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

[antilopa1144-tech]

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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: @antilopa1144-tech
• • Repository: https://github.com/antilopa1144-tech/probrab1
• • Current Plan: GitHub Free
• • Payment Status: "Invalid payment method - authorization hold failed"

Situation

I am developing an open-source project (a construction materials calculator app) 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.

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 educational project.

Thank you for any assistance!

[teobaranga]

I have the exact same issue. Only free tier usage and I never needed to add a payment method before. I even reached out to support but it's been a week and nothing.

[Gecko51]

Hi,

This is a known GitHub issue that affects free-tier users, and it's frustrating, especially when you're not using any paid features. Here's a breakdown of what's happening and how to fix it.

Why This Happens on a Free Account
GitHub sometimes attempts an authorization hold (a temporary $0.00–$1.00 verification charge) when you initiate or have an active subscription-adjacent feature (like Copilot trials, marketplace apps, or even certain Actions configurations). Even on the GitHub Free plan, if that hold fails, GitHub locks Actions across your entire account, even for workflows that fall well within the free 2,000 minutes/month quota.

Steps to Resolve It
Option 1 Adjust your Actions spending budget (most common fix):

Go to Settings → Billing & Plans → Budgets

Find the Actions budget entry

Set it to a value greater than $0 (e.g., $1) to unblock the lock
​

After Actions start working again, you can lower it back to $0

Option 2 Contact GitHub Support directly:
Since you can't add a payment method due to geographic restrictions, this is your most important path:

Go to https://support.github.com/

Select Billing as the category

Explain that you're on the Free plan, using only public/open-source repos, and that your region doesn't support adding international payment methods

Request that they manually clear the billing lock on your account

GitHub Support can remove the authorization hold flag without requiring a payment method, this has worked for other users in the same situation.

Option 3 Downgrade/reset to pure GitHub Free:
If any trial or paid feature was accidentally activated, go to Settings → Billing & Plans and explicitly downgrade to GitHub Free. This cancels any pending authorization and should remove the billing lock.
​

Key Insight
The root cause is that your budget is set to $0 with "Stop usage" enabled, and GitHub flagged even a $0.00 metered event as a billing failure. The fix doesn't require actual payment, it just requires clearing the lock state, which GitHub Support can do manually for users in regions with payment processor limitations.

Good luck, your situation is solvable without needing to add a card! 🙌