diff --git a/enterprise/litellm_enterprise/proxy/management_endpoints/key_management_endpoints.py b/enterprise/litellm_enterprise/proxy/management_endpoints/key_management_endpoints.py
index 794568b210b..5de46bc9e05 100644
--- a/enterprise/litellm_enterprise/proxy/management_endpoints/key_management_endpoints.py
+++ b/enterprise/litellm_enterprise/proxy/management_endpoints/key_management_endpoints.py
@@ -17,7 +17,12 @@ def add_team_member_key_duration(
         team_table.metadata is not None
         and team_table.metadata.get("team_member_key_duration") is not None
     ):
-        data.duration = team_table.metadata["team_member_key_duration"]
+        team_max = team_table.metadata["team_member_key_duration"]
+        # Act as a ceiling: only apply team max when the user didn't provide a
+        # duration. If the user explicitly supplied a shorter duration (already
+        # validated against team max upstream), respect their value.
+        if "duration" not in data.model_fields_set:
+            data.duration = team_max
 
     return data
 
diff --git a/tests/test_litellm/enterprise/proxy/test_key_duration_ceiling.py b/tests/test_litellm/enterprise/proxy/test_key_duration_ceiling.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..1e6541dbcec
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_litellm/enterprise/proxy/test_key_duration_ceiling.py
@@ -0,0 +1,118 @@
+"""
+Tests for add_team_member_key_duration ceiling behavior.
+
+team_member_key_duration acts as a ceiling:
+- Not provided by user → apply team max as default
+- Provided and shorter than team max → respect user's value
+- No team / no metadata / no team_member_key_duration → leave unchanged
+- Service account (user_id=None) → leave unchanged
+"""
+
+import importlib.util
+import os
+import sys
+
+import pytest
+from unittest.mock import MagicMock
+
+from litellm.proxy._types import GenerateKeyRequest, LiteLLM_TeamTable
+
+
+def _load_local_add_team_member_key_duration():
+    """Load add_team_member_key_duration from the local enterprise source tree."""
+    local_path = os.path.normpath(
+        os.path.join(
+            os.path.dirname(__file__),
+            "..", "..", "..", "..",
+            "enterprise", "litellm_enterprise", "proxy",
+            "management_endpoints", "key_management_endpoints.py",
+        )
+    )
+    module_name = "_local_enterprise_key_management_endpoints"
+    # Remove cached version so we always reload from the local file
+    sys.modules.pop(module_name, None)
+    spec = importlib.util.spec_from_file_location(module_name, local_path)
+    module = importlib.util.module_from_spec(spec)  # type: ignore[arg-type]
+    spec.loader.exec_module(module)  # type: ignore[union-attr]
+    return module.add_team_member_key_duration
+
+
+def _make_team(duration: str) -> LiteLLM_TeamTable:
+    team = MagicMock(spec=LiteLLM_TeamTable)
+    team.metadata = {"team_member_key_duration": duration}
+    return team
+
+
+class TestAddTeamMemberKeyDuration:
+    def test_no_duration_provided_uses_team_max(self):
+        """User omits duration → team max is applied as the default."""
+        fn = _load_local_add_team_member_key_duration()
+
+        data = GenerateKeyRequest(user_id="user-1")
+        assert "duration" not in data.model_fields_set
+
+        result = fn(_make_team("30d"), data)
+
+        assert result.duration == "30d"
+
+    def test_shorter_duration_respected(self):
+        """User provides a duration shorter than team max → their value is kept."""
+        fn = _load_local_add_team_member_key_duration()
+
+        data = GenerateKeyRequest(user_id="user-1", duration="5d")
+        assert "duration" in data.model_fields_set
+
+        result = fn(_make_team("30d"), data)
+
+        assert result.duration == "5d"
+
+    def test_duration_equal_to_team_max_respected(self):
+        """User provides duration equal to team max → their value is kept."""
+        fn = _load_local_add_team_member_key_duration()
+
+        data = GenerateKeyRequest(user_id="user-1", duration="30d")
+        result = fn(_make_team("30d"), data)
+
+        assert result.duration == "30d"
+
+    def test_no_team_returns_unchanged(self):
+        """team_table=None → data is returned unchanged."""
+        fn = _load_local_add_team_member_key_duration()
+
+        data = GenerateKeyRequest(user_id="user-1")
+        result = fn(None, data)
+
+        assert result.duration is None
+
+    def test_no_metadata_returns_unchanged(self):
+        """Team has no metadata → data is returned unchanged."""
+        fn = _load_local_add_team_member_key_duration()
+
+        team = MagicMock(spec=LiteLLM_TeamTable)
+        team.metadata = None
+
+        data = GenerateKeyRequest(user_id="user-1")
+        result = fn(team, data)
+
+        assert result.duration is None
+
+    def test_no_team_member_key_duration_returns_unchanged(self):
+        """team_member_key_duration absent from metadata → data is returned unchanged."""
+        fn = _load_local_add_team_member_key_duration()
+
+        team = MagicMock(spec=LiteLLM_TeamTable)
+        team.metadata = {}
+
+        data = GenerateKeyRequest(user_id="user-1")
+        result = fn(team, data)
+
+        assert result.duration is None
+
+    def test_service_account_returns_unchanged(self):
+        """user_id=None (service account) → data is returned unchanged."""
+        fn = _load_local_add_team_member_key_duration()
+
+        data = GenerateKeyRequest(user_id=None)
+        result = fn(_make_team("30d"), data)
+
+        assert result.duration is None