¶2 John Steelman, a California state prisoner, appeals pro se from the district court’s order denying his request to proceed without prepayment of filing fees. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We review for an abuse of discretion, Tripati v. First Nat’l Bank & Trust, 821 F.2d 1368, 1369 (9th Cir.1987), and we affirm.
¶3 The district court did not abuse its discretion by denying Steelman’s request to proceed without prepayment of filing fees because the claims in the complaint were based only on “contingent future events that may not occur as anticipated, or indeed may not occur at all,” and therefore were not ripe. Scott v. Pasadena Unified Sch. Dist., 306 F.3d 646, 662 (9th Cir.2002) *789 (internal quotation marks and citations omitted); see also Tripati, 821 F.2d at 1370 (“A district court may deny leave to proceed in forma pauperis at the outset if it appears from the face of the proposed complaint that the action is frivolous or without merit.”).
¶4 AFFIRMED.