diff --git a/app/Exceptions/Handler.php b/app/Exceptions/Handler.php
index 3ea8731cd..db336859d 100644
--- a/app/Exceptions/Handler.php
+++ b/app/Exceptions/Handler.php
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
 
 use Symfony\Component\HttpKernel\Exception\NotFoundHttpException;
 use Symfony\Component\HttpKernel\Exception\HttpException;
+use Symfony\Component\HttpKernel\Exception\TooManyRequestsHttpException;
 use Throwable;
 use Illuminate\Validation\ValidationException;
 use Illuminate\Auth\Access\AuthorizationException;
@@ -68,6 +69,10 @@ public function render($request, Throwable $e)
         }
 
         if ($request->expectsJson() || $request->is('api/*')) {
+            if ($e instanceof TooManyRequestsHttpException) {
+                // keep Retry-After / X-RateLimit-* so clients can back off instead of seeing a fake server fault
+                return response()->json(['message' => 'Too Many Requests'], 429, $e->getHeaders());
+            }
             $status = $this->isHttpException($e) ? $e->getStatusCode() : 500;
             return response()->json(['message' => 'server error'], $status);
         }
diff --git a/app/Http/Middleware/RateLimitMiddleware.php b/app/Http/Middleware/RateLimitMiddleware.php
index 6890a8deb..1fb6f8984 100644
--- a/app/Http/Middleware/RateLimitMiddleware.php
+++ b/app/Http/Middleware/RateLimitMiddleware.php
@@ -113,4 +113,22 @@ public function handle($request, Closure $next, $maxAttempts = 60, $decayMinutes
             $this->calculateRemainingAttempts($key, $maxAttempts)
         );
     }
+
+    /**
+     * Scopes the counter per HTTP method + matched route template + client, so the budget (and the
+     * window, which the first writer of a key fixes) of one rate limited route never leaks into another.
+     * The route TEMPLATE is used, not the concrete URL, so path values do not create a bucket each.
+     * @param \Illuminate\Http\Request $request
+     * @return string
+     */
+    protected function resolveRequestSignature($request)
+    {
+        return sha1(sprintf
+        (
+            '%s|%s|%s',
+            $request->getMethod(),
+            $request->route()?->uri() ?? $request->path(),
+            parent::resolveRequestSignature($request)
+        ));
+    }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/tests/Unit/RateLimitMiddlewareTest.php b/tests/Unit/RateLimitMiddlewareTest.php
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..c5a28c5ba
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/Unit/RateLimitMiddlewareTest.php
@@ -0,0 +1,99 @@
+<?php namespace Tests\Unit;
+/**
+ * Copyright 2026 OpenStack Foundation
+ * 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.
+ **/
+
+use App\Exceptions\Handler;
+use App\Http\Middleware\RateLimitMiddleware;
+use App\Models\ResourceServer\IApiEndpointRepository;
+use App\Models\ResourceServer\IEndpointRateLimitByIPRepository;
+use Illuminate\Cache\ArrayStore;
+use Illuminate\Cache\RateLimiter;
+use Illuminate\Cache\Repository;
+use Illuminate\Http\Exceptions\ThrottleRequestsException;
+use Illuminate\Http\JsonResponse;
+use Illuminate\Http\Request;
+use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Route;
+use Tests\TestCase;
+
+/**
+ * Class RateLimitMiddlewareTest
+ * Each rate limited route must own its counter and window per client IP.
+ */
+final class RateLimitMiddlewareTest extends TestCase
+{
+    private const NOTIFY_URI = '/api/v1/summits/1/presentations/1/submission-period/reopen/notify';
+    private const APPLY_URI = '/api/v1/summits/1/promo-codes/ABC/apply';
+
+    private function buildMiddleware(): RateLimitMiddleware
+    {
+        return new RateLimitMiddleware(
+            $this->createMock(IApiEndpointRepository::class),
+            $this->createMock(IEndpointRateLimitByIPRepository::class),
+            new RateLimiter(new Repository(new ArrayStore()))
+        );
+    }
+
+    private function buildRequest(string $method, string $uri, string $ip): Request
+    {
+        $request = Request::create($uri, $method, [], [], [], ['REMOTE_ADDR' => $ip]);
+        $request->setRouteResolver(fn() => Route::getRoutes()->match($request));
+        return $request;
+    }
+
+    private function next(): \Closure
+    {
+        return fn($request) => new JsonResponse(['ok' => true], 200);
+    }
+
+    public function test_handle_counter_of_one_route_does_not_block_another_route_for_same_ip(): void
+    {
+        $middleware = $this->buildMiddleware();
+
+        // exhaust the notify budget (30 per 3600 seconds) from one IP
+        for ($i = 0; $i < 30; $i++) {
+            $middleware->handle($this->buildRequest('PUT', self::NOTIFY_URI, '10.0.0.1'), $this->next(), 30, 3600);
+        }
+
+        // a different route from the same IP has its own budget
+        $response = $middleware->handle($this->buildRequest('GET', self::APPLY_URI, '10.0.0.1'), $this->next(), 25, 1);
+
+        $this->assertSame(200, $response->getStatusCode());
+    }
+
+    public function test_handle_same_route_still_enforces_its_own_limit(): void
+    {
+        $middleware = $this->buildMiddleware();
+
+        for ($i = 0; $i < 25; $i++) {
+            $middleware->handle($this->buildRequest('GET', self::APPLY_URI, '10.0.0.1'), $this->next(), 25, 60);
+        }
+
+        $this->expectException(ThrottleRequestsException::class);
+        $middleware->handle($this->buildRequest('GET', self::APPLY_URI, '10.0.0.1'), $this->next(), 25, 60);
+    }
+
+    public function test_handle_429_response_is_not_masked_as_server_error(): void
+    {
+        config(['app.debug' => false]);
+
+        $exception = new ThrottleRequestsException('Too Many Attempts.', null, ['Retry-After' => 60]);
+        $response = (new Handler($this->app))->render(
+            Request::create(self::APPLY_URI, 'GET'),
+            $exception
+        );
+
+        $this->assertSame(429, $response->getStatusCode());
+        $this->assertSame('Too Many Requests', json_decode($response->getContent(), true)['message']);
+        $this->assertSame('60', $response->headers->get('Retry-After'));
+    }
+}