ServerFarmCreationNotAllowed Azure Fix: Unable to Create App Service Plan [Complete Guide]

If you’re trying to create a new App Service Plan or Azure Function App and run into the error:

“The subscription is not allowed to create or update the serverfarm (Code: ServerFarmCreationNotAllowed),”

you’re not alone. This frustrating issue has been reported by many Azure users — even those with Owner permissions and no explicit policy restrictions. Let’s go through every possible cause and fix step by step.

What Causes “ServerFarmCreationNotAllowed” Error

This validation error usually means Azure is blocking the creation of App Service Plans for your subscription.
Here are the most common causes:

• Subscription-level restrictions (especially Free, Trial, or Student subscriptions)
• Region or quota limits for App Service Plans
• Unregistered “Microsoft.Web” provider
• Azure Policy restrictions at Tenant, Management Group, or Subscription level
• Temporary backend issues in Azure’s provisioning system

Step-by-Step Fixes

Follow these steps in order — each addresses a different possible root cause.

1. Check Subscription Status

First, ensure your subscription is Active and not in a disabled, suspended, or expired state.

How to check:

1. Go to Azure Portal → Subscriptions
2. Verify your subscription shows Active under the Status column.
3. If it shows Disabled or Expired, update your billing info or contact Azure Support to reactivate it.

A suspended or disabled subscription cannot create any new compute resources.

2. Register the Microsoft.Web Resource Provider

If your subscription doesn’t have the Microsoft.Web provider registered, Azure will block App Service Plan creation.

Fix via Azure CLI:

az provider register --namespace Microsoft.Web

Or via Portal:

1. Go to Azure Portal → Subscriptions → Resource Providers
2. Search for Microsoft.Web
3. Click Register

Wait 1–2 minutes and retry your deployment.

3. Check for Azure Policy Restrictions

Sometimes, there’s an inherited policy from your Tenant Root Group or Management Group that blocks certain resource types.

Check in Portal:

• Go to Azure Portal → Policy → Assignments
• Look for any policy that contains:

Microsoft.Web/serverfarms

• If you find one, check its Effect (it might say “Deny” or “NotAllowed”).
• Exempt your subscription or resource group from the policy.

Even if you didn’t create a policy, system-generated ones can exist at higher levels (like your directory root).

4. Check App Service Plan Quotas and Limits

Free and Trial subscriptions are limited to 1 App Service Plan per region.
If you’ve already created one, you’ll need to delete it or upgrade your plan.

How to check:

1. Go to Azure Portal → App Services → App Service Plans
2. See if you already have one.
3. If yes, try deleting unused ones or moving to a Pay-As-You-Go plan.

5. Try a Different Region

Sometimes, certain regions (e.g., West Europe) may be blocked by policies or temporary backend capacity limits.

Try creating your App Service Plan in:

• East US
• Central US
• Southeast Asia
• Australia East

If one region fails but another works, the issue is regional.

6. Retry After Waiting 12–24 Hours

Many users have reported that this issue resolves automatically after some time, especially on new or newly reactivated subscriptions.

Azure occasionally enforces soft blocks during internal validation or service health changes.

Check the Azure Status Page to confirm no outage in your region.

7. Use Azure CLI Instead of the Portal

If the portal UI keeps failing, try creating the App Service Plan via Azure CLI:

az appservice plan create \
  --name MyPlan \
  --resource-group MyGroup \
  --sku B1 \
  --location eastus

This method sometimes bypasses frontend validation bugs in the Portal.

8. Contact Microsoft Support

If all else fails, the problem may be a subscription-level backend restriction that only Microsoft can lift.

To contact support:

1. Go to Azure Portal → Help + Support → New Support Request
2. Choose Subscription Management → Quota Issue → App Service Plan creation blocked
3. Include:
   • Error message and tracking ID
   • Subscription ID
   • Region you tried
   • Timestamp of failure

Support can remove the backend restriction or clarify the block reason within 24–48 hours.

Common Scenarios

Scenario	Likely Cause	Fix
Free or Trial subscription	Hard quota or policy restriction	Upgrade or contact support
Cannot create in any region	Microsoft.Web not registered	Register via CLI
Only one region fails	Policy restriction or capacity issue	Try another region
Everything fails even as Owner	Backend subscription block	Contact Microsoft Support

The ServerFarmCreationNotAllowed error is not usually caused by user misconfiguration. It’s most often a hidden subscription restriction or temporary Azure backend policy.

You can usually fix it by:

• Registering Microsoft.Web
• Checking subscription & policy limits
• Retrying after some hours
• Or contacting Microsoft Support for a backend unlock

Once resolved, you’ll be able to create App Service Plans and Function Apps normally again.