Google Cloud PERMISSION_DENIED 403 Error

How to fix it

Try these in order — the most common fix is first.

1. 1. Check account and project

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   1. Run gcloud auth list and gcloud config list
   2. Confirm the project ID is the one you expect
   Did this fix it? Yes No

2. 2. Enable the API

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   1. Run gcloud services enable API_NAME or use APIs & Services > Library
   2. Verify with gcloud services list --enabled
   Did this fix it? Yes No

3. 3. Grant the missing role

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   1. IAM & Admin > IAM > Grant access
   2. Add the role that contains the permission named in the error
   3. Ask an administrator if you lack iam.roles permissions
   Did this fix it? Yes No

4. 4. Find out why it was denied

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   1. Run gcloud policy-troubleshoot iam for the principal, resource and permission
   2. Check Cloud Audit Logs for the denied call
   3. Ask your org admin whether an organization policy blocks it
   Did this fix it? Yes No

Symptoms

403 PERMISSION_DENIED, 'does not have permission', or SERVICE_DISABLED errors from console, gcloud or client libraries.

Why it happens

• Missing IAM role for the permission named in the error
• The API is not enabled in the project
• Wrong project or account selected in gcloud
• Organization policy constraint
• Recent IAM change not yet propagated

This guide also covers

• google cloud permission denied
• gcp 403 permission denied
• gcloud permission_denied caller does not have permission
• gcp api has not been used in project

The same problem in other apps

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• Supabase Max Client Connections Reached (Supabase)

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