diff --git a/apps/sim/tools/icypeas-hosting.test.ts b/apps/sim/tools/icypeas-hosting.test.ts
index 288f2e773f8..554ccbb9c67 100644
--- a/apps/sim/tools/icypeas-hosting.test.ts
+++ b/apps/sim/tools/icypeas-hosting.test.ts
@@ -83,6 +83,73 @@ describe('Icypeas verify-email pricing', () => {
   })
 })
 
+describe('Icypeas transformResponse validation errors', () => {
+  it('verify-email throws the human-readable reason on a 200 validationErrors body', async () => {
+    const response = new Response(
+      JSON.stringify({
+        success: false,
+        validationErrors: [
+          {
+            field: 'type',
+            message: 'insufficient_credits',
+            humanReadableMessage: 'Insufficient credits to run the search',
+            type: 'InsufficientCredits',
+          },
+        ],
+      }),
+      { status: 200, headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' } }
+    )
+
+    await expect(icypeasVerifyEmailTool.transformResponse!(response)).rejects.toThrow(
+      /Insufficient credits to run the search/
+    )
+  })
+
+  it('find-email throws the human-readable reason on a 200 validationErrors body', async () => {
+    const response = new Response(
+      JSON.stringify({
+        success: false,
+        validationErrors: [
+          {
+            field: 'type',
+            message: 'insufficient_credits',
+            humanReadableMessage: 'Insufficient credits to run the search',
+            type: 'InsufficientCredits',
+          },
+        ],
+      }),
+      { status: 200, headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' } }
+    )
+
+    await expect(icypeasFindEmailTool.transformResponse!(response)).rejects.toThrow(
+      /Insufficient credits to run the search/
+    )
+  })
+
+  it('verify-email falls back to message when humanReadableMessage is absent', async () => {
+    const response = new Response(
+      JSON.stringify({
+        success: false,
+        validationErrors: [{ field: 'email', message: 'validation_required' }],
+      }),
+      { status: 200, headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' } }
+    )
+
+    await expect(icypeasVerifyEmailTool.transformResponse!(response)).rejects.toThrow(
+      /validation_required/
+    )
+  })
+
+  it('verify-email still throws when a success body has no item _id', async () => {
+    const response = new Response(JSON.stringify({ success: true, item: {} }), {
+      status: 200,
+      headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
+    })
+
+    await expect(icypeasVerifyEmailTool.transformResponse!(response)).rejects.toThrow(/item _id/)
+  })
+})
+
 describe('Icypeas find-email postProcess poll', () => {
   it('polls the results endpoint until terminal status and returns the email', async () => {
     vi.useFakeTimers()
diff --git a/apps/sim/tools/icypeas/find_email.ts b/apps/sim/tools/icypeas/find_email.ts
index 89fe64ab83e..ffc69c6c0f7 100644
--- a/apps/sim/tools/icypeas/find_email.ts
+++ b/apps/sim/tools/icypeas/find_email.ts
@@ -112,6 +112,19 @@ export const icypeasFindEmailTool: ToolConfig<IcypeasFindEmailParams, IcypeasFin
       throw new Error(`Icypeas API error: ${response.status} - ${errorText}`)
     }
     const json = (await response.json()) as Record<string, unknown>
+    // Icypeas signals submit-time failures as HTTP 200 { success: false, validationErrors: [...] }
+    // — malformed input, insufficient credits, rate limits, etc. None of these are a
+    // search verdict (those only come from polling), so fail fast with the human-readable
+    // reason rather than a cryptic missing-_id error or a fabricated empty result.
+    const validationErrors = json.validationErrors
+    if (Array.isArray(validationErrors) && validationErrors.length > 0) {
+      const first = validationErrors[0] as Record<string, unknown> | undefined
+      const reason =
+        (first?.humanReadableMessage as string | undefined) ??
+        (first?.message as string | undefined) ??
+        'validation error'
+      throw new Error(`Icypeas email-search rejected the request: ${reason}`)
+    }
     // Submit response: { success: true, item: { _id: '...', status: 'NONE', ... } }
     const item = (json.item as Record<string, unknown> | undefined) ?? {}
     const searchId = (item._id as string | undefined) ?? null
diff --git a/apps/sim/tools/icypeas/verify_email.ts b/apps/sim/tools/icypeas/verify_email.ts
index 827a81fc766..9b38381cf9b 100644
--- a/apps/sim/tools/icypeas/verify_email.ts
+++ b/apps/sim/tools/icypeas/verify_email.ts
@@ -105,6 +105,20 @@ export const icypeasVerifyEmailTool: ToolConfig<
       throw new Error(`Icypeas API error: ${response.status} - ${errorText}`)
     }
     const json = (await response.json()) as Record<string, unknown>
+    // Icypeas signals submit-time failures as HTTP 200 { success: false, validationErrors: [...] }
+    // — malformed input, insufficient credits, rate limits, etc. None of these are a
+    // deliverability verdict (those only come from polling), so fail fast with the
+    // human-readable reason rather than a cryptic missing-_id error or a fabricated
+    // valid=false result.
+    const validationErrors = json.validationErrors
+    if (Array.isArray(validationErrors) && validationErrors.length > 0) {
+      const first = validationErrors[0] as Record<string, unknown> | undefined
+      const reason =
+        (first?.humanReadableMessage as string | undefined) ??
+        (first?.message as string | undefined) ??
+        'validation error'
+      throw new Error(`Icypeas email-verification rejected the request: ${reason}`)
+    }
     // Submit response: { success: true, item: { _id: '...', status: 'NONE', ... } }
     const item = (json.item as Record<string, unknown> | undefined) ?? {}
     const searchId = (item._id as string | undefined) ?? null