diff --git a/litellm/main.py b/litellm/main.py
index f4451128c62..c3b7e53c03c 100644
--- a/litellm/main.py
+++ b/litellm/main.py
@@ -3997,6 +3997,13 @@ def transcription(
             max_retries=max_retries,
         )
     elif custom_llm_provider == "openai":
+        api_key = (
+            api_key
+            or litellm.api_key
+            or litellm.azure_key
+            or get_secret("OPENAI_API_KEY")
+        )
+        
         response = openai_chat_completions.audio_transcriptions(
             model=model,
             audio_file=file,
@@ -4005,6 +4012,7 @@ def transcription(
             atranscription=atranscription,
             timeout=timeout,
             logging_obj=litellm_logging_obj,
+            api_key=api_key,
             max_retries=max_retries,
         )
     return response