diff --git a/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/eims/eims-auto-submit.service.spec.ts b/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/eims/eims-auto-submit.service.spec.ts
index 6246d5a89..9b3bb5183 100644
--- a/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/eims/eims-auto-submit.service.spec.ts
+++ b/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/eims/eims-auto-submit.service.spec.ts
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import { BadRequestException } from "@nestjs/common";
 import { ConfigService } from "@nestjs/config";
 import { DataSource } from "typeorm";
 
@@ -12,6 +13,9 @@ const INVOICE_ID = "11111111-1111-4111-8111-111111111111";
 /**
  * `query` is answered by shape: the first call is the system-state guard, the second is the
  * candidate lookup. Keeps the fake honest about the order the service actually asks in.
+ *
+ * `managerRow` backs `dataSource.manager.findOne`/`.update` — only exercised by the
+ * pre-reservation-rejection path (`failStalledCandidate`), so it defaults to the candidate itself.
  */
 const build = (
   opts: {
@@ -19,6 +23,7 @@ const build = (
     state?: { in_flight_invoice_id?: string | null; blocked_reason?: string | null };
     candidate?: { id: string; invoiceNumber: string } | null;
     register?: jest.Mock;
+    managerRow?: { eimsStatus: EimsInvoiceStatus } | null;
   } = {},
 ) => {
   const register =
@@ -34,12 +39,17 @@ const build = (
     return Promise.resolve(opts.candidate === undefined ? [] : opts.candidate ? [opts.candidate] : []);
   });
 
+  const managerUpdate = jest.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined);
+  const managerFindOne = jest
+    .fn()
+    .mockResolvedValue(opts.managerRow === undefined ? { eimsStatus: EimsInvoiceStatus.NotSubmitted } : opts.managerRow);
+
   const service = new EimsAutoSubmitService(
-    { query } as unknown as DataSource,
+    { query, manager: { findOne: managerFindOne, update: managerUpdate } } as unknown as DataSource,
     { get: () => eimsConfig({ autoSubmit: true, ...opts.cfg }) } as unknown as ConfigService,
     { registerInvoiceWithEims: register } as unknown as EimsInvoiceRegistrationService,
   );
-  return { service, register, query };
+  return { service, register, query, managerUpdate, managerFindOne };
 };
 
 const candidate = { id: INVOICE_ID, invoiceNumber: "INV-20260807-00006" };
@@ -121,6 +131,40 @@ describe("EimsAutoSubmitService.tick", () => {
     expect(register).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
   });
 
+  it("drains a pre-reservation rejection so the sweep advances, without touching the DB row's own reservation state", async () => {
+    const register = jest
+      .fn()
+      .mockRejectedValue(new BadRequestException({ code: "EIMS_RELATED_INVOICE_REQUIRED", message: "no related invoice" }));
+    const { service, managerFindOne, managerUpdate } = build({ candidate, register });
+
+    await expect(service.tick()).resolves.toBeUndefined();
+
+    expect(managerFindOne).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    expect(managerUpdate).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      expect.anything(),
+      INVOICE_ID,
+      expect.objectContaining({
+        eimsStatus: EimsInvoiceStatus.Failed,
+        eimsLastError: expect.objectContaining({ message: "no related invoice" }),
+      }),
+    );
+  });
+
+  it("leaves a row alone if it already moved past NOT_SUBMITTED by the time the rejection is handled", async () => {
+    const register = jest
+      .fn()
+      .mockRejectedValue(new BadRequestException({ code: "EIMS_RELATED_INVOICE_REQUIRED", message: "no related invoice" }));
+    const { service, managerUpdate } = build({
+      candidate,
+      register,
+      managerRow: { eimsStatus: EimsInvoiceStatus.Submitting },
+    });
+
+    await expect(service.tick()).resolves.toBeUndefined();
+
+    expect(managerUpdate).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
   it("does not start a second tick while one is still filing", async () => {
     let release: () => void = () => {};
     const register = jest.fn().mockImplementation(
diff --git a/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/eims/eims-auto-submit.service.ts b/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/eims/eims-auto-submit.service.ts
index fb5a0d1f6..bad283817 100644
--- a/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/eims/eims-auto-submit.service.ts
+++ b/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/eims/eims-auto-submit.service.ts
@@ -1,12 +1,14 @@
-import { Injectable, Logger } from "@nestjs/common";
+import { BadRequestException, Injectable, Logger } from "@nestjs/common";
 import { ConfigService } from "@nestjs/config";
 import { Cron } from "@nestjs/schedule";
 import { InjectDataSource } from "@nestjs/typeorm";
 import { DataSource } from "typeorm";
+import type { QueryDeepPartialEntity } from "typeorm/query-builder/QueryPartialEntity.js";
 
 import { EimsConfig } from "../../config/eims.config";
+import { Invoice } from "../billing/entities/invoice.entity";
 import { EimsInvoiceRegistrationService } from "./eims-invoice-registration.service";
-import { EimsInvoiceStatus } from "./eims-registration.types";
+import { EimsInvoiceError, EimsInvoiceStatus } from "./eims-registration.types";
 
 /**
  * Files issued invoices with MoR EIMS on a timer.
@@ -67,21 +69,62 @@ export class EimsAutoSubmitService {
       const candidate = await this.nextCandidate();
       if (!candidate) return;
 
-      const view = await this.registration.registerInvoiceWithEims(candidate.id);
-      this.logger.log(
-        `EIMS auto-submit: invoice ${candidate.invoiceNumber} -> ${view.eimsStatus}` +
-          (view.eimsIrn ? ` (IRN ${view.eimsIrn})` : ""),
-      );
+      try {
+        const view = await this.registration.registerInvoiceWithEims(candidate.id);
+        this.logger.log(
+          `EIMS auto-submit: invoice ${candidate.invoiceNumber} -> ${view.eimsStatus}` +
+            (view.eimsIrn ? ` (IRN ${view.eimsIrn})` : ""),
+        );
+      } catch (err) {
+        // Every other failure path inside registerInvoiceWithEims persists FAILED/UNKNOWN itself
+        // (settleFailure) before throwing. A BadRequestException is the one exception: it is only
+        // ever thrown *before* a reservation is taken (config assertion, DEB/CRE validation), so
+        // nothing is persisted — left alone, this candidate is picked again next tick forever, a
+        // permanent head-of-line block on every invoice behind it. Drain it instead.
+        if (err instanceof BadRequestException) {
+          await this.failStalledCandidate(candidate, err);
+        } else {
+          throw err;
+        }
+      }
     } catch (err) {
       // Never let a filing failure kill the job. The outcome is already persisted on the invoice
-      // (FAILED or UNKNOWN with the gateway's own message), and a blocked system number stops the
-      // next tick at the guard above.
+      // (FAILED or UNKNOWN with the gateway's own message, or drained by failStalledCandidate
+      // above), and a blocked system number stops the next tick at the guard above.
       this.logger.error(`EIMS auto-submit tick failed: ${(err as Error).message}`);
     } finally {
       this.running = false;
     }
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Mark a pre-reservation rejection as FAILED so the sweep advances past it — but only if the
+   * invoice is still exactly where this tick left it. A reservation's own transactions
+   * (SUBMITTING/UNKNOWN, or a system-wide block) are authoritative; this must never clobber them,
+   * so the status is re-read fresh rather than trusted from the stale `candidate` row.
+   */
+  private async failStalledCandidate(
+    candidate: { id: string; invoiceNumber: string },
+    err: BadRequestException,
+  ): Promise<void> {
+    const current = await this.dataSource.manager.findOne(Invoice, { where: { id: candidate.id } });
+    if (current?.eimsStatus !== EimsInvoiceStatus.NotSubmitted) {
+      this.logger.warn(
+        `EIMS auto-submit: invoice ${candidate.invoiceNumber} rejected before reservation, but is ` +
+          `no longer NOT_SUBMITTED (${current?.eimsStatus ?? "not found"}) — leaving state untouched.`,
+      );
+      return;
+    }
+    const lastError: EimsInvoiceError = { kind: "VALIDATION", message: err.message, at: new Date().toISOString() };
+    await this.dataSource.manager.update(Invoice, candidate.id, {
+      eimsStatus: EimsInvoiceStatus.Failed,
+      eimsLastError: lastError,
+    } as QueryDeepPartialEntity<Invoice>);
+    this.logger.error(
+      `EIMS auto-submit: invoice ${candidate.invoiceNumber} rejected before reservation: ${err.message}`,
+    );
+  }
+
   /** Why filing is currently impossible for this system number, or null when it is free. */
   private async systemBlockReason(): Promise<string | null> {
     const rows: { in_flight_invoice_id: string | null; blocked_reason: string | null }[] =