Skip to main content

Fixing Google Maps "REQUEST_DENIED" and "API project is not authorized" errors

1 min read Last Updated: October 20, 2026
Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Copy Link

Both errors come from Google, not from GeoDirectory. “This API project is not authorized to use this API” means your key’s Google Cloud project does not have one of the APIs that the map needs. “Geocode was not successful for the following reason: REQUEST_DENIED” means Google refused the address lookup, usually because the Geocoding API is not enabled or the key is restricted in a way that blocks it.

The quick fix: generate a new key

  1. Go to GeoDirectory > Settings > General and find Map Settings.
  2. Next to Google Maps API KEY, click Generate Key. It opens Google Cloud with all the APIs GeoDirectory uses already selected, including the Maps JavaScript API, Places API, Geocoding API and Time Zone API.
  3. Follow the steps in Google, copy the new key and paste it into the field.
  4. Click Verify, then save.

The full walk through is in Get a Google API key.

If you want to keep your current key

  • In Google Cloud, open APIs & Services for the key’s project and check that the Maps JavaScript API, Places API and Geocoding API are enabled.
  • Make sure billing is enabled on the project. Google denies requests from projects without a billing account.
  • If the key is restricted to HTTP referrers (your website address), the geocoding and time zone lookups need a separate key. Add one in the Google Geocoding API Key setting, which shows when you tick Show Advanced on the same settings screen.
  • Changes in Google Cloud can take a few minutes to apply.

If the map stopped working on a site that used to be fine, see Maps have stopped working on my site. If you would rather not use Google, leave the key blank to use OpenStreetMap; this page compares the two.

On this page