diff --git a/litellm/proxy/_types.py b/litellm/proxy/_types.py
index 131a6caab07..b606af4c30f 100644
--- a/litellm/proxy/_types.py
+++ b/litellm/proxy/_types.py
@@ -3000,6 +3000,12 @@ class ProxyException(Exception):
             error_dict["provider_specific_fields"] = self.provider_specific_fields
         return error_dict
 
+class ProxyAuthenticationException(ProxyException):
+    """
+    Expected auth error (401) for invalid or missing proxy token.
+    Logged as unauthenticated, not as an internal crash.
+    """
+    pass
 
 class CommonProxyErrors(str, enum.Enum):
     db_not_connected_error = (
diff --git a/litellm/proxy/auth/auth_checks.py b/litellm/proxy/auth/auth_checks.py
index 359bb944546..1638f93e75d 100644
--- a/litellm/proxy/auth/auth_checks.py
+++ b/litellm/proxy/auth/auth_checks.py
@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@ from litellm.proxy._types import (
     LitellmUserRoles,
     NewTeamRequest,
     ProxyErrorTypes,
+    ProxyAuthenticationException,
     ProxyException,
     RoleBasedPermissions,
     SpecialModelNames,