Account Locked Due to Billing Issue - Unable to Use GitHub Actions on Free Tier (Open-Source Project)

[luckylemonade24]

🏷️ Discussion Type

Question

💬 Feature/Topic Area

Other

Body

Hello GitHub Community,

I'm experiencing a billing-related issue that's preventing me from using GitHub Actions, and I'm hoping someone can provide guidance or help escalate this to GitHub Support.

Issue Description

All GitHub Actions workflows in my repository are failing with the error:

"The job was not started because your account is locked due to a billing issue."

Account Details

• Username: @luckylemonade24
• • Repository: https://github.com/luckylemonade24/dms
• • Current Plan: GitHub Free
• • Payment Status: "Invalid payment method - authorization hold failed"

Situation

I have an open-source project and am using only the free tier of GitHub. I do not require any paid features and should be well within the free tier limits (2,000 Actions minutes per month). However, my account appears to be locked, requiring payment method verification.

It seem Next payment due is none.

Geographic Limitation

I am located in a region where adding international payment methods to GitHub is currently not possible due to payment processor restrictions. I am unable to add a valid payment card to complete the authorization hold.

Request

Could anyone advise on:

1. Why a free tier account would be locked for billing issues?
2. 2. How to unlock my account for GitHub Actions usage under the free tier?
3. 3. If there's an alternative verification method available for my situation?
      I only need access to free tier features and do not plan to use any paid services. This is an open-source project.

Thank you for any assistance!

[marprojector]

Hello,

This seems to be related to GitHub's billing verification system rather than your actual GitHub Actions usage.

Even if you're on the GitHub Free plan and haven't exceeded the included Actions minutes, a billing-related account restriction can still prevent workflows from starting.

I would recommend checking your account's billing settings to see whether there are any outstanding balances, failed payment authorizations, or billing restrictions.

Since you're unable to add an international payment method due to regional limitations, I think the best approach would be to contact GitHub Support and explain that you're only using free-tier services and cannot complete the payment authorization process.

You could also ask whether there is an alternative verification method or whether the billing restriction can be reviewed manually.

Unfortunately, the community cannot directly remove billing restrictions from an account, so GitHub Support would need to investigate this.

Hope you get this resolved soon!