What Does a 403 Forbidden Error Mean? How Do You Fix It?

The 403 Forbidden error means that access to the page or resource you were trying to reach is blocked for some reason. This article will explain what that means and how to fix it. Remember that you likely won't be able to fix it since the error is generated by a website you probably don't control.

What Causes 403 Forbidden Errors

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

These errors are caused by issues where you’re trying to access something you don’t have permission for. The error essentially says, “Go away and don’t come back here” because the server’s access permissions indicate that you’re genuinely not allowed access or the permissions are improperly set up (i.e., you're being denied access when you shouldn’t be).

How to Fix the 403 Forbidden Error

Different website designs can produce 403 errors that might make them seem different from site to site but, overall, they are pretty much the same. Often, there's not much you can do because the error typically stems from the development and design of the site.

Occasionally, though, it could be a problem on your end. Here are a few things to try so you can confirm it's not your side of the connection causing the problem:

1. Refresh the web page. Although this might sound too good to be true, it's a very simple step to try and could be the fix if the error was displayed by mistake.

2. Check for URL errors and specify 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 is expected when trying to display a folder instead of a specific page.

   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.

   If you operate the website issuing these errors and want to enable directory browsing, you can allow directory browsing in your web server software.

3. Clear your browser's cache. Issues with a cached version of the page you're viewing could be causing 403 Forbidden problems.

4. Log in to the website, assuming it's possible and appropriate. The error message could mean you need additional access before viewing the page.
   

   Typically, a website produces a 401 Unauthorized error when special permission is required, but sometimes a 403 Forbidden is used instead.

5. Clear your browser's cookies, especially if you typically log in to this website, and logging in again (the last step) didn't work.

   Be sure to enable cookies in your browser, or at least for this website, if you log in to access this page. The 403 Forbidden error, in particular, indicates that cookies might be involved in obtaining proper access.

6. Contact the website directly. The 403 error may be a mistake, and the website isn't yet aware of the problem.

   Most sites have support-based accounts on social networking sites, making it easy to get a hold of them. Some even have support email addresses and telephone numbers.

   How to Tell If a Website Is Down for Everyone or Just You

7. Contact your internet service provider if you're still getting the 403 error, especially if you're sure the website in question is working for others right now.

   It's possible that your public IP address, or your entire ISP, has been added to a blocklist, which could produce this error, usually on all pages on one or more sites. If that's the case, and your ISP can't help you, connecting to a VPN server from a region of the world that does permit access should be enough to resolve the error.

   How to Talk to Tech Support

8. Come back later. Once you've verified that the page you're accessing is correct and that the HTTP error is being seen by more than just you, revisit the page regularly until the problem is fixed.

How the 403 Error Can Appear on Different Sites

These are the most common incarnations of 403 Forbidden 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 error displays inside the browser window, just as web pages do, and like all errors of this type, it can be seen in any browser on any operating system.

These errors, when received while opening links via Microsoft 365 (formerly Microsoft Office) programs, generate the message Unable to open [url]. Cannot download the information you requested inside the Office software.

Windows Update might 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.

Errors Similar to 403 Forbidden

The following messages are also client-side errors and are related to the 403 Forbidden error: 400 Bad Request, 401 Unauthorized, 404 Not Found, and 408 Request Timeout.

Several server-side HTTP status codes exist, like the often-seen 500 Internal Server Error, among others that you can find in our list of HTTP status code errors.