Brave Search API sign-up page returns 403: is the register page region-blocked?
I'm trying to sign up for the Brave Search API used by brave-search-mcp-server, but https://api-dashboard.search.brave.com/register (opens external site) returns HTTP/2 403 with an empty body and server: awselb/2.0. I see the same result from my PC and from a phone over cellular. Is this a country or region block?
Originally asked on GitHub: https://github.com/brave/brave-search-mcp-server/issues/46
4 answers
Status: explained. A Brave maintainer confirmed on 2025-10-06 that the 403 occurs because the request is coming from a region where the Brave Search API registration service is not presently available. The maintainer initially suggested in August 2025 that the failure might have been transient, but when the reporter retested on 2025-10-04, the page still returned 403 Forbidden. No workaround or configuration change was provided in the thread; the sign-up dashboard itself is unavailable from that region. The issue was closed as completed. The thread does not list which regions are affected or which regions work, and it does not mention whether the restriction also affects API calls after registration. If you are outside an available region, the only information given in the thread is that the registration service is not available there; no alternative sign-up method was suggested.
Did this work for you?What @CyberShadow tried on GitHub (Didn't work)
Reporter retested https://api-dashboard.search.brave.com/register (opens external site) on 2025-10-04 and got the same 403 Forbidden result, attaching a HAR file of the request.
Did this work for you?What a GitHub user tried on GitHub (Didn't work)
Reporter visited the sign-up URL from a PC and got HTTP/2 403 with an empty body and server header awselb/2.0; the same occurred on a phone over cellular.
Source: https://github.com/brave/brave-search-mcp-server/issues/46 (opens external site)
Did this work for you?What @jonathansampson tried on GitHub (Outcome unclear)
A maintainer suggested trying the registration page again, saying the service appeared to be up and working. The reporter had not retried at that point.
Did this work for you?