diff --git a/.changeset/whole-mangos-find.md b/.changeset/whole-mangos-find.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..6b36eacfb2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/whole-mangos-find.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+'@forgerock/journey-client': patch
+---
+
+Return `JourneyLoginFailure` by hitting the previously-unreached `LoginFailure` branch when `start()`/`next()` receives a failure payload with a login failure `code`
diff --git a/e2e/journey-app/main.ts b/e2e/journey-app/main.ts
index 35aa41262a..037b20a850 100644
--- a/e2e/journey-app/main.ts
+++ b/e2e/journey-app/main.ts
@@ -9,8 +9,6 @@ import './style.css';
 import { journey } from '@forgerock/journey-client';
 import { WebAuthn, WebAuthnStepType } from '@forgerock/journey-client/webauthn';
 
-import type { JourneyClient, RequestMiddleware } from '@forgerock/journey-client/types';
-
 import { renderCallbacks } from './callback-map.js';
 import { renderDeleteDevicesSection } from './components/delete-device.js';
 import { renderQRCodeStep } from './components/qr-code.js';
@@ -19,6 +17,8 @@ import { deleteWebAuthnDevice } from './services/delete-webauthn-device.js';
 import { webauthnComponent } from './components/webauthn-step.js';
 import { serverConfigs } from './server-configs.js';
 
+import type { JourneyClient, RequestMiddleware } from '@forgerock/journey-client/types';
+
 const qs = window.location.search;
 const searchParams = new URLSearchParams(qs);
 
@@ -210,7 +210,6 @@ if (searchParams.get('middleware') === 'true') {
       renderComplete();
     } else if (step?.type === 'LoginFailure') {
       console.error('Journey failed');
-      renderForm();
       renderError();
     } else {
       console.error('Unknown node status', step);
diff --git a/packages/journey-client/src/lib/client.store.test.ts b/packages/journey-client/src/lib/client.store.test.ts
index f57a1c0f7c..60e981221e 100644
--- a/packages/journey-client/src/lib/client.store.test.ts
+++ b/packages/journey-client/src/lib/client.store.test.ts
@@ -1,17 +1,23 @@
+// @vitest-environment node
 /*
- * Copyright (c) 2025 Ping Identity Corporation. All rights reserved.
+ * Copyright (c) 2025-2026 Ping Identity Corporation. All rights reserved.
  *
  * This software may be modified and distributed under the terms
  * of the MIT license. See the LICENSE file for details.
  */
 
-import { callbackType } from '@forgerock/sdk-types';
 import { afterEach, describe, expect, test, vi } from 'vitest';
 
-import type { GenericError, Step, WellknownResponse } from '@forgerock/sdk-types';
-
 import { journey } from './client.store.js';
 import { createJourneyStep } from './step.utils.js';
+
+import {
+  callbackType,
+  type GenericError,
+  type Step,
+  type WellknownResponse,
+} from '@forgerock/sdk-types';
+
 import { JourneyClientConfig } from './config.types.js';
 
 /**
@@ -75,7 +81,7 @@ function getUrlFromInput(input: RequestInfo | URL): string {
 /**
  * Helper to setup mock fetch for wellknown + journey responses
  */
-function setupMockFetch(journeyResponse: Step | null = null) {
+function setupMockFetch(journeyResponse: Step | null = null, authenticateStatus = 200) {
   mockFetch.mockImplementation((input: RequestInfo | URL) => {
     const url = getUrlFromInput(input);
 
@@ -85,8 +91,13 @@ function setupMockFetch(journeyResponse: Step | null = null) {
     }
 
     // Journey authenticate endpoint
-    if (journeyResponse && url.includes('/authenticate')) {
-      return Promise.resolve(new Response(JSON.stringify(journeyResponse)));
+    if (url.includes('/authenticate')) {
+      if (journeyResponse === null) {
+        return Promise.reject(new Error(`Unexpected fetch: ${url}`));
+      }
+      return Promise.resolve(
+        new Response(JSON.stringify(journeyResponse), { status: authenticateStatus }),
+      );
     }
 
     return Promise.reject(new Error(`Unexpected fetch: ${url}`));
@@ -152,6 +163,30 @@ describe('journey-client', () => {
     }
   });
 
+  test('start_401WithStepPayload_ReturnsLoginFailure', async () => {
+    const failurePayload: Step = {
+      code: 401,
+      message: 'Access Denied',
+      reason: 'Unauthorized',
+      detail: { failureUrl: 'https://example.com/failure' },
+    };
+    setupMockFetch(failurePayload, 401);
+
+    const client = await journey({ config: mockConfig });
+    const result = await client.start();
+
+    expect(result).toBeDefined();
+    expect(isGenericError(result)).toBe(false);
+    expect(result).toHaveProperty('type', 'LoginFailure');
+
+    if (!isGenericError(result) && result.type === 'LoginFailure') {
+      expect(result.payload).toEqual(failurePayload);
+      expect(result.getCode()).toBe(401);
+      expect(result.getMessage()).toBe('Access Denied');
+      expect(result.getReason()).toBe('Unauthorized');
+    }
+  });
+
   test('next_WellknownConfig_SendsStepAndReturnsNext', async () => {
     const initialStep = createJourneyStep({
       authId: 'test-auth-id',
@@ -192,6 +227,34 @@ describe('journey-client', () => {
     }
   });
 
+  test('next_401WithStepPayload_ReturnsLoginFailure', async () => {
+    const initialStep = createJourneyStep({
+      authId: 'test-auth-id',
+      callbacks: [],
+    });
+    const failurePayload: Step = {
+      code: 401,
+      message: 'Access Denied',
+      reason: 'Unauthorized',
+      detail: { failureUrl: 'https://example.com/failure' },
+    };
+    setupMockFetch(failurePayload, 401);
+
+    const client = await journey({ config: mockConfig });
+    const result = await client.next(initialStep, {});
+
+    expect(result).toBeDefined();
+    expect(isGenericError(result)).toBe(false);
+    expect(result).toHaveProperty('type', 'LoginFailure');
+
+    if (!isGenericError(result) && result.type === 'LoginFailure') {
+      expect(result.payload).toEqual(failurePayload);
+      expect(result.getCode()).toBe(401);
+      expect(result.getMessage()).toBe('Access Denied');
+      expect(result.getReason()).toBe('Unauthorized');
+    }
+  });
+
   test('redirect_WellknownConfig_StoresStepAndCallsLocationAssign', async () => {
     const mockStepPayload: Step = {
       callbacks: [
@@ -204,6 +267,15 @@ describe('journey-client', () => {
     };
     const step = createJourneyStep(mockStepPayload);
     const assignMock = vi.fn();
+    // Node test environment doesn't provide `window`, so create a minimal shim
+    // with a real `location` getter so we can keep using vi.spyOn(..., 'get').
+    (globalThis as unknown as { window?: unknown }).window = {};
+    Object.defineProperty(window, 'location', {
+      configurable: true,
+      get: () => ({
+        assign: vi.fn(),
+      }),
+    });
     const locationSpy = vi.spyOn(window, 'location', 'get').mockReturnValue({
       ...window.location,
       assign: assignMock,
@@ -321,7 +393,7 @@ describe('journey-client', () => {
 
     expect(isGenericError(result)).toBe(true);
     if (isGenericError(result)) {
-      expect(result.error).toBe('no_response_data');
+      expect(result.error).toBe('request_failed');
       expect(result.type).toBe('unknown_error');
     }
   });
diff --git a/packages/journey-client/src/lib/client.store.ts b/packages/journey-client/src/lib/client.store.ts
index 7cdb2a97e1..e49921a25e 100644
--- a/packages/journey-client/src/lib/client.store.ts
+++ b/packages/journey-client/src/lib/client.store.ts
@@ -1,22 +1,17 @@
 /*
- * Copyright (c) 2025 Ping Identity Corporation. All rights reserved.
+ * Copyright (c) 2025-2026 Ping Identity Corporation. All rights reserved.
  *
  * This software may be modified and distributed under the terms
  * of the MIT license. See the LICENSE file for details.
  */
 
 import { logger as loggerFn, LogLevel, CustomLogger } from '@forgerock/sdk-logger';
-import { callbackType } from '@forgerock/sdk-types';
 import {
   isGenericError,
   isValidWellknownUrl,
   createWellknownError,
 } from '@forgerock/sdk-utilities';
 
-import type { GenericError } from '@forgerock/sdk-types';
-import type { ActionTypes, RequestMiddleware } from '@forgerock/sdk-request-middleware';
-import type { Step } from '@forgerock/sdk-types';
-
 import { createJourneyStore } from './client.store.utils.js';
 import { configSlice } from './config.slice.js';
 import { journeyApi } from './journey.api.js';
@@ -24,6 +19,9 @@ import { createStorage } from '@forgerock/storage';
 import { createJourneyObject } from './journey.utils.js';
 import { wellknownApi } from './wellknown.api.js';
 
+import { callbackType, type GenericError, type Step } from '@forgerock/sdk-types';
+import type { ActionTypes, RequestMiddleware } from '@forgerock/sdk-request-middleware';
+
 import type { JourneyStep } from './step.utils.js';
 import type { JourneyClientConfig } from './config.types.js';
 import type { RedirectCallback } from './callbacks/redirect-callback.js';
@@ -155,32 +153,18 @@ export async function journey<ActionType extends ActionTypes = ActionTypes>({
 
   const self: JourneyClient = {
     start: async (options?: StartParam) => {
-      const { data } = await store.dispatch(journeyApi.endpoints.start.initiate(options));
-      if (!data) {
-        const error: GenericError = {
-          error: 'no_response_data',
-          message: 'No data received from server when starting journey',
-          type: 'unknown_error',
-        };
-        return error;
-      }
-      return createJourneyObject(data);
+      const { data, error } = await store.dispatch(journeyApi.endpoints.start.initiate(options));
+      return createJourneyObject(data, error);
     },
 
     /**
      * Submits the current Step payload to the authentication API and retrieves the next JourneyStep in the journey.
      */
     next: async (step: JourneyStep, options?: NextOptions) => {
-      const { data } = await store.dispatch(journeyApi.endpoints.next.initiate({ step, options }));
-      if (!data) {
-        const error: GenericError = {
-          error: 'no_response_data',
-          message: 'No data received from server when submitting step',
-          type: 'unknown_error',
-        };
-        return error;
-      }
-      return createJourneyObject(data);
+      const { data, error } = await store.dispatch(
+        journeyApi.endpoints.next.initiate({ step, options }),
+      );
+      return createJourneyObject(data, error);
     },
 
     // TODO: Remove the actual redirect from this method and just return the URL to the caller
diff --git a/packages/journey-client/src/lib/journey.api.ts b/packages/journey-client/src/lib/journey.api.ts
index 66c4da9a29..a7cbbb5014 100644
--- a/packages/journey-client/src/lib/journey.api.ts
+++ b/packages/journey-client/src/lib/journey.api.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright (c) 2020 - 2025 Ping Identity Corporation. All rights reserved.
+ * Copyright (c) 2020 - 2026 Ping Identity Corporation. All rights reserved.
  *
  * This software may be modified and distributed under the terms
  * of the MIT license. See the LICENSE file for details.
@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@ import { initQuery, RequestMiddleware } from '@forgerock/sdk-request-middleware'
 import { REQUESTED_WITH, getEndpointPath, stringify, resolve } from '@forgerock/sdk-utilities';
 import { createApi, fetchBaseQuery } from '@reduxjs/toolkit/query';
 
+import { NextOptions, StartParam } from './interfaces.js';
+
 import type { Step } from '@forgerock/sdk-types';
 import type { logger as loggerFn } from '@forgerock/sdk-logger';
 import type {
@@ -21,9 +23,7 @@ import type {
 } from '@reduxjs/toolkit/query';
 
 import { JourneyStep } from './step.types.js';
-
 import type { InternalJourneyClientConfig } from './config.types.js';
-import { NextOptions, StartParam } from './interfaces.js';
 
 /**
  * Minimal state type for accessing journey config from RTK Query endpoints.
diff --git a/packages/journey-client/src/lib/journey.utils.test.ts b/packages/journey-client/src/lib/journey.utils.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..ba0568f8bc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/journey-client/src/lib/journey.utils.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,93 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (c) 2026 Ping Identity Corporation. All rights reserved.
+ *
+ * This software may be modified and distributed under the terms
+ * of the MIT license. See the LICENSE file for details.
+ */
+
+import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest';
+
+import { StepType, type Step } from '@forgerock/sdk-types';
+
+import { createJourneyObject } from './journey.utils.js';
+import type { JourneyLoginFailure } from './login-failure.utils.js';
+
+describe('createJourneyObject', () => {
+  it('returns Step when provided a step with authId', () => {
+    const stepPayload: Step = {
+      authId: 'test-auth-id',
+      callbacks: [],
+    };
+
+    const result = createJourneyObject(stepPayload, undefined);
+
+    expect(result).not.toHaveProperty('error');
+    expect(result).toHaveProperty('type', StepType.Step);
+    expect(result).toHaveProperty('payload');
+    expect((result as { payload: Step }).payload).toEqual(stepPayload);
+  });
+
+  it('returns LoginSuccess when provided a step with successUrl', () => {
+    const successPayload: Step = {
+      successUrl: 'https://example.com/success',
+      realm: 'root',
+      tokenId: 'token-123',
+    };
+
+    const result = createJourneyObject(successPayload, undefined);
+
+    expect(result).not.toHaveProperty('error');
+    expect(result).toHaveProperty('type', StepType.LoginSuccess);
+    expect(result).toHaveProperty('payload', successPayload);
+  });
+
+  it('returns no_response_data GenericError when no step and no error', () => {
+    const result = createJourneyObject(undefined, undefined);
+
+    expect(result).toMatchObject({
+      error: 'no_response_data',
+      message: 'No data received from server',
+      type: 'unknown_error',
+    });
+  });
+
+  it('returns request_failed GenericError when no step but error exists', () => {
+    const result = createJourneyObject(undefined, { status: 500 });
+
+    expect(result).toMatchObject({
+      error: 'request_failed',
+      message: 'Request failed: 500',
+      type: 'unknown_error',
+    });
+  });
+
+  it('returns request_failed when error.data is present but not Step-like', () => {
+    const result = createJourneyObject(undefined, { status: 401, data: { foo: 'bar' } });
+
+    expect(result).toMatchObject({
+      error: 'request_failed',
+      message: 'Request failed: 401',
+      type: 'unknown_error',
+    });
+  });
+
+  it('returns LoginFailure when error.data contains a failure Step payload', () => {
+    const failurePayload: Step = {
+      code: 401,
+      message: 'Access Denied',
+      reason: 'Unauthorized',
+      detail: { failureUrl: 'https://example.com/failure' },
+    };
+
+    const result = createJourneyObject(undefined, { status: 401, data: failurePayload });
+
+    expect(result).not.toHaveProperty('error');
+    expect(result).toHaveProperty('type', StepType.LoginFailure);
+    expect(result).toHaveProperty('payload', failurePayload);
+
+    const failure = result as JourneyLoginFailure;
+    expect(failure.getCode()).toBe(401);
+    expect(failure.getMessage()).toBe('Access Denied');
+    expect(failure.getReason()).toBe('Unauthorized');
+  });
+});
diff --git a/packages/journey-client/src/lib/journey.utils.ts b/packages/journey-client/src/lib/journey.utils.ts
index 4a42cae87e..43d21baf6e 100644
--- a/packages/journey-client/src/lib/journey.utils.ts
+++ b/packages/journey-client/src/lib/journey.utils.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright (c) 2025 Ping Identity Corporation. All rights reserved.
+ * Copyright (c) 2025-2026 Ping Identity Corporation. All rights reserved.
  *
  * This software may be modified and distributed under the terms
  * of the MIT license. See the LICENSE file for details.
@@ -17,21 +17,45 @@ import type { JourneyStep } from './step.utils.js';
 import type { JourneyLoginFailure } from './login-failure.utils.js';
 import type { JourneyLoginSuccess } from './login-success.utils.js';
 
+const STEP_LIKE_KEYS = [
+  'authId',
+  'callbacks',
+  'code',
+  'description',
+  'detail',
+  'header',
+  'ok',
+  'realm',
+  'reason',
+  'stage',
+  'status',
+  'successUrl',
+  'tokenId',
+] as const;
+
 /**
  * Creates a journey object from a raw Step response.
  * Determines the step type based on the presence of authId or successUrl properties
  * and returns the appropriate journey object type.
  *
- * @param step - The raw Step response from the authentication API
+ * @param step - The raw Step response from the authentication API (or undefined if the request failed)
+ * @param error - Optional error result (e.g., RTK Query error) that may contain a Step-shaped payload in `error.data`
  * @returns A JourneyStep, JourneyLoginSuccess, JourneyLoginFailure, or GenericError if the step type cannot be determined
  */
 function createJourneyObject(
-  step: Step,
+  step: Step | undefined,
+  error?: unknown,
 ): JourneyStep | JourneyLoginSuccess | JourneyLoginFailure | GenericError {
+  // eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-use-before-define
+  const resolved = resolveStep(step, error);
+  if ('error' in resolved) return resolved;
+
+  const resolvedStep = resolved;
+
   let type;
-  if (step.authId) {
+  if (resolvedStep.authId) {
     type = StepType.Step;
-  } else if (step.successUrl) {
+  } else if (resolvedStep.successUrl) {
     type = StepType.LoginSuccess;
   } else {
     type = StepType.LoginFailure;
@@ -39,11 +63,11 @@ function createJourneyObject(
 
   switch (type) {
     case StepType.LoginSuccess:
-      return createJourneyLoginSuccess(step);
+      return createJourneyLoginSuccess(resolvedStep);
     case StepType.LoginFailure:
-      return createJourneyLoginFailure(step);
+      return createJourneyLoginFailure(resolvedStep);
     case StepType.Step:
-      return createJourneyStep(step);
+      return createJourneyStep(resolvedStep);
     default:
       return {
         error: 'unknown_step_type',
@@ -53,4 +77,33 @@ function createJourneyObject(
   }
 }
 
+function resolveStep(step: Step | undefined, error?: unknown): Step | GenericError {
+  if (step) return step;
+
+  const errorObj =
+    error && typeof error === 'object'
+      ? (error as { data?: unknown; status?: unknown })
+      : undefined;
+
+  const data = errorObj?.data;
+  if (data && typeof data === 'object' && STEP_LIKE_KEYS.some((key) => key in data)) {
+    return data as Step;
+  }
+
+  if (errorObj) {
+    const status = errorObj.status;
+    return {
+      error: 'request_failed',
+      message: status !== undefined ? `Request failed: ${status}` : 'Request failed',
+      type: 'unknown_error',
+    };
+  }
+
+  return {
+    error: 'no_response_data',
+    message: 'No data received from server',
+    type: 'unknown_error',
+  };
+}
+
 export { createJourneyObject };