'403 Forbidden' error message

This article describes a scenario where a "403 Forbidden" error message occurs, and how to resolve
it.

Table of Contents

Problem

Resolution

More Information

Problem
When you try to access your web site in a browser, you receive a 403 Forbidden error message.
Additionally, you see entries in the error log similar to the following line:
[Wed May 22 08:29:35 2013] [crit] [client xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx] (13)Permission
denied: /home/username/public_html/.htaccess pcfg_openfile: unable to check
htaccess file, ensure it is readable

Resolution
This problem occurs when permissions are set incorrectly for either the .htaccess file or the
public_html directory:

The file permissions for the .htaccess file should be set to 644 (read and write
permissions for the user, and read permissions for the group and world).

The permissions for the public_html directory should be set to 755 (read, write,
and execute permissions for the user, and read and execute permissions for the
group and world). When the 403 Forbidden error occurs, this often indicates that the
permissions for the public_html directory are set incorrectly to 644.
To set the correct file permissions for the .htaccess file, type the following command at the command
line:
chmod 644 ~/public_html/.htaccess

To set the correct file permissions for the public_html directory, type the following command at the
command line:
chmod 755 ~/public_html

Alternatively, you can change file permissions by using the cPanel File Manager. For more
information about how to use cPanel to change file permissions, please see this article.