---
title: Resolve the zone cannot be upgraded error · Cloudflare Billing docs
description: "When trying to upgrade a domain or purchase a subscription, you
  may see an error that contains one of the following phrases:"
lastUpdated: 2025-08-21T17:26:06.000Z
chatbotDeprioritize: false
source_url:
  html: https://developers.cloudflare.com/billing/resolve-zone-cannot-be-ugpraded/
  md: https://developers.cloudflare.com/billing/resolve-zone-cannot-be-ugpraded/index.md
---

When trying to upgrade a domain or purchase a subscription, you may see an error that contains one of the following phrases:

* "this zone cannot be upgraded"
* "there is a problem with your billing profile"
* "The zone you are trying to open a subscription for is banned"

## Causes

* Your account may have an outstanding unpaid balance
* Another account previously associated with the domain / zone your purchase relates to has an outstanding unpaid balance

## Solution

This message appears when the account or domain involved has an outstanding unpaid balance. In the case of a domain, this may also be triggered by a previous account that owned the domain. To resolve this you will need to:

1. Check each Cloudflare account you have access to for an outstanding balance. Refer to [Email address and password](https://developers.cloudflare.com/fundamentals/user-profiles/change-password-or-email/) if you have forgotten these details.
2. Refer to [Pay an overdue balance](https://developers.cloudflare.com/billing/pay-invoices-overdue-balances/#pay-an-overdue-balance) to pay this balance
3. Wait 24 hours after paying this balance
4. Attempt to upgrade again

As a reference, the full error messages you may see are:

* "Refer to <https://cfl.re/3VUQyyL> for assistance. The zone cannot be upgraded at this time."
* "failed to lookup account in db: Refer to <https://cfl.re/3VUQyyL> for assistance. For security reasons, there is a problem with your billing profile."
* "could not run legacy post zone sub request against new zone products: failed to update user subscription: failed to load account from db: Refer to <https://cfl.re/3VUQyyL> for assistance. For security reasons, there is a problem with your billing profile."
* "failed to load account from db: Refer to <https://cfl.re/3VUQyyL> for assistance. For security reasons, there is a problem with your billing profile."
* "failed in ActionAppendSubscription: failed to update user subscription: failed to load account from db: Refer to <https://cfl.re/3VUQyyL> for assistance. For security reasons, there is a problem with your billing profile.
* "failed in ActionAppendSubscription: failed to update user subscription: failed to apply object products: Refer to <https://cfl.re/3VUQyyL> for assistance. The zone you are trying to open a subscription for is banned."
* "could not run a legacy post user sub request: failed to update user subscription: failed to load account from db: Refer to <https://cfl.re/3VUQyyL> for assistance. For security reasons, there is a problem with your billing profile."
* "could not run legacy post zone sub request against new zone products: failed to update user subscription: failed to apply object products: Refer to <https://cfl.re/3VUQyyL> for assistance. The zone you are trying to open a subscription for is banned."
* "failed to load account: Refer to <https://cfl.re/3VUQyyL> for assistance. For security reasons, there is a problem with your billing profile."
* "could not run legacy post zone sub request against new zone products: failed to get account type: failed to load account from db: Refer to <https://cfl.re/3VUQyyL> for assistance. For security reasons, there is a problem with your billing profile."
* "failed in ActionAppendSubscription: failed to get account type: failed to load account from db: Refer to <https://cfl.re/3VUQyyL> for assistance. For security reasons, there is a problem with your billing profile."
