diff --git a/sdk/api/handlers/handlers.go b/sdk/api/handlers/handlers.go
index 8893e5d6..14ba83ce 100644
--- a/sdk/api/handlers/handlers.go
+++ b/sdk/api/handlers/handlers.go
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ package handlers
 
 import (
 	"bytes"
+	"encoding/json"
 	"fmt"
 	"net/http"
 	"strings"
@@ -437,12 +438,50 @@ func (h *BaseAPIHandler) WriteErrorResponse(c *gin.Context, msg *interfaces.Erro
 			}
 		}
 	}
-	c.Status(status)
+
+	errText := http.StatusText(status)
 	if msg != nil && msg.Error != nil {
-		_, _ = c.Writer.Write([]byte(msg.Error.Error()))
-	} else {
-		_, _ = c.Writer.Write([]byte(http.StatusText(status)))
+		if v := strings.TrimSpace(msg.Error.Error()); v != "" {
+			errText = v
+		}
 	}
+
+	// Prefer preserving upstream JSON error bodies when possible.
+	buildJSONBody := func() []byte {
+		trimmed := strings.TrimSpace(errText)
+		if trimmed != "" && json.Valid([]byte(trimmed)) {
+			return []byte(trimmed)
+		}
+		errType := "invalid_request_error"
+		switch status {
+		case http.StatusUnauthorized:
+			errType = "authentication_error"
+		case http.StatusForbidden:
+			errType = "permission_error"
+		case http.StatusTooManyRequests:
+			errType = "rate_limit_error"
+		default:
+			if status >= http.StatusInternalServerError {
+				errType = "server_error"
+			}
+		}
+		payload, err := json.Marshal(ErrorResponse{
+			Error: ErrorDetail{
+				Message: errText,
+				Type:    errType,
+			},
+		})
+		if err != nil {
+			return []byte(fmt.Sprintf(`{"error":{"message":%q,"type":"server_error"}}`, errText))
+		}
+		return payload
+	}
+
+	if !c.Writer.Written() {
+		c.Writer.Header().Set("Content-Type", "application/json")
+	}
+	c.Status(status)
+	_, _ = c.Writer.Write(buildJSONBody())
 }
 
 func (h *BaseAPIHandler) LoggingAPIResponseError(ctx context.Context, err *interfaces.ErrorMessage) {