AzureOpenAI Error: 403 - Forbidden: Your resource has been temporarily blocked

Question

Emergency: Production traffic being blocked. Might have to switch to Gemini or OpenAI.

Error fetching chat completion from AzureOpenAI Error: 403 Your resource has been temporarily blocked because we detected behavior that may violate our content policy. For more details on Azure OpenAI service content policy, please visit https://aka.ms/aoaicodeofconduct.

Example playground:

Forbidden: Your resource has been temporarily blocked because we detected behavior that may violate our content policy. For more details on Azure OpenAI service content policy, please visit https://aka.ms/aoaicodeofconduct | Apim-request-id: dd05d03c-990a-4dba-9e1e-2f801be950eb

We have elevated quotas already and content filtering fully turned off. we were running load testing for a launch tomorrow

Answer 1

Hi Zach Vidibor

The 403 Forbidden error you encountered from Azure OpenAI indicates that your resource was temporarily blocked due to behavior that was flagged as potentially violating the Azure OpenAI content policy. This type of block is typically triggered automatically by Azure’s internal monitoring systems, which are designed to detect and prevent misuse or abuse of the service—even if the actual usage is legitimate. These systems evaluate traffic patterns, prompt content, and request volumes in real time, and may temporarily restrict access if the activity resembles known patterns of abuse or exceeds certain thresholds.

In your case, the block occurred during load testing, which often involves sending a high volume of requests in a short period. Even with elevated quotas and content filtering disabled, Azure may still interpret such traffic as anomalous or risky, especially if the prompts or completions resemble sensitive or policy-restricted content. This is a known behavior and has affected other users conducting performance or stress testing ahead of major launches.

To resolve this, Microsoft recommends opening a support ticket through the https://portal.azure.com/ and providing full context—including the timing of the block, the nature of the load test, and confirmation that your usage complies with the Azure OpenAI Code of Conduct (Microsoft Enterprise AI Services Code of Conduct). The Azure support team can investigate the specific trigger, unblock the resource, and offer guidance to prevent similar issues in future testing or production deployments.

While this block is temporary, it can severely impact production traffic and time-sensitive launches. If immediate resolution is not possible, you may need to consider fallback options such as switching to OpenAI directly or using alternative providers like Gemini. However, we recommend pursuing the unblock request first, as Microsoft has historically resolved similar cases quickly when escalated through proper support channels.

Hope it helps!

Thank you