diff --git a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/common_components/MetadataKeyValueFields.test.tsx b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/common_components/MetadataKeyValueFields.test.tsx
index 3d9f4d8de15..0ccb2346450 100644
--- a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/common_components/MetadataKeyValueFields.test.tsx
+++ b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/common_components/MetadataKeyValueFields.test.tsx
@@ -307,6 +307,28 @@ describe("MetadataKeyValueFields with a declared schema", () => {
     expect(screen.getByTestId("metadata-schema-label")).toBeInTheDocument();
   });
 
+  it("should keep duplicate keys in a free-form row", async () => {
+    const user = userEvent.setup();
+    const onFinish = vi.fn();
+    render(<Harness onFinish={onFinish} schemaFields={[{ key: "cost_center", label: "Cost Center" }]} />);
+
+    expect(await screen.findByTestId("metadata-schema-label")).toHaveTextContent("Cost Center");
+    await user.click(screen.getByRole("button", { name: /add key-value pair/i }));
+    fireEvent.change(screen.getByPlaceholderText("Key"), { target: { value: "cost_center" } });
+
+    expect(screen.getAllByPlaceholderText("Key")).toHaveLength(1);
+    expect(screen.getByPlaceholderText("Key")).toHaveValue("cost_center");
+    expect(screen.getAllByLabelText("Remove key-value pair")).toHaveLength(1);
+    expect(screen.getAllByTestId("metadata-schema-label")).toHaveLength(1);
+
+    await user.click(screen.getByRole("button", { name: "Save" }));
+
+    await waitFor(() => {
+      expect(screen.getByText("Duplicate key")).toBeInTheDocument();
+    });
+    expect(onFinish).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
   it("should show a skeleton instead of the editor while the schema is loading", () => {
     render(<Harness onFinish={vi.fn()} schemaLoading />);
 
diff --git a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/common_components/MetadataKeyValueFields.tsx b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/common_components/MetadataKeyValueFields.tsx
index 1d4cdc81adf..07f50cf9f61 100644
--- a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/common_components/MetadataKeyValueFields.tsx
+++ b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/common_components/MetadataKeyValueFields.tsx
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import { CircleMinus, Plus } from "lucide-react";
 import React, { useEffect, useRef } from "react";
 import {
   useFieldArray,
+  useWatch,
   type Control,
   type FieldArrayPath,
   type FieldPath,
@@ -87,6 +88,10 @@ const MetadataKeyValueFields = <TFieldValues extends FieldValues>({
   schemaLoading = false,
 }: MetadataKeyValueFieldsProps<TFieldValues>) => {
   const { fields, append, remove } = useFieldArray({ control, name });
+  const watchedPairs = (useWatch({ control, name: name as unknown as FieldPath<TFieldValues> }) ?? []) as readonly (
+    | Partial<MetadataPair>
+    | undefined
+  )[];
   const seededRef = useRef(false);
   const schemaLabelsByKey = new Map(schemaFields.map((field) => [field.key, field.label || field.key]));
 
@@ -114,10 +119,22 @@ const MetadataKeyValueFields = <TFieldValues extends FieldValues>({
     );
   }
 
+  const getSchemaLabel = (index: number): string | undefined => {
+    const key = watchedPairs[index]?.key;
+    if (
+      key === undefined ||
+      !schemaLabelsByKey.has(key) ||
+      watchedPairs.findIndex((pair) => pair?.key === key) !== index
+    ) {
+      return undefined;
+    }
+    return schemaLabelsByKey.get(key);
+  };
+
   return (
     <>
       {fields.map((field, index) => {
-        const schemaLabel = schemaLabelsByKey.get((field as unknown as Partial<MetadataPair>).key ?? "");
+        const schemaLabel = getSchemaLabel(index);
         return (
           <div key={field.id} className="mb-2 flex items-start gap-2">
             {schemaLabel === undefined ? (