‘You do not have permission to play Fortnite’ error – How to fix

Players have been reporting that when they try to log in to Fortnite, they see an error prompt that says You do not have permission to play Fortnite. While this issue is normally rare, it is not something to be concerned about during an outage.

Normally, this error would mean that there is an issue authenticating your account on the Fortnite servers. Or, if you have modified your Fortnite client, it may just be stopping you from joining the game.

Update May 3, 2024: The Fortnite servers went down for everyone around 3am CT on May 3, 2024 for the rollout of the Fortnite x Star Wars crossover event. Many players are reporting getting the "you do not have permission" error, even after the servers have gone back up. This is likely due to an issue with the server load. The official Fortnite Status X (formerly known as Twitter) account has acknowledged the issue is occurring for PlayStation 4 players and they're working on a fix.

If you only experience this issue after a major update, there is nothing you can do except wait for Fortnite to resolve the issue on their end. Be sure to watch their official Twitter page for acknowledgment on the issue and when they resolve it.

Related: All Career Legacies, Achievements, and Feats in Fortnite Chapter 3 Season 1

Typically, when the problem is big enough that the Fortnite Status Twitter account needs to post about it, that means the issue won't last long. However, when the issue is resolved, some players may still experience the same problem.

The fix for this is to force the game to close completely and restart it so it automatically applies the update. If you're on a console, this can be done by closing the game from the home screen. If you're on PC, you can close it from the Task Manager, or by pressing Alt + F4 while you're in the game.

That's all there is to know about this issue!

Want to see more information about Fortnite? Be sure to check out our Fortnite Homepage to see all the latest news and content for the Winterfest Event!