'403 Forbidden' error messageThis article describes a scenario where a "403 Forbidden" error message occurs, and how to resolve it.Table of Contents Problem Resolution More InformationProblemWhen 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 readableResolutionThis 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/.htaccessTo set the correct file permissions for the public_html directory, type the following command at the command line:chmod 755 ~/public_htmlAlternatively, 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.