diff --git a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/app/(dashboard)/layout.test.tsx b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/app/(dashboard)/layout.test.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..af68d9f87e9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/app/(dashboard)/layout.test.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,78 @@
+import { describe, it, expect, vi, beforeEach } from "vitest";
+import { render, screen, waitFor } from "@testing-library/react";
+import { AuthProvider } from "@/contexts/AuthContext";
+import Layout from "./layout";
+
+vi.mock("next/navigation", () => ({
+  useRouter: vi.fn(() => ({ push: vi.fn(), replace: vi.fn() })),
+  useSearchParams: vi.fn(() => new URLSearchParams()),
+  usePathname: vi.fn(() => "/ui/guardrails"),
+}));
+
+vi.mock("@/components/navbar", () => ({
+  default: () => <div data-testid="navbar" />,
+}));
+
+vi.mock("@/app/(dashboard)/components/SidebarProvider", () => ({
+  default: () => <div data-testid="sidebar" />,
+}));
+
+vi.mock("@/components/DebugWarningBanner", () => ({
+  DebugWarningBanner: () => null,
+}));
+
+vi.mock("@/contexts/ThemeContext", () => ({
+  ThemeProvider: ({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) => <>{children}</>,
+}));
+
+vi.mock("@/components/common_components/LoadingScreen", () => ({
+  default: () => <div data-testid="loading-screen" />,
+}));
+
+type Deferred = { promise: Promise<void>; resolve: () => void };
+
+const createDeferred = (): Deferred => {
+  let resolve!: () => void;
+  const promise = new Promise<void>((r) => {
+    resolve = r;
+  });
+  return { promise, resolve };
+};
+
+let pendingUiConfig: Deferred;
+
+vi.mock("@/components/networking", async (importOriginal) => {
+  const actual = await importOriginal<typeof import("@/components/networking")>();
+  return {
+    ...actual,
+    getUiConfig: vi.fn(() => pendingUiConfig.promise),
+    setGlobalLitellmHeaderName: vi.fn(),
+  };
+});
+
+describe("(dashboard) Layout", () => {
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    vi.clearAllMocks();
+    pendingUiConfig = createDeferred();
+  });
+
+  it("does not mount route content until getUiConfig has resolved", async () => {
+    render(
+      <AuthProvider>
+        <Layout>
+          <div data-testid="page-content" />
+        </Layout>
+      </AuthProvider>,
+    );
+
+    await waitFor(() => expect(screen.getByTestId("loading-screen")).toBeTruthy());
+    expect(screen.queryByTestId("page-content")).toBeNull();
+    expect(screen.queryByTestId("navbar")).toBeNull();
+
+    pendingUiConfig.resolve();
+
+    await waitFor(() => expect(screen.getByTestId("page-content")).toBeTruthy());
+    expect(screen.getByTestId("navbar")).toBeTruthy();
+    expect(screen.queryByTestId("loading-screen")).toBeNull();
+  });
+});
diff --git a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/app/(dashboard)/layout.tsx b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/app/(dashboard)/layout.tsx
index df5b2ab4511..b32bed44a87 100644
--- a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/app/(dashboard)/layout.tsx
+++ b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/app/(dashboard)/layout.tsx
@@ -45,9 +45,13 @@ function DashboardShell({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) {
 
 function LayoutContent({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) {
   const searchParams = useSearchParams();
-  const { accessToken } = useAuth();
+  const { accessToken, authLoading } = useAuth();
   const isInvitationFlow = Boolean(searchParams.get("invitation_id"));
 
+  if (authLoading) {
+    return <LoadingScreen />;
+  }
+
   return (
     <ThemeProvider accessToken={accessToken}>
       {isInvitationFlow ? children : <DashboardShell>{children}</DashboardShell>}