diff --git a/ethereum/jsonrpc/src/main/java/tech/pegasys/pantheon/ethereum/jsonrpc/JsonRpcHttpService.java b/ethereum/jsonrpc/src/main/java/tech/pegasys/pantheon/ethereum/jsonrpc/JsonRpcHttpService.java
index e2bc7694da..c7df34b603 100644
--- a/ethereum/jsonrpc/src/main/java/tech/pegasys/pantheon/ethereum/jsonrpc/JsonRpcHttpService.java
+++ b/ethereum/jsonrpc/src/main/java/tech/pegasys/pantheon/ethereum/jsonrpc/JsonRpcHttpService.java
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@
 import tech.pegasys.pantheon.ethereum.jsonrpc.internal.response.JsonRpcNoResponse;
 import tech.pegasys.pantheon.ethereum.jsonrpc.internal.response.JsonRpcResponse;
 import tech.pegasys.pantheon.ethereum.jsonrpc.internal.response.JsonRpcResponseType;
+import tech.pegasys.pantheon.ethereum.jsonrpc.internal.response.JsonRpcUnauthorizedResponse;
 import tech.pegasys.pantheon.metrics.LabelledMetric;
 import tech.pegasys.pantheon.metrics.MetricCategory;
 import tech.pegasys.pantheon.metrics.MetricsSystem;
@@ -230,7 +231,7 @@ private Handler<RoutingContext> checkWhitelistHostHeader() {
     };
   }
 
-  private boolean requiresAuthentication(final RoutingContext routingContext) {
+  private boolean requiresAuthentication() {
     return authenticationService.isPresent();
   }
 
@@ -239,24 +240,26 @@ public boolean isPermitted(final Optional<User> optionalUser, final JsonRpcMetho
 
     AtomicBoolean foundMatchingPermission = new AtomicBoolean();
 
-    if (optionalUser.isPresent()) {
-      User user = optionalUser.get();
-      for (String perm : jsonRpcMethod.getPermissions()) {
-        user.isAuthorized(
-            perm,
-            (authed) -> {
-              if (authed.result()) {
-                LOG.trace(
-                    "user {} authorized : {} via permission {}",
-                    user,
-                    jsonRpcMethod.getName(),
-                    perm);
-                foundMatchingPermission.set(true);
-              }
-            });
+    if (requiresAuthentication()) {
+      if (optionalUser.isPresent()) {
+        User user = optionalUser.get();
+        for (String perm : jsonRpcMethod.getPermissions()) {
+          user.isAuthorized(
+              perm,
+              (authed) -> {
+                if (authed.result()) {
+                  LOG.trace(
+                      "user {} authorized : {} via permission {}",
+                      user,
+                      jsonRpcMethod.getName(),
+                      perm);
+                  foundMatchingPermission.set(true);
+                }
+              });
+        }
       }
     } else {
-      // no user means no auth provider configured thus anything is permitted
+      // no auth provider configured thus anything is permitted
       foundMatchingPermission.set(true);
     }
 
@@ -272,7 +275,7 @@ private String getToken(final RoutingContext routingContext) {
 
   private void getUser(final String token, final Handler<Optional<User>> handler) {
     try {
-      if (!authenticationService.isPresent()) {
+      if (!requiresAuthentication()) {
         handler.handle(Optional.empty());
       } else {
         authenticationService
@@ -343,7 +346,7 @@ public String url() {
   private void handleJsonRPCRequest(final RoutingContext routingContext) {
     // first check token if authentication is required
     String token = getToken(routingContext);
-    if (requiresAuthentication(routingContext) && token == null) {
+    if (requiresAuthentication() && token == null) {
       // no auth token when auth required
       handleJsonRpcUnauthorizedError(routingContext, null, JsonRpcError.UNAUTHORIZED);
     } else {
@@ -404,6 +407,8 @@ private void handleJsonSingleRequest(
   private HttpResponseStatus status(final JsonRpcResponse response) {
 
     switch (response.getType()) {
+      case UNAUTHORIZED:
+        return HttpResponseStatus.UNAUTHORIZED;
       case ERROR:
         return HttpResponseStatus.BAD_REQUEST;
       case SUCCESS:
@@ -506,7 +511,7 @@ private JsonRpcResponse process(final JsonObject requestJson, final Optional<Use
         return errorResponse(id, JsonRpcError.INVALID_PARAMS);
       }
     } else {
-      return errorResponse(id, JsonRpcError.UNAUTHORIZED);
+      return unauthorizedResponse(id, JsonRpcError.UNAUTHORIZED);
     }
   }
 
@@ -530,6 +535,10 @@ private JsonRpcResponse errorResponse(final Object id, final JsonRpcError error)
     return new JsonRpcErrorResponse(id, error);
   }
 
+  private JsonRpcResponse unauthorizedResponse(final Object id, final JsonRpcError error) {
+    return new JsonRpcUnauthorizedResponse(id, error);
+  }
+
   private String buildCorsRegexFromConfig() {
     if (config.getCorsAllowedDomains().isEmpty()) {
       return "";
diff --git a/ethereum/jsonrpc/src/main/java/tech/pegasys/pantheon/ethereum/jsonrpc/internal/response/JsonRpcResponseType.java b/ethereum/jsonrpc/src/main/java/tech/pegasys/pantheon/ethereum/jsonrpc/internal/response/JsonRpcResponseType.java
index ae190478a5..280b0ae98f 100644
--- a/ethereum/jsonrpc/src/main/java/tech/pegasys/pantheon/ethereum/jsonrpc/internal/response/JsonRpcResponseType.java
+++ b/ethereum/jsonrpc/src/main/java/tech/pegasys/pantheon/ethereum/jsonrpc/internal/response/JsonRpcResponseType.java
@@ -16,5 +16,6 @@
 public enum JsonRpcResponseType {
   NONE,
   SUCCESS,
-  ERROR
+  ERROR,
+  UNAUTHORIZED
 }
diff --git a/ethereum/jsonrpc/src/main/java/tech/pegasys/pantheon/ethereum/jsonrpc/internal/response/JsonRpcUnauthorizedResponse.java b/ethereum/jsonrpc/src/main/java/tech/pegasys/pantheon/ethereum/jsonrpc/internal/response/JsonRpcUnauthorizedResponse.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..26c8c98365
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ethereum/jsonrpc/src/main/java/tech/pegasys/pantheon/ethereum/jsonrpc/internal/response/JsonRpcUnauthorizedResponse.java
@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2018 ConsenSys AG.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with
+ * the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ * http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software distributed under the License is distributed on
+ * an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations under the License.
+ */
+package tech.pegasys.pantheon.ethereum.jsonrpc.internal.response;
+
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.annotation.JsonGetter;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.annotation.JsonIgnore;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.annotation.JsonPropertyOrder;
+import com.google.common.base.Objects;
+
+@JsonPropertyOrder({"jsonrpc", "id", "error"})
+public class JsonRpcUnauthorizedResponse implements JsonRpcResponse {
+
+  private final Object id;
+  private final JsonRpcError error;
+
+  public JsonRpcUnauthorizedResponse(final Object id, final JsonRpcError error) {
+    this.id = id;
+    this.error = error;
+  }
+
+  @JsonGetter("id")
+  public Object getId() {
+    return id;
+  }
+
+  @JsonGetter("error")
+  public JsonRpcError getError() {
+    return error;
+  }
+
+  @Override
+  @JsonIgnore
+  public JsonRpcResponseType getType() {
+    return JsonRpcResponseType.UNAUTHORIZED;
+  }
+
+  @Override
+  public boolean equals(final Object o) {
+    if (this == o) {
+      return true;
+    }
+    if (o == null || getClass() != o.getClass()) {
+      return false;
+    }
+    final JsonRpcUnauthorizedResponse that = (JsonRpcUnauthorizedResponse) o;
+    return Objects.equal(id, that.id) && error == that.error;
+  }
+
+  @Override
+  public int hashCode() {
+    return Objects.hashCode(id, error);
+  }
+}
diff --git a/ethereum/jsonrpc/src/test/java/tech/pegasys/pantheon/ethereum/jsonrpc/JsonRpcHttpServiceLoginTest.java b/ethereum/jsonrpc/src/test/java/tech/pegasys/pantheon/ethereum/jsonrpc/JsonRpcHttpServiceLoginTest.java
index 05b09f4401..4c6ed4f4a1 100644
--- a/ethereum/jsonrpc/src/test/java/tech/pegasys/pantheon/ethereum/jsonrpc/JsonRpcHttpServiceLoginTest.java
+++ b/ethereum/jsonrpc/src/test/java/tech/pegasys/pantheon/ethereum/jsonrpc/JsonRpcHttpServiceLoginTest.java
@@ -55,6 +55,7 @@
 
 import io.vertx.core.Vertx;
 import io.vertx.core.buffer.Buffer;
+import io.vertx.core.json.Json;
 import io.vertx.core.json.JsonObject;
 import io.vertx.ext.auth.KeyStoreOptions;
 import io.vertx.ext.auth.PubSecKeyOptions;
@@ -98,6 +99,7 @@ public class JsonRpcHttpServiceLoginTest {
       Arrays.asList(RpcApis.ETH, RpcApis.NET, RpcApis.WEB3, RpcApis.ADMIN);
   protected static JWTAuth jwtAuth;
   protected static String authPermissionsConfigFilePath = "JsonRpcHttpService/auth.toml";
+  protected final JsonRpcTestHelper testHelper = new JsonRpcTestHelper();
 
   @BeforeClass
   public static void initServerAndClient() throws Exception {
@@ -334,6 +336,30 @@ public void loginDoesntPopulateJWTPayloadWithPassword()
     }
   }
 
+  private String login(final String username, final String password) throws IOException {
+    final RequestBody loginBody =
+        RequestBody.create(
+            JSON, "{\"username\":\"" + username + "\",\"password\":\"" + password + "\"}");
+    final Request loginRequest =
+        new Request.Builder().post(loginBody).url(baseUrl + "/login").build();
+    final String token;
+    try (final Response loginResp = client.newCall(loginRequest).execute()) {
+      assertThat(loginResp.code()).isEqualTo(200);
+      assertThat(loginResp.message()).isEqualTo("OK");
+      assertThat(loginResp.body().contentType()).isNotNull();
+      assertThat(loginResp.body().contentType().type()).isEqualTo("application");
+      assertThat(loginResp.body().contentType().subtype()).isEqualTo("json");
+      final String bodyString = loginResp.body().string();
+      assertThat(bodyString).isNotNull();
+      assertThat(bodyString).isNotBlank();
+
+      final JsonObject respBody = new JsonObject(bodyString);
+      token = respBody.getString("token");
+      assertThat(token).isNotNull();
+    }
+    return token;
+  }
+
   @Test
   public void checkJsonRpcMethodsAvailableWithGoodCredentialsAndPermissions() throws IOException {
     final RequestBody body =
@@ -381,6 +407,92 @@ public void checkJsonRpcMethodsAvailableWithGoodCredentialsAndPermissions() thro
   public void checkPermissionsWithEmptyUser() {
     JsonRpcMethod ethAccounts = new EthAccounts();
 
-    assertThat(service.isPermitted(Optional.empty(), ethAccounts)).isTrue();
+    assertThat(service.isPermitted(Optional.empty(), ethAccounts)).isFalse();
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void web3ClientVersionUnsuccessfulBeforeLogin() throws Exception {
+    final String id = "123";
+    final RequestBody body =
+        RequestBody.create(
+            JSON,
+            "{\"jsonrpc\":\"2.0\",\"id\":"
+                + Json.encode(id)
+                + ",\"method\":\"web3_clientVersion\"}");
+
+    try (final Response resp = client.newCall(buildPostRequest(body)).execute()) {
+      assertThat(resp.code()).isEqualTo(401);
+      assertThat(resp.message()).isEqualTo("Unauthorized");
+    }
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void web3ClientVersionUnsuccessfulWithBadBearer() throws Exception {
+    final String id = "123";
+    final RequestBody body =
+        RequestBody.create(
+            JSON,
+            "{\"jsonrpc\":\"2.0\",\"id\":"
+                + Json.encode(id)
+                + ",\"method\":\"web3_clientVersion\"}");
+
+    try (final Response resp = client.newCall(buildPostRequest(body, "badtoken")).execute()) {
+      assertThat(resp.code()).isEqualTo(401);
+      assertThat(resp.message()).isEqualTo("Unauthorized");
+    }
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void web3ClientVersionSuccessfulAfterLogin() throws Exception {
+    final String token = login("user", "pegasys");
+
+    final String id = "123";
+    final RequestBody web3ClientVersionBody =
+        RequestBody.create(
+            JSON,
+            "{\"jsonrpc\":\"2.0\",\"id\":"
+                + Json.encode(id)
+                + ",\"method\":\"web3_clientVersion\"}");
+
+    try (final Response web3ClientVersionResp =
+        client.newCall(buildPostRequest(web3ClientVersionBody, token)).execute()) {
+      assertThat(web3ClientVersionResp.code()).isEqualTo(200);
+      // Check general format of result
+      final JsonObject json = new JsonObject(web3ClientVersionResp.body().string());
+      testHelper.assertValidJsonRpcResult(json, id);
+      // Check result
+      final String result = json.getString("result");
+      assertThat(result).isEqualTo("TestClientVersion/0.1.0");
+    }
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void ethSyncingUnauthorisedWithoutPermission() throws Exception {
+    final String token = login("user", "pegasys");
+
+    final String id = "007";
+    final RequestBody body =
+        RequestBody.create(
+            JSON,
+            "{\"jsonrpc\":\"2.0\",\"id\":" + Json.encode(id) + ",\"method\":\"eth_syncing\"}");
+
+    try (final Response resp = client.newCall(buildPostRequest(body, token)).execute()) {
+      assertThat(resp.code()).isEqualTo(401);
+      assertThat(resp.message()).isEqualTo("Unauthorized");
+    }
+  }
+
+  private Request buildPostRequest(final RequestBody body) {
+    return buildPostRequest(body, Optional.empty());
+  }
+
+  private Request buildPostRequest(final RequestBody body, final String token) {
+    return buildPostRequest(body, Optional.of(token));
+  }
+
+  private Request buildPostRequest(final RequestBody body, final Optional<String> token) {
+    final Request.Builder request = new Request.Builder().post(body).url(baseUrl);
+    token.ifPresent(t -> request.addHeader("Bearer", t));
+    return request.build();
   }
 }