Privileged model access

A privileged model has reduced or removed safety behavior, or is otherwise high-risk. Your team must be approved before it can call one. For the list of privileged models and the policy summary, see Privileged Access.

Approval is per team and per model. An approval for one model does not give access to another.

A privileged model is visible, and open to requests, only while it is listed in the public model catalog. An unlisted model has no model page or terms page, and it is not in GET /v1/models.

#Find a privileged model

A privileged model shows a lock badge (Requires approval, or your team's status once you sign in) in the model catalog and on its model page. Its model page shows a banner, Requires approved access, with a Request access button that opens the model's request page.

In the API, GET /v1/models marks the model with "requires_approved_access": true and adds your team's access_status. See Check access in GET /v1/models.

#Request access

1. Open the request form

   Sign in and use one of these:

   • Open Privileged Access. Select the team that will call the model and the model in the Request access card. To open the card with a model selected, use /privileged-access?model=<model-id>.
   • Open the model's page from the model catalog and click Request access. This opens the model's request page, /model-access/<model-id>, where you select the team that will call the model.

   The 403 error from the API also links to the model's request page, /model-access/<model-id>. If your team already has a request for the model, the form shows its status instead.

2. Fill in the form

   Fill in these fields:

   Field	Required
   Legal name (the person or organization responsible for the team)	Yes
   Country	Yes
   Intended use	No

   Check the box to confirm that you are 18 or older, that you are authorized to act for the team, and that you accept the Privileged Model Access Terms.

3. Wait for the decision

   We review every request. You get an email when your request is approved or rejected. Approved access reaches the API within 45 seconds.

The Privileged Model Access Terms are on each model's request page, /model-access/<model-id>, below the request form. The current version is 2026-10-23.

#Access status

Only approved lets your team call the model.

#Accept updated terms

When the terms change, the model page shows Accept updated terms. Click it, then on the model's request page check the box and click Accept terms. The form keeps your earlier answers, and you cannot change them.

• For a minor change, your access continues while you have not accepted. The status stays approved.
• For a major change, access stops until you accept. The status is terms_required.

Access comes back within 45 seconds of acceptance.

#Propagation

#Check access in GET /v1/models

Send your API key to get your team's status. Without a key, access_status is always none.

curl -s https://api.inference.net/v1/models \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $INFERENCE_API_KEY" \
  | jq '.data[] | select(.requires_approved_access) | {id, access_status}'

{
  "id": "<model-id>",
  "access_status": "pending"
}

#The 403 model_access_required error

A call to a privileged model without approval returns HTTP 403:

{
  "error": {
    "message": "Model '<model-id>' requires approved access. Request access at https://inference.net/model-access/<model-id>",
    "type": "model_access_required",
    "code": "model_access_required"
  }
}

Match on error.type. Some responses do not include code.

To request access, open the model's request page, /model-access/<model-id>, or open Privileged Access and choose the model.