diff --git a/cli.py b/cli.py
index dc95a45000..9a9b6ce0bb 100644
--- a/cli.py
+++ b/cli.py
@@ -4089,9 +4089,12 @@ def _sync_cli_session_id_from_agent(cli) -> None:
         cli.session_id = cli.agent.session_id
 
 
-# ``failure_reason`` values that say nothing about the task itself: the provider or the
-# account is walled, so a Kanban worker signals "try later" instead of "I failed".
-_QUOTA_WALL_REASONS = frozenset({"rate_limit", "upstream_rate_limit", "billing", "overloaded"})
+# ``failure_reason`` values that say nothing about the task itself: the provider is walled,
+# down or unreachable, or the account is out of credit, so a Kanban worker signals "try
+# later" instead of "I failed" and the dispatcher does not spend the task's retry budget on it.
+_TRANSIENT_PROVIDER_REASONS = frozenset({
+    "rate_limit", "upstream_rate_limit", "billing", "overloaded", "server_error", "timeout",
+})
 
 
 def _single_query_exit_code(result) -> int:
@@ -4102,7 +4105,7 @@ def _single_query_exit_code(result) -> int:
     failed, so ``result`` is not a dict). A Kanban worker (``HERMES_KANBAN_TASK`` set) that
     failed purely on a provider rate-limit / billing wall exits ``KANBAN_RATE_LIMIT_EXIT_CODE``
     (EX_TEMPFAIL): the dispatcher books that run ``rate_limited`` and requeues the task
-    WITHOUT counting a failure, so a quota window cannot trip the circuit breaker.
+    WITHOUT counting a failure, so a quota window or a provider outage cannot trip the breaker.
     """
     if not isinstance(result, dict):
         return 1
@@ -4110,7 +4113,7 @@ def _single_query_exit_code(result) -> int:
         return 130
     if not (result.get("failed") or result.get("partial") or result.get("completed") is False):
         return 0
-    if os.environ.get("HERMES_KANBAN_TASK") and result.get("failure_reason") in _QUOTA_WALL_REASONS:
+    if os.environ.get("HERMES_KANBAN_TASK") and result.get("failure_reason") in _TRANSIENT_PROVIDER_REASONS:
         from hermes_cli.kanban_db import KANBAN_RATE_LIMIT_EXIT_CODE
         return KANBAN_RATE_LIMIT_EXIT_CODE
     return 1
diff --git a/tests/hermes_cli/test_single_query_exit_contract.py b/tests/hermes_cli/test_single_query_exit_contract.py
index 22b4ac8788..cef28eea59 100644
--- a/tests/hermes_cli/test_single_query_exit_contract.py
+++ b/tests/hermes_cli/test_single_query_exit_contract.py
@@ -44,8 +44,10 @@ def _run_non_quiet(monkeypatch, turn_result):
     return None
 
 
-@pytest.mark.parametrize("reason", ["rate_limit", "upstream_rate_limit", "billing", "overloaded"])
-def test_dispatcher_spawned_worker_signals_a_quota_wall_not_a_protocol_violation(monkeypatch, reason):
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "reason", ["rate_limit", "upstream_rate_limit", "billing", "overloaded", "server_error", "timeout"]
+)
+def test_dispatcher_spawned_worker_signals_a_provider_outage_not_a_protocol_violation(monkeypatch, reason):
     monkeypatch.setenv("HERMES_KANBAN_TASK", "t_abc123")
     code = _run_non_quiet(monkeypatch, {"failed": True, "failure_reason": reason})
     assert code == KANBAN_RATE_LIMIT_EXIT_CODE
diff --git a/website/docs/reference/cli-commands.md b/website/docs/reference/cli-commands.md
index 337d7fb883..47538ebe66 100644
--- a/website/docs/reference/cli-commands.md
+++ b/website/docs/reference/cli-commands.md
@@ -181,8 +181,9 @@ stdio) the process exit code reports the turn's outcome, on both the quiet and
 the non-quiet path: `0` the turn completed; `1` it failed, stopped partway
 (`partial`), hit the iteration budget, or never ran (credentials / agent init
 failed); `130` it was interrupted. A Kanban dispatcher-spawned worker
-(`HERMES_KANBAN_TASK` set) whose turn failed only because the provider
-rate-limited or overloaded it, or the account hit a billing/quota wall, exits
+(`HERMES_KANBAN_TASK` set) whose turn failed only because the provider was
+rate-limited, overloaded, returning 5xx, timing out, or the account hit a
+billing/quota wall, exits
 `75` (`EX_TEMPFAIL`) so the dispatcher requeues the task without counting a
 failure. With `--format stream-json` the terminal `result` record carries the
 same `exit_code`.
diff --git a/website/docs/user-guide/features/kanban.md b/website/docs/user-guide/features/kanban.md
index 7518d97de4..0bf506cf0e 100644
--- a/website/docs/user-guide/features/kanban.md
+++ b/website/docs/user-guide/features/kanban.md
@@ -505,8 +505,8 @@ protocol. If the worker process exits with status 0 while the task is still
 `running`, the dispatcher treats that as a protocol violation and emits a
 `protocol_violation` event. A dispatcher-spawned worker whose turn failed
 therefore exits non-zero: `1` for an ordinary failure, and `75`
-(`EX_TEMPFAIL`) when the provider rate-limited or overloaded it, or the
-account hit a billing/quota wall — the dispatcher records that run as `rate_limited` and
+(`EX_TEMPFAIL`) when the provider was rate-limited, overloaded, returning
+5xx or timing out, or the account hit a billing/quota wall — the dispatcher records that run as `rate_limited` and
 requeues the task without counting a failure, so a quota window is never
 booked as a protocol violation.