diff --git a/litellm/litellm_core_utils/token_counter.py b/litellm/litellm_core_utils/token_counter.py
index 256bee7b348..c350bc5569e 100644
--- a/litellm/litellm_core_utils/token_counter.py
+++ b/litellm/litellm_core_utils/token_counter.py
@@ -693,6 +693,26 @@ def _count_document_tokens(
     )
 
 
+def _count_file_tokens(
+    file_value: object,
+    count_function: TokenCounterFunction,
+    use_default_image_token_count: bool,
+) -> int:
+    """An OpenAI `file` block is the chat-completions spelling of a document, so it prices like one."""
+    if not isinstance(file_value, Mapping):
+        return 0
+    filename: Final = file_value.get("filename")
+    file_data: Final = file_value.get("file_data")
+    name_tokens: Final = count_function(filename) if isinstance(filename, str) and filename else 0
+    if not isinstance(file_data, str) or not file_data:
+        return name_tokens
+    return name_tokens + calculate_img_tokens(
+        data=file_data,
+        mode="auto",
+        use_default_image_token_count=use_default_image_token_count,
+    )
+
+
 def _count_anthropic_content(
     content: Mapping[str, Any],
     count_function: TokenCounterFunction,
@@ -778,6 +798,12 @@ def _count_content_list(
                     use_default_image_token_count,
                     default_token_count,
                 )
+            elif c["type"] == "file":
+                num_tokens += _count_file_tokens(
+                    c.get("file"),
+                    count_function,
+                    use_default_image_token_count,
+                )
             elif c["type"] in ("tool_use", "tool_result"):
                 num_tokens += _count_anthropic_content(
                     c,
@@ -807,7 +833,7 @@ def _count_content_list(
                 raise ValueError(
                     f"Invalid content item type: {content_type}. "
                     f"Expected str or dict with 'type' field "
-                    f"(text, image_url, image, document, tool_use, tool_result, thinking, tool_reference)."
+                    f"(text, image_url, image, document, file, tool_use, tool_result, thinking, tool_reference)."
                 )
         return num_tokens
     except Exception as e:
diff --git a/tests/test_litellm/litellm_core_utils/test_token_counter.py b/tests/test_litellm/litellm_core_utils/test_token_counter.py
index 572b505e94c..4694fa8fbed 100644
--- a/tests/test_litellm/litellm_core_utils/test_token_counter.py
+++ b/tests/test_litellm/litellm_core_utils/test_token_counter.py
@@ -1377,3 +1377,38 @@ def test_anthropic_document_title_and_context_add_their_tokens():
             {"type": "document", "source": source},
         ]
     )
+
+
+def test_openai_file_block_prices_like_the_equivalent_anthropic_document():
+    """An inline `file` is a `document` in the chat-completions dialect, so it must price identically, not raise.
+
+    Before the fix `file` was missing from the content-block match even though `ChatCompletionFileObject`
+    is in the union this counter accepts, so every local count of a Responses `input_file` raised
+    `Invalid content item type: file` and surfaced as a 500 on /v1/responses/input_tokens.
+    """
+    prompt = {"type": "text", "text": "Summarize this file."}
+    inline_file = {
+        "type": "file",
+        "file": {"filename": "report.pdf", "file_data": "data:application/pdf;base64,JVBERi0xLjQK"},
+    }
+    document = {
+        "type": "document",
+        "title": "report.pdf",
+        "source": {"type": "base64", "media_type": "application/pdf", "data": "JVBERi0xLjQK"},
+    }
+
+    assert _count_user_content([prompt, inline_file]) == _count_user_content([prompt, document])
+    assert _count_user_content([prompt, inline_file]) > _count_user_content([prompt])
+
+
+def test_openai_file_block_without_inline_bytes_counts_what_it_carries():
+    """A `file` block naming an uploaded file has no bytes to price, so it adds only the filename's tokens."""
+    prompt = {"type": "text", "text": "Summarize this file."}
+
+    by_id = {"type": "file", "file": {"file_id": "file-abc123"}}
+    assert _count_user_content([prompt, by_id]) == _count_user_content([prompt])
+
+    named = {"type": "file", "file": {"file_id": "file-abc123", "filename": "report.pdf"}}
+    assert _count_user_content([prompt, named]) == _count_user_content(
+        [prompt, {"type": "text", "text": "report.pdf"}]
+    )