AWS Bedrock Error: 'ServiceQuotaExceededException'

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AWS Bedrock Error: 'ServiceQuotaExceededException'

#aws#bedrock#devops#cloud

A diagnostic guide to resolving Bedrock failures caused by hitting account-level resource limits for Custom Models, Knowledge Bases, or Provisioned Throughput.





Problem

An AWS Bedrock operation fails with an error similar to:

ServiceQuotaExceededException: Your account has exceeded the default service quota for this resource.

Typical symptoms:

  • Fails when creating a new resource (e.g., training a Custom Model).
  • Fails when purchasing Provisioned Throughput.
  • Fails when creating a Knowledge Base or Agent.
  • Fails persistently, not intermittently (unlike Throttling).

Clarifying the Issue

This is not a rate-limit issue (Throttling) and not a permission failure.

It occurs when you attempt to create more resources than your AWS account allows for that specific region.

Crucial Distinction:

  • ThrottlingException: You are driving too fast. (Fix: Slow down/Retry).
  • ServiceQuotaExceeded: You have bought too many cars. (Fix: Ask AWS for a bigger garage).

Retrying this operation will never succeed without a quota increase.

Why It Matters

This error is a hard blocker for scaling specific Bedrock features:

  • Custom Models: Accounts often default to 0 or 1 allowed custom models.
  • Provisioned Throughput: Access to reserved capacity is strictly gated by quotas.
  • Agents & Knowledge Bases: Limits prevent run-away costs or complexity.

Teams often waste time debugging IAM or code when the issue is a hard administrative limit.

Key Terms

  • Service Quota – The maximum number of specific resources allowed per account/region.
  • Provisioned Throughput – Dedicated capacity for a model (measured in Model Units).
  • Custom Model – A base model fine-tuned on your own data.
  • On-Demand – The standard pay-as-you-go mode (does not use Provisioned Throughput quotas).

Steps at a Glance

  1. Identify which resource limit was hit.
  2. Open the Service Quotas console.
  3. Locate the specific Bedrock metric.
  4. Request a quota increase.
  5. Wait for AWS approval (usually 24–48 hours).

Detailed Steps

1. Identify the Resource Limit

Read the error message carefully. It usually specifies the resource type:

  • "Exceeded quota for Custom Models"
  • "Exceeded quota for Model Units" (Provisioned Throughput)
  • "Exceeded quota for Knowledge Bases"

Note the region. Quotas are region-specific.

2. Open Service Quotas

You cannot fix this in the Bedrock console.

  1. Navigate to Service Quotas in the AWS Console.
  2. Select AWS services → Amazon Bedrock.

3. Locate the Metric

Search for the specific limit matching your error. Common targets:

  • Custom models per account (Default is often low).
  • Provisioned model throughput (Measured in Model Units).
  • Agents per account.

Check the Applied quota value. If it says 0 or 1, you have hit the ceiling.

4. Request a Quota Increase

  1. Select the quota.
  2. Click Request quota increase.
  3. Enter the new total value you need (e.g., if you have 1 and need 2, enter 2).
  4. Adding a brief business justification (e.g., "Production launch of fine-tuned model") speeds up approval.

5. Wait for Approval

Do not retry the operation yet.

  • Automated approvals can happen in minutes.
  • Manual reviews (especially for Provisioned Throughput) can take 24–48 hours.
  • Check the Dashboard in Service Quotas for status updates.

Pro Tips

  • Provisioned Throughput often requires a support ticket and a commitment; it is rarely auto-approved.
  • Default Quotas are Dynamic: A new AWS account often has lower quotas than an established one.
  • Region Matters: Raising the limit in us-east-1 does nothing for us-west-2.
  • Clean Up: Delete unused Custom Models or Agents to free up quota immediately without waiting for support.

Conclusion

ServiceQuotaExceededException is an administrative hard stop, not a technical bug.

Once:

  1. The specific resource limit is identified.
  2. The quota increase is approved.
  3. The console reflects the new limit.

AWS Bedrock resource creation works predictably inside Amazon Web Services.

Check the quota.
Request the bump.
Wait for the green light.
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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