diff --git a/RELEASE.md b/RELEASE.md
index 03da73fc..254b05d3 100644
--- a/RELEASE.md
+++ b/RELEASE.md
@@ -5,6 +5,10 @@
 - Give every custom field a public id, so an API that hands one out names it the way the rest of the platform names a resource rather than exposing an internal uuid. `CustomField` takes `HasPublicId` with the `custom_field` prefix, and `public_id` becomes fillable.
 - Mint an id on the one path that would otherwise miss it: `HasCustomFields::setCustomField()` saves a field it creates on the fly with `saveQuietly()`, which skips the hook that assigns the id.
 
+## Fixes
+
+- Let an observer's refusal reach the caller on the update and bulk-delete paths. An observer that refused a write by throwing `FleetbaseRequestValidationException` had its explanation discarded: `HasApiModelBehavior::updateRecordFromRequest()` rewrapped every exception from the save as a plain `\Exception`, and `HasApiControllerBehavior::bulkDelete()` caught `\Exception` ahead of its dedicated handler, so callers saw `Invalid request` or a generic update error instead of the message the observer wrote. The exception now passes through untouched on both paths and is rendered with `getErrors()`, as it already was on create and single delete. Every other exception is wrapped exactly as before. Reported in [#256](https://github.com/fleetbase/core-api/issues/256).
+
 ## Reliability
 
 - Backfill existing rows in the migration, and add the column as nullable and indexed rather than unique-and-required, so it is safe on an already-populated `custom_fields` table.
@@ -14,4 +18,4 @@ This is platform-wide: every custom field gains a public id, not only those used
 
 A database migration is required. No configuration change is needed.
 
-Changes: [#254](https://github.com/fleetbase/core-api/pull/254).
+Changes: [#254](https://github.com/fleetbase/core-api/pull/254), [#259](https://github.com/fleetbase/core-api/pull/259).
diff --git a/src/Traits/HasApiControllerBehavior.php b/src/Traits/HasApiControllerBehavior.php
index a6167cbd..79f80331 100644
--- a/src/Traits/HasApiControllerBehavior.php
+++ b/src/Traits/HasApiControllerBehavior.php
@@ -627,17 +627,13 @@ public function bulkDelete(BulkDeleteRequest $request)
 
         try {
             $count = $this->model->bulkRemove($ids);
-        } catch (\Exception $e) {
-            return response()->error($e->getMessage());
-            // QueryException and FleetbaseRequestValidationException are covered by
-            // the preceding Exception catch in PHP's current catch order.
-            // @codeCoverageIgnoreStart
-        } catch (QueryException $e) {
-            return response()->error($e->getMessage());
         } catch (FleetbaseRequestValidationException $e) {
             return response()->error($e->getErrors());
+        } catch (QueryException $e) {
+            return response()->error($e->getMessage());
+        } catch (\Exception $e) {
+            return response()->error($e->getMessage());
         }
-        // @codeCoverageIgnoreEnd
 
         return response()->json(
             [
diff --git a/src/Traits/HasApiModelBehavior.php b/src/Traits/HasApiModelBehavior.php
index e1a8bc89..2161f7cf 100644
--- a/src/Traits/HasApiModelBehavior.php
+++ b/src/Traits/HasApiModelBehavior.php
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 
 namespace Fleetbase\Traits;
 
+use Fleetbase\Exceptions\FleetbaseRequestValidationException;
 use Fleetbase\Support\ApiModelCache;
 use Fleetbase\Support\Auth;
 use Fleetbase\Support\Http;
@@ -416,6 +417,10 @@ public function updateRecordFromRequest(Request $request, $id, ?callable $onBefo
         $input = Arr::except($input, ['uuid', 'public_id', 'deleted_at', 'updated_at', 'created_at']);
         try {
             $record->update($input);
+        } catch (FleetbaseRequestValidationException $e) {
+            // An observer refusing the write is user-facing feedback, not an internal failure.
+            // Let it through untouched so the controller and global handler can render getErrors().
+            throw $e;
         } catch (\Exception $e) {
             throw new \Exception(app()->hasDebugModeEnabled() ? $e->getMessage() : 'Failed to update ' . $this->getApiHumanReadableName());
         }
diff --git a/tests/Unit/Traits/HasApiControllerBehaviorTest.php b/tests/Unit/Traits/HasApiControllerBehaviorTest.php
index 31837c30..8ef2feef 100644
--- a/tests/Unit/Traits/HasApiControllerBehaviorTest.php
+++ b/tests/Unit/Traits/HasApiControllerBehaviorTest.php
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 <?php
 
+use Fleetbase\Exceptions\FleetbaseRequestValidationException;
 use Fleetbase\Http\Requests\Internal\BulkDeleteRequest;
 use Fleetbase\Http\Resources\FleetbaseResource;
 use Fleetbase\Traits\HasApiControllerBehavior;
@@ -506,6 +507,37 @@ public function updateRecordFromRequest(Request $request, $id, ?callable $onBefo
         ->and($updateQueryFailure->getData(true))->toBe(['errors' => ['Error occurred while trying to update a Widget']]);
 });
 
+test('api controller behavior surfaces observer refusals on update and bulk delete', function () {
+    $refusingModel = new class extends HasApiControllerBehaviorModel {
+        public function updateRecordFromRequest(Request $request, $id, ?callable $onBefore = null, ?callable $onAfter = null): self
+        {
+            throw new FleetbaseRequestValidationException(['Widget is locked and cannot be changed.']);
+        }
+
+        public function bulkRemove(array $ids): int
+        {
+            throw new FleetbaseRequestValidationException(['Widget is locked and cannot be deleted.']);
+        }
+    };
+    $queryFailingModel = new class extends HasApiControllerBehaviorModel {
+        public function bulkRemove(array $ids): int
+        {
+            throw new QueryException('mysql', 'delete from widgets', [], new RuntimeException('database unavailable'));
+        }
+    };
+
+    $refusingController = new HasApiControllerBehaviorController($refusingModel);
+    $updateRefusal      = $refusingController->updateRecord(has_api_controller_behavior_request('/v1/widgets/widget-1', 'PATCH', ['name' => 'Nope']), 'widget-1');
+    $bulkDeleteRefusal  = $refusingController->bulkDelete(BulkDeleteRequest::create('/v1/widgets/bulk-delete', 'DELETE', ['ids' => ['widget-1']]));
+    $bulkDeleteQuery    = (new HasApiControllerBehaviorController($queryFailingModel))->bulkDelete(
+        BulkDeleteRequest::create('/v1/widgets/bulk-delete', 'DELETE', ['ids' => ['widget-1']])
+    );
+
+    expect($updateRefusal->getData(true))->toBe(['errors' => ['Widget is locked and cannot be changed.']])
+        ->and($bulkDeleteRefusal->getData(true))->toBe(['errors' => ['Widget is locked and cannot be deleted.']])
+        ->and($bulkDeleteQuery->getData(true)['errors'][0])->toContain('database unavailable');
+});
+
 test('api controller behavior validates fallback rule contracts before writing', function () {
     $controller        = new HasApiControllerBehaviorController();
     $controller->rules = ['name' => ['required']];
diff --git a/tests/Unit/Traits/HasApiModelBehaviorTest.php b/tests/Unit/Traits/HasApiModelBehaviorTest.php
index d034aaff..f3b4f071 100644
--- a/tests/Unit/Traits/HasApiModelBehaviorTest.php
+++ b/tests/Unit/Traits/HasApiModelBehaviorTest.php
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 <?php
 
+use Fleetbase\Exceptions\FleetbaseRequestValidationException;
 use Fleetbase\Http\Filter\Filter;
 use Fleetbase\Models\Model;
 use Fleetbase\Traits\HasApiModelBehavior;
@@ -299,6 +300,16 @@ public function update(array $attributes = [], array $options = [])
     }
 }
 
+class HasApiModelBehaviorRefusingUpdateRecord extends HasApiModelBehaviorRecord
+{
+    protected static function booted(): void
+    {
+        static::updating(function () {
+            throw new FleetbaseRequestValidationException(['Record is locked and cannot be updated.']);
+        });
+    }
+}
+
 class HasApiModelBehaviorFailingBulkDeleteRecord extends HasApiModelBehaviorRecord
 {
     public function where($column, $operator = null, $value = null, $boolean = 'and')
@@ -883,6 +894,33 @@ public function total(): int
         ->and(fn () => (new HasApiModelBehaviorRecord())->remove('record_alpha'))->toThrow(Exception::class);
 });
 
+test('api model behavior propagates observer update refusals without rewrapping them', function () {
+    $capsule = has_api_model_behavior_database();
+    has_api_model_behavior_seed_records($capsule);
+    session(['company' => 'company-a']);
+
+    $refusals = [];
+    foreach ([true, false] as $debug) {
+        config(['app.debug' => $debug]);
+
+        try {
+            (new HasApiModelBehaviorRefusingUpdateRecord())->updateRecordFromRequest(
+                has_api_model_behavior_request(['name' => 'Refused update'], method: 'PATCH'),
+                'record_alpha'
+            );
+        } catch (Exception $exception) {
+            $refusals[] = $exception;
+        }
+    }
+
+    expect($refusals)->toHaveCount(2)
+        ->and($refusals[0])->toBeInstanceOf(FleetbaseRequestValidationException::class)
+        ->and($refusals[0]->getErrors())->toBe(['Record is locked and cannot be updated.'])
+        ->and($refusals[1])->toBeInstanceOf(FleetbaseRequestValidationException::class)
+        ->and($refusals[1]->getErrors())->toBe(['Record is locked and cannot be updated.'])
+        ->and($capsule->getConnection('mysql')->table('api_model_behavior_records')->where('public_id', 'record_alpha')->value('name'))->toBe('Alpha Dispatch');
+});
+
 test('api model behavior exposes default searchable fields options and no-op query branches', function () {
     $capsule = has_api_model_behavior_database();
     has_api_model_behavior_seed_records($capsule);