diff --git a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/key_info_utils.test.tsx b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/key_info_utils.test.tsx
index 490e188e21a..8231ab5b915 100644
--- a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/key_info_utils.test.tsx
+++ b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/key_info_utils.test.tsx
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ import {
   filterSensitiveMetadata,
   extractLoggingSettings,
   formatMetadataForDisplay,
+  mergeKeyTags,
   stripTagsFromMetadata,
 } from "./key_info_utils";
 
@@ -57,3 +58,30 @@ describe("stripTagsFromMetadata", () => {
     expect(input).toEqual(originalCopy);
   });
 });
+
+describe("mergeKeyTags", () => {
+  it("returns tags from the dedicated field", () => {
+    expect(mergeKeyTags(["a", "b"], {})).toEqual(["a", "b"]);
+  });
+
+  it("returns tags from metadata when the dedicated field is undefined", () => {
+    expect(mergeKeyTags(undefined, { tags: ["a", "b"] })).toEqual(["a", "b"]);
+  });
+
+  it("deduplicates overlapping tags with dedicated field order first", () => {
+    expect(mergeKeyTags(["a", "b"], { tags: ["b", "c"] })).toEqual(["a", "b", "c"]);
+  });
+
+  it("drops non-string metadata tags", () => {
+    expect(mergeKeyTags(undefined, { tags: ["a", 1, null, false, "b"] })).toEqual(["a", "b"]);
+  });
+
+  it("returns field tags when metadata is null or a string", () => {
+    expect(mergeKeyTags(["a"], null)).toEqual(["a"]);
+    expect(mergeKeyTags(["b"], "metadata")).toEqual(["b"]);
+  });
+
+  it("returns field tags when metadata has no tags key", () => {
+    expect(mergeKeyTags(["a"], { keep: "x" })).toEqual(["a"]);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/key_info_utils.tsx b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/key_info_utils.tsx
index e346878c24e..5a1c7f0cf67 100644
--- a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/key_info_utils.tsx
+++ b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/key_info_utils.tsx
@@ -61,3 +61,12 @@ export const stripTagsFromMetadata = (metadata: any) => {
   const { tags, ...rest } = metadata as Record<string, any>;
   return rest;
 };
+
+export const mergeKeyTags = (fieldTags: unknown, metadata: unknown): string[] => {
+  const isString = (value: unknown): value is string => typeof value === "string";
+  const fromField = Array.isArray(fieldTags) ? fieldTags.filter(isString) : [];
+  const metadataTags =
+    metadata && typeof metadata === "object" ? (metadata as Record<string, unknown>).tags : undefined;
+  const fromMetadata = Array.isArray(metadataTags) ? metadataTags.filter(isString) : [];
+  return Array.from(new Set([...fromField, ...fromMetadata]));
+};
diff --git a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/templates/KeyInfoView.handleKeyUpdate.test.tsx b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/templates/KeyInfoView.handleKeyUpdate.test.tsx
index 522af5a85ad..b3fb509cf97 100644
--- a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/templates/KeyInfoView.handleKeyUpdate.test.tsx
+++ b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/templates/KeyInfoView.handleKeyUpdate.test.tsx
@@ -49,11 +49,14 @@ vi.mock("@/utils/dataUtils", () => ({
   copyToClipboard: async () => true,
   formatNumberWithCommas: (n: any) => String(n),
 }));
-vi.mock("../key_info_utils", () => ({
-  extractLoggingSettings: () => ({}),
-  formatMetadataForDisplay: (m: any) => JSON.stringify(m, null, 2),
-  stripTagsFromMetadata: (m: any) => m,
-}));
+vi.mock("../key_info_utils", async (importOriginal) => {
+  const actual = await importOriginal<typeof import("../key_info_utils")>();
+  return {
+    ...actual,
+    extractLoggingSettings: () => ({}),
+    formatMetadataForDisplay: (m: any) => JSON.stringify(m, null, 2),
+  };
+});
 vi.mock("../callback_info_helpers", () => ({
   callback_map: {},
   mapInternalToDisplayNames: (x: any) => x,
@@ -344,6 +347,66 @@ describe("KeyInfoView handleKeyUpdate guardrails guard", () => {
   });
 });
 
+describe("KeyInfoView handleKeyUpdate metadata tags", () => {
+  it("merges tags from the field and metadata JSON while preserving metadata", async () => {
+    renderView(true);
+
+    fireEvent.click(screen.getByText("Settings"));
+    fireEvent.click(screen.getByText("Edit Settings"));
+    (globalThis as any).__TEST_FORM_VALUES = {
+      token: "tok_123",
+      tags: ["ui-tag"],
+      metadata: JSON.stringify({ tags: ["headroom-pilot"], keep: "x" }),
+    };
+
+    fireEvent.click(screen.getByText("Mock Submit"));
+
+    await waitFor(() => expect(keyUpdateCallMock).toHaveBeenCalled());
+
+    const [, sentPayload] = keyUpdateCallMock.mock.calls[0];
+    expect(sentPayload.metadata.tags).toEqual(["ui-tag", "headroom-pilot"]);
+    expect(sentPayload.metadata.keep).toBe("x");
+    expect("tags" in sentPayload).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it("preserves metadata tags when the dedicated field is absent", async () => {
+    renderView(true);
+
+    fireEvent.click(screen.getByText("Settings"));
+    fireEvent.click(screen.getByText("Edit Settings"));
+    (globalThis as any).__TEST_FORM_VALUES = {
+      token: "tok_123",
+      metadata: JSON.stringify({ tags: ["headroom-pilot"] }),
+    };
+
+    fireEvent.click(screen.getByText("Mock Submit"));
+
+    await waitFor(() => expect(keyUpdateCallMock).toHaveBeenCalled());
+
+    const [, sentPayload] = keyUpdateCallMock.mock.calls[0];
+    expect(sentPayload.metadata.tags).toEqual(["headroom-pilot"]);
+  });
+
+  it("merges and deduplicates tags from object metadata", async () => {
+    renderView(true);
+
+    fireEvent.click(screen.getByText("Settings"));
+    fireEvent.click(screen.getByText("Edit Settings"));
+    (globalThis as any).__TEST_FORM_VALUES = {
+      token: "tok_123",
+      tags: ["ui-tag", "headroom-pilot"],
+      metadata: { tags: ["headroom-pilot"] },
+    };
+
+    fireEvent.click(screen.getByText("Mock Submit"));
+
+    await waitFor(() => expect(keyUpdateCallMock).toHaveBeenCalled());
+
+    const [, sentPayload] = keyUpdateCallMock.mock.calls[0];
+    expect(sentPayload.metadata.tags).toEqual(["ui-tag", "headroom-pilot"]);
+  });
+});
+
 describe("KeyInfoView handleKeyUpdate mcp_toolsets", () => {
   it("should forward the toolsets the edit form supplies into object_permission", async () => {
     renderView(true);
diff --git a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/templates/key_info_view.tsx b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/templates/key_info_view.tsx
index 3c2c9bb352d..d2f087cb919 100644
--- a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/templates/key_info_view.tsx
+++ b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/templates/key_info_view.tsx
@@ -31,7 +31,12 @@ import AutoRotationView from "../common_components/AutoRotationView";
 import DeleteResourceModal from "../common_components/DeleteResourceModal";
 import RouterSettingsSummary from "../common_components/RouterSettingsSummary";
 import { hasRouterSettings } from "../common_components/routerSettingsPayload";
-import { extractLoggingSettings, formatMetadataForDisplay, stripTagsFromMetadata } from "../key_info_utils";
+import {
+  extractLoggingSettings,
+  formatMetadataForDisplay,
+  mergeKeyTags,
+  stripTagsFromMetadata,
+} from "../key_info_utils";
 import { KeyResponse } from "../key_team_helpers/key_list";
 import LoggingSettingsView from "../logging_settings_view";
 import { toast } from "@/lib/toast";
@@ -297,13 +302,10 @@ export default function KeyInfoView({
       if (formValues.metadata && typeof formValues.metadata === "string") {
         try {
           const parsedMetadata = JSON.parse(formValues.metadata);
-          // Ensure tags are controlled via dedicated field, not in metadata textarea
-          if ("tags" in parsedMetadata) {
-            delete parsedMetadata["tags"];
-          }
+          const tags = mergeKeyTags(formValues.tags, parsedMetadata);
           formValues.metadata = {
-            ...parsedMetadata,
-            ...(Array.isArray(formValues.tags) && formValues.tags.length > 0 ? { tags: formValues.tags } : {}),
+            ...stripTagsFromMetadata(parsedMetadata),
+            ...(tags.length > 0 ? { tags } : {}),
             ...(formValues.guardrails?.length > 0 ? { guardrails: formValues.guardrails } : {}),
             ...(Array.isArray(formValues.logging_settings) && formValues.logging_settings.length > 0
               ? { logging: formValues.logging_settings }
@@ -321,10 +323,10 @@ export default function KeyInfoView({
         }
       } else {
         const baseMetadata = formValues.metadata || {};
-        const { tags: _omitTags, ...rest } = baseMetadata;
+        const tags = mergeKeyTags(formValues.tags, baseMetadata);
         formValues.metadata = {
-          ...rest,
-          ...(Array.isArray(formValues.tags) && formValues.tags.length > 0 ? { tags: formValues.tags } : {}),
+          ...stripTagsFromMetadata(baseMetadata),
+          ...(tags.length > 0 ? { tags } : {}),
           ...(formValues.guardrails?.length > 0 ? { guardrails: formValues.guardrails } : {}),
           ...(Array.isArray(formValues.logging_settings) && formValues.logging_settings.length > 0
             ? { logging: formValues.logging_settings }
@@ -337,7 +339,6 @@ export default function KeyInfoView({
         };
       }
 
-      // tags are merged into metadata; do not send as top-level field
       if ("tags" in formValues) {
         delete formValues.tags;
       }