diff --git a/docs/http-api.md b/docs/http-api.md
index c63fb94..da63124 100644
--- a/docs/http-api.md
+++ b/docs/http-api.md
@@ -292,7 +292,7 @@ policy passes.
 
 `reason` must be non-empty. `actor` defaults to `"http"`.
 
-**Response**
+**Response (policy passes)**
 ```json
 {
   "action_id": "act_def456",
@@ -310,31 +310,62 @@ policy passes.
 }
 ```
 
-When `promoted_pointer_changed` is `false`, policy did not pass — the release was **not**
-promoted. Check `policy.reasons` for the failure details.
-
 **First promotion** (no prior baseline for this agent/environment): policy evaluation is
 skipped and the release is promoted unconditionally with reason `"first promotion: no
 promoted baseline for agent/environment"`.
 
+**Policy-blocked response (HTTP 409)**
+
+When the active policy blocks promotion, the server returns HTTP **409 Conflict**. The
+action is still written to the audit ledger; only the promoted pointer is not updated.
+
+```json
+{
+  "detail": {
+    "message": "Promotion blocked by policy.",
+    "outcome": {
+      "action_id": "act_def456",
+      "action": "promote",
+      "release_id": "rel_abc123",
+      "agent_id": "agent_support",
+      "environment": "production",
+      "baseline_release_id": "rel_prev789",
+      "promoted_pointer_changed": false,
+      "policy": {
+        "passed": false,
+        "reasons": ["candidate cost per run USD 0.006 exceeds max 0.005"],
+        "evaluated_at": "2026-05-01T13:00:00+00:00"
+      }
+    }
+  }
+}
+```
+
+Check `detail.outcome.policy.reasons` for the specific constraints that failed.
+
 **Errors**
 - HTTP 400 — unknown release ID, missing pricing table, invalid window, or empty reason.
 - HTTP 401 — Bearer token missing or invalid (when a token is configured).
 - HTTP 403 — caller is not a loopback client and no token is configured.
+- HTTP 409 — action recorded in the audit ledger but blocked by the active policy.
 
 ---
 
 ## `POST /v1/rollback`
 
 Roll back to a prior release. Identical contract to `/v1/promote` but with `"action":
-"rollback"` in the response. A promoted baseline must already exist; rolling back when
-nothing is promoted returns HTTP 400.
+"rollback"` in the response and `"message": "Rollback blocked by policy."` in the 409
+body. A promoted baseline must already exist; rolling back when nothing is promoted
+returns HTTP 400.
 
 **Requires mutation access** (loopback client or Bearer token).
 
 **Request body** — same shape as `/v1/promote`.
 
-**Response** — same shape as `/v1/promote` with `"action": "rollback"`.
+**Response (policy passes)** — same shape as `/v1/promote` with `"action": "rollback"`.
+
+**Policy-blocked response** — same 409 shape as `/v1/promote` with `"action": "rollback"`
+and `"message": "Rollback blocked by policy."`.
 
 ---
 
diff --git a/docs/operations-and-policy.md b/docs/operations-and-policy.md
index 3c8c30d..58431f7 100644
--- a/docs/operations-and-policy.md
+++ b/docs/operations-and-policy.md
@@ -226,9 +226,16 @@ require_high_diff_confidence: false
 ### Promotion blocked by policy
 
 When policy fails, the promotion/rollback attempt is **recorded in the audit ledger**
-(the intent is captured) but the promoted pointer is **not** updated. The CLI exits with
-a non-zero code; the HTTP API returns the full response body with `promoted_pointer_changed:
-false` and `policy.passed: false`.
+(the intent is captured) but the promoted pointer is **not** updated.
+
+- **CLI:** exits with a non-zero code and prints the policy failure reasons.
+- **HTTP API:** returns **HTTP 409 Conflict** with a structured `detail` body containing
+  `message` and the full `outcome` object (including `promoted_pointer_changed: false` and
+  `policy.passed: false`). See [HTTP API reference](http-api.md#post-v1promote) for the
+  exact response shape.
+- **SDK (`post_promote` / `post_rollback`):** raises `httpx.HTTPStatusError` with
+  `response.status_code == 409`. The full `detail` body is accessible via
+  `e.response.json()["detail"]`.
 
 ---
 
diff --git a/docs/sdk.md b/docs/sdk.md
index e7d3a37..f0cfd29 100644
--- a/docs/sdk.md
+++ b/docs/sdk.md
@@ -172,6 +172,12 @@ All methods call `response.raise_for_status()` before returning, so HTTP 4xx/5xx
 responses raise `httpx.HTTPStatusError`. Transient network failures raise
 `httpx.RequestError` and are retried up to `max_retries` times with exponential backoff.
 
+**Policy-blocked promote/rollback (HTTP 409)**
+
+When the active policy blocks a `post_promote` or `post_rollback` call, the server returns
+HTTP 409. The SDK raises `httpx.HTTPStatusError`; the full outcome — including which
+policy constraints failed — is in `e.response.json()["detail"]`.
+
 ```python
 import httpx
 
@@ -183,9 +189,18 @@ try:
         reason="tested in staging",
     )
 except httpx.HTTPStatusError as e:
-    print(e.response.status_code, e.response.json())
+    if e.response.status_code == 409:
+        detail = e.response.json()["detail"]
+        # detail["message"]  -> "Promotion blocked by policy."
+        # detail["outcome"]["policy"]["reasons"] -> list of failed constraints
+        print("Blocked:", detail["outcome"]["policy"]["reasons"])
+    else:
+        raise
 ```
 
+The action is still recorded in the audit ledger even when blocked; `GET /v1/actions`
+will show it with `policy_passed: false`.
+
 ## Custom `httpx.Client`
 
 Inject a pre-configured client to set custom SSL certificates, proxies, or connection