AWS Bedrock Error: 'The requested model is not available in this region'
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A diagnostic guide to resolving Bedrock invocation failures caused by region–model mismatches.
Problem
An AWS Bedrock invocation fails with an error similar to:
The requested model is not available in this region
Symptoms:
- IAM permissions are correct
- Model access appears enabled
- The same code works in another region
- Invocation fails immediately, before inference
Clarifying the Issue
This error is not an IAM failure and not a trust-policy issue.
It occurs when the Bedrock model you are invoking is not supported in the region your request is targeting.
AWS Bedrock model availability depends on:
- Model provider
- Model version
- Region
Bedrock itself may be available in a region even when a specific model is not.
Why It Matters
This is a common failure mode when:
- Regions are hard-coded in SDKs or IaC
- Workloads are deployed to new regions
- Teams enable model access in one region but invoke from another
- CI/CD pipelines run in a different region than local tests
Debugging often focuses on IAM or payloads, wasting time.
Key Terms
- Region – AWS geographic deployment location (for example,
us-east-1) - Model availability – The set of regions where a specific model/version is supported
- Bedrock endpoint – Region-specific service endpoint
- Invocation region – Region resolved by the SDK, CLI, or runtime
Steps at a Glance
- Identify the model ID being invoked
- Confirm the invocation region
- Check model availability for that region
- Verify model access is enabled in the same region
- Retest the invocation
Detailed Steps
1. Identify the Model ID
Confirm the exact model ID used in your request, for example:
anthropic.claude-3-sonnet-20240229-v1:0amazon.titan-text-express-v1
Small version differences matter.
2. Confirm the Invocation Region
Determine which region your request is actually targeting.
CLI
aws configure get region
Environment variables
echo $AWS_REGION
echo $AWS_DEFAULT_REGION
Compute services
- Lambda → function region
- ECS / EC2 → task or instance region
- CI/CD → pipeline execution region
Do not assume — confirm.
3. Check Model Availability
In the AWS console:
Bedrock → Foundation models → Select model
Review the Supported regions list for that model and version.
If the region is not listed, the model cannot be invoked there.
4. Verify Model Access in That Region
Model access is per account and per region.
Ensure:
- You are viewing the same region in the console
- The model status is Enabled in that region
Enabling a model in us-east-1 does not enable it in us-west-2.
5. Retest the Invocation
Once the region and model align, retry using an explicit region:
aws bedrock-runtime invoke-model \
--region us-east-1 \
--model-id amazon.titan-text-express-v1 \
--body '{"inputText":"Hello"}' \
output.json
If this succeeds, the issue was regional availability.
Pro Tips
- Bedrock error messages here are literal — trust them
- New model versions often lag in regional rollout
- SDK defaults can silently override expected regions
- Multi-region apps should externalize model-to-region mapping
Conclusion
The requested model is not available in this region is a routing problem, not a permissions problem.
Once:
- The model ID is correct
- The invocation region is supported
- Model access is enabled in that region
AWS Bedrock invocation works predictably inside Amazon Web Services.
Fix the region.
Confirm the model.
Retry the call.
Move on.
Aaron Rose is a software engineer and technology writer at tech-reader.blog and the author of Think Like a Genius.
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