diff --git a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/autorouter_presets.json b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/autorouter_presets.json
index b1c0235eb13..ec9cfe1eac4 100644
--- a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/autorouter_presets.json
+++ b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/autorouter_presets.json
@@ -1,18 +1,4 @@
 {
-  "sample_spec": {
-    "label": "Anthropic Family (Example)",
-    "description": "Complexity-tiered routing using only Anthropic models",
-    "complexity_router_config": {
-      "tiers": {
-        "SIMPLE": ["claude-haiku-4-5"],
-        "MEDIUM": ["claude-sonnet-4-5"],
-        "COMPLEX": ["claude-opus-5"],
-        "REASONING": ["claude-opus-5"]
-      },
-      "classifier_type": "heuristic",
-      "escalation_keywords": ["LITELLM ESCALATE"]
-    }
-  },
   "anthropic_family": {
     "label": "Anthropic Family",
     "description": "Routes across the Claude model family: Haiku for simple queries, Sonnet for medium, Opus for complex and reasoning-heavy requests.",
diff --git a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/add_model/add_auto_router_tab.test.tsx b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/add_model/add_auto_router_tab.test.tsx
index 5fc39bbc45a..30153b6f87a 100644
--- a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/add_model/add_auto_router_tab.test.tsx
+++ b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/add_model/add_auto_router_tab.test.tsx
@@ -246,7 +246,26 @@ describe("AddAutoRouterTab", () => {
     await user.type(screen.getByPlaceholderText(/smart_router/i), "raced-router");
     await user.click(screen.getByRole("button", { name: /add auto router/i }));
 
-    // No preset was applied, so the tiers are empty and tier validation blocks the submit.
+    // No preset was applied and none was picked, so the template check blocks the submit.
+    expect(mockHandleAddAutoRouterSubmit).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  // The Template field carries a required marker but, until now, nothing actually validated it:
+  // submit fell through to the unrelated missing-tiers error instead. This pins a Template-specific
+  // block so a future regression (e.g. dropping this check) surfaces as a wrong error message, not
+  // silence.
+  it("blocks the submit and shows an inline error when no template is chosen", async () => {
+    const user = userEvent.setup();
+    mockFetchAvailableModels.mockResolvedValue(ALL_FAMILY_MODELS);
+
+    renderWithProviders(<Harness />);
+    await user.type(screen.getByPlaceholderText(/smart_router/i), "no-template-router");
+    await user.click(screen.getByRole("button", { name: /add auto router/i }));
+
+    expect(await screen.findByText("Please select a template")).toBeInTheDocument();
+    expect(NotificationManager.fromBackend).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      "Please select a template, or choose Custom Configuration",
+    );
     expect(mockHandleAddAutoRouterSubmit).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
   });
 
@@ -319,6 +338,8 @@ describe("AddAutoRouterTab", () => {
       <AddAutoRouterTab handleOk={vi.fn()} accessToken="token" userRole="Internal User" createScope="team-required" />,
     );
 
+    openTemplateDropdown();
+    fireEvent.click(optionByLabel("Custom Configuration")!);
     await user.type(screen.getByPlaceholderText(/smart_router/i), "team-scoped-router");
     await user.selectOptions(screen.getByTestId("team-dropdown"), "team-1");
     await user.click(screen.getByRole("button", { name: /add auto router/i }));
@@ -335,6 +356,8 @@ describe("AddAutoRouterTab", () => {
       <AddAutoRouterTab handleOk={vi.fn()} accessToken="token" userRole="Internal User" createScope="team-required" />,
     );
 
+    openTemplateDropdown();
+    fireEvent.click(optionByLabel("Custom Configuration")!);
     await user.type(screen.getByPlaceholderText(/smart_router/i), "team-scoped-router");
     await user.click(screen.getByRole("button", { name: /add auto router/i }));
 
diff --git a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/add_model/add_auto_router_tab.tsx b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/add_model/add_auto_router_tab.tsx
index 9abc1c17ca1..f73a06860c3 100644
--- a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/add_model/add_auto_router_tab.tsx
+++ b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/add_model/add_auto_router_tab.tsx
@@ -122,7 +122,7 @@ const AddAutoRouterTab: React.FC<AddAutoRouterTabProps> = ({
     label: model_group,
   }));
 
-  const availableModelSet = new Set(modelInfo.map((m) => m.model_group));
+  const availableModelSet = React.useMemo(() => new Set(modelInfo.map((m) => m.model_group)), [modelInfo]);
   const presets = React.useMemo(() => getAllPresets(), []);
 
   // A preset's models can only be trusted against a successfully loaded list. Selection and the
@@ -182,6 +182,12 @@ const AddAutoRouterTab: React.FC<AddAutoRouterTabProps> = ({
   };
 
   const submitRecommendedRouter = (name: string) => {
+    if (!selectedPreset) {
+      setShowValidationErrors(true);
+      NotificationManager.fromBackend("Please select a template, or choose Custom Configuration");
+      return;
+    }
+
     const {
       tiers,
       classifier_type: classifierType,
@@ -348,6 +354,9 @@ const AddAutoRouterTab: React.FC<AddAutoRouterTabProps> = ({
                 );
               })}
             </AntdSelect>
+            {showValidationErrors && !selectedPreset && (
+              <div className="text-xs mt-1 text-red-500">Please select a template</div>
+            )}
           </div>
 
           <Form.Item
diff --git a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/lib/autorouter_presets.test.ts b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/lib/autorouter_presets.test.ts
index f29cd4624c2..a2d921292f8 100644
--- a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/lib/autorouter_presets.test.ts
+++ b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/lib/autorouter_presets.test.ts
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ import {
 } from "./autorouter_presets";
 
 describe("autorouter_presets", () => {
-  it("loads exactly the two model-family presets (sample_spec excluded)", () => {
+  it("loads exactly the two model-family presets", () => {
     const presets = getAllPresets();
     expect(presets.map((p) => p.label).sort()).toEqual(["Anthropic Family", "OpenAI Family"]);
     // Every preset carries all four fields the UI relies on; a JSON typo dropping one fails here.
@@ -20,8 +20,6 @@ describe("autorouter_presets", () => {
   it("resolves a preset by its stable JSON key, not its display label", () => {
     expect(getPresetByKey("anthropic_family")?.label).toBe("Anthropic Family");
     expect(getPresetByKey("does_not_exist")).toBeUndefined();
-    // sample_spec is filtered out, so it is not resolvable by key either.
-    expect(getPresetByKey("sample_spec")).toBeUndefined();
   });
 
   it("keeps every preset a plain heuristic complexity router (no adaptive/quality settings)", () => {
diff --git a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/lib/autorouter_presets.ts b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/lib/autorouter_presets.ts
index 46aec8685df..4183f90bbd4 100644
--- a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/lib/autorouter_presets.ts
+++ b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/lib/autorouter_presets.ts
@@ -13,12 +13,10 @@ export interface AutoRouterPreset {
 // The bundled JSON is a developer-authored, build-time asset, so it is trusted at the import
 // boundary rather than re-validated at runtime (resolveJsonModule widens its string literals,
 // hence this one cast). autorouter_presets.test.ts pins the parsed shape, so a JSON typo fails
-// CI. "sample_spec" documents the shape and is not a selectable preset.
+// CI.
 const RAW = presetsRaw as Record<string, Omit<AutoRouterPreset, "key">>;
 
-const PRESETS: AutoRouterPreset[] = Object.entries(RAW)
-  .filter(([key]) => key !== "sample_spec")
-  .map(([key, preset]) => ({ key, ...preset }));
+const PRESETS: AutoRouterPreset[] = Object.entries(RAW).map(([key, preset]) => ({ key, ...preset }));
 
 export const getAllPresets = (): AutoRouterPreset[] => PRESETS;