diff --git a/packages/astro/src/build/page.ts b/packages/astro/src/build/page.ts
index 240d05291..b21897aa4 100644
--- a/packages/astro/src/build/page.ts
+++ b/packages/astro/src/build/page.ts
@@ -92,7 +92,7 @@ export async function buildStaticPage({ astroConfig, buildState, filepath, runti
   const { pages: pagesRoot } = astroConfig;
   const url = filepath.pathname.replace(pagesRoot.pathname, '/').replace(/(index)?\.(astro|md)$/, '');
   const result = await runtime.load(url);
-  if (result.statusCode === 404 && result.error.message === 'Unpublished document') return;
+  if (result.statusCode === 403) return;
   if (result.statusCode !== 200) throw new Error((result as any).error);
   const outFile = path.posix.join(url, '/index.html');
   buildState[outFile] = {
diff --git a/packages/astro/src/dev.ts b/packages/astro/src/dev.ts
index f6a765ba4..2829ec15d 100644
--- a/packages/astro/src/dev.ts
+++ b/packages/astro/src/dev.ts
@@ -50,6 +50,25 @@ export default async function dev(astroConfig: AstroConfig) {
         res.end();
         break;
       }
+      case 403: {
+        const fullurl = new URL(req.url || '/', astroConfig.buildOptions.site || `http://localhost${astroConfig.devOptions.port}`);
+        const reqPath = decodeURI(fullurl.pathname);
+        error(logging, 'static', 'Forbidden', reqPath);
+        res.statusCode = 403;
+
+        const fourOhThreeResult = await runtime.load('/403');
+        if (fourOhThreeResult.statusCode === 200) {
+          if (fourOhThreeResult.contentType) {
+            res.setHeader('Content-Type', fourOhThreeResult.contentType);
+          }
+          res.write(fourOhThreeResult.contents);
+        } else {
+          res.setHeader('Content-Type', 'text/plain');
+          res.write(`Forbidden: ${result.error.message}`);
+        }
+        res.end();
+        break;
+      }
       case 404: {
         const fullurl = new URL(req.url || '/', astroConfig.buildOptions.site || `http://localhost${astroConfig.devOptions.port}`);
         const reqPath = decodeURI(fullurl.pathname);
diff --git a/packages/astro/src/runtime.ts b/packages/astro/src/runtime.ts
index 6909dce77..a719bb497 100644
--- a/packages/astro/src/runtime.ts
+++ b/packages/astro/src/runtime.ts
@@ -46,11 +46,12 @@ type LoadResultSuccess = {
   contents: string | Buffer;
   contentType?: string | false;
 };
+type LoadResultForbidden = { statusCode: 403; error: Error; collectionInfo?: CollectionInfo };
 type LoadResultNotFound = { statusCode: 404; error: Error; collectionInfo?: CollectionInfo };
 type LoadResultRedirect = { statusCode: 301 | 302; location: string; collectionInfo?: CollectionInfo };
 type LoadResultError = { statusCode: 500 } & ({ type: 'parse-error'; error: CompileError } | { type: 'not-found'; error: CompileError } | { type: 'unknown'; error: Error });
 
-export type LoadResult = (LoadResultSuccess | LoadResultNotFound  | LoadResultRedirect | LoadResultError) & { collectionInfo?: CollectionInfo };
+export type LoadResult = (LoadResultSuccess | LoadResultForbidden | LoadResultNotFound  | LoadResultRedirect | LoadResultError) & { collectionInfo?: CollectionInfo };
 
 // Disable snowpack from writing to stdout/err.
 configureSnowpackLogger(snowpackLogger);
@@ -108,16 +109,16 @@ async function load(config: RuntimeConfig, rawPathname: string | undefined): Pro
     if (mod.exports.__content) {
       const hasDraftAttribute = mod.exports.__content.hasOwnProperty('draft');
       const hasPublishAttribute = mod.exports.__content.hasOwnProperty('published');
-      if(hasPublishAttribute && mod.exports.__content['published'] === false) {
+      if (hasPublishAttribute && mod.exports.__content['published'] === false) {
         return { 
-          statusCode: 404, 
-          error: new Error('Unpublished document')
+          statusCode: 403, 
+          error: new Error('Document is not published')
         };
       }
-      if(hasDraftAttribute && mod.exports.__content['draft'] === true && !buildOptions.draft && config.mode === 'production') {
+      if (hasDraftAttribute && mod.exports.__content['draft'] === true && !buildOptions.draft && config.mode === 'production') {
         return { 
-          statusCode: 404, 
-          error: new Error('Unpublished document')
+          statusCode: 403, 
+          error: new Error('Document is not published')
         };
       }
     }
@@ -155,7 +156,7 @@ async function load(config: RuntimeConfig, rawPathname: string | undefined): Pro
       if (!data) throw new Error(`[createCollection] \`data()\` returned nothing (empty data)"`);
       if (!Array.isArray(data)) data = [data]; // note: this is supposed to be a little friendlier to the user, but should we error out instead?
       data = data.filter(entry => !entry.hasOwnProperty('published') ||  (entry.hasOwnProperty('published') && entry.published));
-      if(!buildOptions.draft && config.mode === "production") {
+      if (!buildOptions.draft && config.mode === "production") {
         data = data.filter(entry => !entry.hasOwnProperty('draft') ||  (entry.hasOwnProperty('draft') && !entry.draft));
       }