What Is a 403 Forbidden Error and How Do You Fix It?

Internet & Network

Updated May 22, 2017

The 403 Forbidden error is an HTTP status code that means that accessing the page or resource you were trying to reach is absolutely forbidden for some reason.

Different web servers report 403 errors in different ways, the majority of which I've listed below. Occasionally a website owner will customize the site's HTTP 403 error, but that's not too common.

How the 403 Error Appears

These are the most common incarnations of 403 errors:

403 Forbidden

HTTP 403

Forbidden: You don't have permission to access [directory] on this server

Forbidden

Error 403

HTTP Error 403.14 - Forbidden

Error 403 - Forbidden

HTTP Error 403 - Forbidden

The 403 Forbidden error displays inside the browser window, just as web pages do. 403 errors, like all errors of this type, might be seen in any browser on any operating system.

In Internet Explorer, "The website declined to show this webpage" message indicates a 403 Forbidden error. The IE title bar should say 403 Forbidden or something similar.

403 errors received when opening links via Microsoft Office programs generate the message Unable to open [url]. Cannot download the information you requested inside the MS Office program.

Windows Update may also report an HTTP 403 error but it will display as error code 0x80244018 or with the following message: WU_E_PT_HTTP_STATUS_FORBIDDEN.

Cause of 403 Forbidden Errors

403 errors are almost always caused by issues where you're trying to access something that you don't have access to.

The 403 error is essentially saying "Go away and don't come back here."

Note: Microsoft IIS web servers provide more specific information about the cause of 403 Forbidden errors by suffixing a number after the 403 as in HTTP Error 403.14 - Forbidden which means Directory listing denied. You can see a complete list here.

How to Fix the 403 Forbidden Error

Check for URL errors and make sure you're specifying an actual web page file name and extension, not just a directory. Most websites are configured to disallow directory browsing so a 403 Forbidden message when trying to display a folder instead of a specific page is normal and expected.

NOTE: This is, by far, the most common reason for a website to return the 403 Forbidden error. Be sure you fully explore this possibility before investing time in the troubleshooting below.

Tip: If you operate the website in question, and you want to prevent 403 errors in these cases, enable directory browsing in your web server software.
Clear your browser's cache. Issues with a cached version of the page you're viewing could be causing 403 Forbidden issues.
Log in to the website, assuming it's possible and appropriate to do so. A 403 Forbidden message could mean that you need additional access before you can view the page.

Typically, a website produces a 401 Unauthorized error when special permission is required but sometimes a 403 Forbidden is used instead.
Clear your browser's cookies, especially if you typically log in to this website and logging in again (the last step) didn't work.

Note: While we're talking about cookies, be sure you have them enabled in your browser, or at least for this website, if you do actually log in to access this page. The 403 Forbidden error, in particular, indicates that cookies might be involved in obtaining proper access.

Contact the website directly. It's possible that the 403 Forbidden error is a mistake, everyone else is seeing it too, and the website isn't yet aware of the problem.

See my Website Contact Information list for contact information for lots of popular websites. Most sites have support-based accounts on social networking sites, making it really easy to get a hold of them. Some even have support email addresses and telephone numbers.

Tip: Twitter is usually abuzz with talk when a site goes down completely, especially if it's a popular site. The best way to focus in on talk about a downed site is by searching for #websitedown on Twitter, as in #amazondown or #facebookdown. While this trick certainly won't work if Twitter is down with a 403 error, it's great for checking on the status of other downed sites.

Contact your ISP if you are still getting the 403 error, especially if you're pretty sure that the website in question is working for others right now.

It's possible that your public IP address, or your entire Internet Service Provider, has been blacklisted, a situation that could produce a 403 Forbidden error, usually on all pages on one or more sites.

Tip: See my How to Talk To Tech Support for some help on communicating this issue to your ISP.
Come back later. Once you've verified that the page you're accessing is the correct one and that the HTTP 403 error is being seen by more than just you, just revisit the page on a regular basis until the problem is fixed.

Still Getting 403 Errors?

If you've followed all of the advice above but are still receiving a 403 Forbidden error when accessing a certain webpage or site, see Get More Help for information about contacting me on social networks or via email, posting on tech support forums, and more.

Be sure to let me know that the error is an HTTP 403 error and what steps, if any, you've already taken to fix the problem.