diff --git a/agent.py b/agent.py
index 0c7ae71..9f6ae6c 100644
--- a/agent.py
+++ b/agent.py
@@ -69,6 +69,18 @@ class AgentReviewer(A2AAgent[ReviewerConfig, NoAuth]):
         if not ctx.cp_jwt or not ctx.cp_url:
             return {"error": "no cp_jwt; this agent must run through the orchestrator"}
 
+        creds = ctx.llm
+        if not creds.api_key:
+            return {
+                "error": "llm_credentials_missing",
+                "final": (
+                    "LLM credentials were not available for this review. "
+                    "Hosted reviewer runs should receive a platform LLM grant."
+                ),
+                "agent_name": agent_name,
+                "ref": ref,
+            }
+
         await ctx.emit_progress(f"requesting read-only Gitea token for {agent_name}@{ref}")
         try:
             mint = await ctx.mint_gitea_token(
@@ -88,7 +100,6 @@ class AgentReviewer(A2AAgent[ReviewerConfig, NoAuth]):
             f"minted token {token_name} (read on {gitea_owner}/{agent_name})"
         )
 
-        creds = ctx.llm
         await ctx.emit_progress(f"llm: {creds.model} via {creds.source}")
 
         completion_box: dict[str, ReviewReport] = {}
diff --git a/tests/test_agent.py b/tests/test_agent.py
index 454bcb5..b1ab0f4 100644
--- a/tests/test_agent.py
+++ b/tests/test_agent.py
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ ROOT = Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent
 if str(ROOT) not in sys.path:
     sys.path.insert(0, str(ROOT))
 
+from a2a_pack import LocalRunContext, NoAuth  # noqa: E402
 from agent import AgentReviewer  # noqa: E402
 from agent_reviewer.tools import Finding, ReviewReport, ToolContext, build_tools  # noqa: E402
 from agent_reviewer.config import load_settings  # noqa: E402
@@ -54,6 +55,28 @@ def test_review_report_round_trips() -> None:
     assert again.findings[0].severity == "critical"
 
 
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_review_returns_structured_error_without_llm_credentials(
+    monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch,
+) -> None:
+    monkeypatch.delenv("AGENT_LLM_KEY", raising=False)
+    monkeypatch.delenv("A2A_LITELLM_KEY", raising=False)
+    ctx = LocalRunContext(auth=NoAuth())
+    ctx._cp_jwt = "jwt-123"  # noqa: SLF001
+    ctx._cp_url = "http://control-plane.local"  # noqa: SLF001
+
+    async def fail_mint(*_args: object, **_kwargs: object) -> dict[str, str]:
+        raise AssertionError("review should not mint a Gitea token without LLM creds")
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(ctx, "mint_gitea_token", fail_mint)
+
+    result = await AgentReviewer().review(ctx, agent_name="hello-agent")
+
+    assert result["error"] == "llm_credentials_missing"
+    assert result["agent_name"] == "hello-agent"
+    assert result["ref"] == "main"
+
+
 def test_invalid_severity_rejected() -> None:
     with pytest.raises(Exception):
         Finding(