :slight_smile:

18

@anshumanb Also facing Forbidden - Access Denied error on AI Gateway. Team ID: ankur-goels-projects

19

@anshumanb I´ve got the same issue. Please check my case too. Team ID: team_cmUWGkY2Kg3iYlQegTvENR1I

20

@anshumanb I also got same issue, can you help me resolve it? Thanks! Team ID: team_XtQBFn2aS7M8gWXoVwMe570W

22

Hi @graysonzhan, could you share the exact message you get? Also, which model and providers are you using?

@qiu2025 and @ankurgoel-2193 your AI Gateway keys should work now. Thanks for being patient.

23

@anshumanb Also facing Forbidden - Access Denied error on AI Gateway. Team ID: team_ojNl1oMW6GzyqC10QnXl0UKH