# Confirm paid Zilch access

Confirm access before submitting a page. This check does not create an extraction or change your subscription.

## Check the intended account

1. Open the [Zilch workbench](https://dashboard.ouros.md/zilch). Sign in with the account that holds your active paid Zilch plan.
2. Choose **Read a page** if the workbench opens in Research. Open **Account and API** and use **Refresh page-reading account** to refresh an unavailable or stale access check.
3. Read the access status before entering a URL. **Account access confirmed** means the workbench's account check passed; it is not evidence that any page has been extracted.
4. If the status is **Subscription required**, review [Zilch access](https://ouros.md/products/zilch) and the subscription on that same account. Do not start a request to test whether an API key bypasses the refusal.

## Distinguish the result

`401 authentication_required` means the identity could not be authenticated. `402 subscription_required` means the required paid Zilch access is missing. A service-unavailable status means the check could not be completed; do not interpret it as either an active plan or a zero balance.

Signing in, possessing an API key, having quota remaining, and subscribing to another Ouros product are not substitutes for active paid Zilch entitlement. These documentation pages remain public.

When the account check succeeds, continue to [Extract a public page](/docs/zilch/quickstart). If it does not, keep the non-secret status and intended account context for [support](/docs/shared/support); do not send a token or cookie.