diff --git a/src/api/settings/endpoints.py b/src/api/settings/endpoints.py
index 21a2997e3..fe907811b 100644
--- a/src/api/settings/endpoints.py
+++ b/src/api/settings/endpoints.py
@@ -1621,7 +1621,9 @@ async def update_docling_preset(
             settings=settings_toggles,
             preset_config=preset_config,
         )
-
+    except HTTPException:
+        # Preserve intended HTTP status codes (e.g. 400 for an invalid preset)
+        raise
     except Exception as e:
         logger.error("Failed to update docling settings", error=str(e))
         raise HTTPException(