---
title: "403 Forbidden in AWS S3"
canonical: "https://lemwatch.com/http-status-codes/403/in-aws-s3"
platform: "AWS S3"
last_verified: "2026-08-11"
source: "https://lemwatch.com"
---

# HTTP 403 Forbidden in AWS S3

**Platform** — Amazon S3 — object storage, often fronting a static site or CDN.

**Where it surfaces** — S3 access logs, CloudFront distribution logs, or the browser response headers (`x-amz-request-id`).

## Cause on this platform

The object exists but bucket policy or an ACL denies public read; or `Block Public Access` is on.

## Fix on this platform

Attach a bucket policy allowing `s3:GetObject` for the intended principals, or use CloudFront + OAC instead of public reads.


## Generic reference

The server understood the request but refuses to fulfil it — different from 401 in that authentication won't help; you simply don't have permission.

_Canonical HTML page: https://lemwatch.com/http-status-codes/403/in-aws-s3_