diff --git a/litellm/proxy/auth/auth_checks.py b/litellm/proxy/auth/auth_checks.py
index 1fb0133f50b..500a39d9455 100644
--- a/litellm/proxy/auth/auth_checks.py
+++ b/litellm/proxy/auth/auth_checks.py
@@ -2000,7 +2000,7 @@ async def _fetch_key_object_from_db_with_reconnect(
             proxy_logging_obj=proxy_logging_obj,
         )
     except Exception as e:
-        if PrismaDBExceptionHandler.is_database_connection_error(e):
+        if PrismaDBExceptionHandler.is_database_transport_error(e):
             did_reconnect = False
             if hasattr(prisma_client, "attempt_db_reconnect"):
                 auth_reconnect_timeout = getattr(
diff --git a/litellm/proxy/db/exception_handler.py b/litellm/proxy/db/exception_handler.py
index bbc1564a487..b2efbf9d076 100644
--- a/litellm/proxy/db/exception_handler.py
+++ b/litellm/proxy/db/exception_handler.py
@@ -32,7 +32,28 @@ class PrismaDBExceptionHandler:
     @staticmethod
     def is_database_connection_error(e: Exception) -> bool:
         """
-        Returns True if the exception is from a database outage / connection error
+        Returns True if the exception is from a database outage / connection error.
+        Any PrismaError qualifies — the DB failed to serve the request.
+        Used by allow_requests_on_db_unavailable logic and endpoint 503 responses.
+        """
+        import prisma
+
+        if isinstance(e, DB_CONNECTION_ERROR_TYPES):
+            return True
+        if isinstance(e, prisma.errors.PrismaError):
+            return True
+        if isinstance(e, ProxyException) and e.type == ProxyErrorTypes.no_db_connection:
+            return True
+        return False
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def is_database_transport_error(e: Exception) -> bool:
+        """
+        Returns True only for transport/connectivity failures where a reconnect
+        attempt makes sense (e.g. DB is unreachable, connection dropped).
+
+        Use this for reconnect logic — data-layer errors like UniqueViolationError
+        mean the DB IS reachable, so reconnecting would be pointless.
         """
         import prisma
 
@@ -44,8 +65,6 @@ class PrismaDBExceptionHandler:
             return True
         if isinstance(e, prisma.errors.PrismaError):
             error_message = str(e).lower()
-            # Treat generic PrismaError as connection error only when its text
-            # clearly indicates transport/connectivity failure.
             connection_keywords = (
                 "can't reach database server",
                 "cannot reach database server",
diff --git a/tests/test_litellm/proxy/db/test_exception_handler.py b/tests/test_litellm/proxy/db/test_exception_handler.py
index 8c07b2a19e6..9dcf5df4aeb 100644
--- a/tests/test_litellm/proxy/db/test_exception_handler.py
+++ b/tests/test_litellm/proxy/db/test_exception_handler.py
@@ -72,8 +72,9 @@ def test_is_database_connection_error_prisma_connection_errors(prisma_error):
         ),
     ],
 )
-def test_is_database_connection_error_non_connection_prisma_errors(prisma_error):
-    assert PrismaDBExceptionHandler.is_database_connection_error(prisma_error) == False
+def test_is_database_transport_error_non_connection_prisma_errors(prisma_error):
+    """Data-layer errors should not trigger reconnect — DB is reachable when these occur."""
+    assert PrismaDBExceptionHandler.is_database_transport_error(prisma_error) == False
 
 
 def test_is_database_connection_generic_errors():