> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://developers.bead.xyz/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://developers.bead.xyz/faqs-and-troubleshooting/onboarding-faqs/why-am-i-getting-a-403-forbidden-when-submitting-an-application.md).

# Why am I getting a 403 Forbidden when submitting an application?

A `403 Forbidden` response on `POST /merchant-onboarding/applications` almost always means your API key is valid but is not authorized for the `partnerId` you supplied. The API key issued to you is scoped to a specific partner — if `partnerId` does not exactly match your provisioned partner ID, the request is rejected.

**Check the following:**

**1. Verify your `partnerId`** The `partnerId` field must match the partner ID provisioned by Bead for your account. A placeholder or incorrect value will result in a 403 even if all other fields are valid.

```json
{
  "partnerId": "a3f9c2e817b054d63e2a1f08"
}
```

Contact your Bead integration contact if you are unsure of your `partnerId`.

**2. Use your API key, not a bearer token** Requests to the merchant onboarding endpoints must be authenticated using your scoped API key. Bearer tokens (used for admin or internal access) are not valid for this endpoint and will produce unexpected results including 404 responses.

**3. Confirm you are hitting the correct environment** Sandbox and production use separate credentials and separate `partnerId` values. A sandbox API key used against the production base URL — or vice versa — will return a 403.

**Example request (correct):**

```json
{
  "submitImmediately": true,
  "merchantData": {
    "partnerId": "a3f9c2e817b054d63e2a1f08",
    "merchantName": "Harborview Market",
    ...
  }
}
```

**Example error response:**

```json
{
  "type": "https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc9110#section-15.5.4",
  "title": "Forbidden",
  "status": 403
}
```

Note: The 403 response body does not include field-level detail. If you have verified all of the above and are still seeing a 403, contact Bead support with the `traceId` from the response body.

**Related documentation:**

* [Submit Application – Submit behavior](/onboarding/submit-application.md#submit-behavior)


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