diff --git a/src/routes/admin/department.tsx b/src/routes/admin/department.tsx
index b8e33a6..b3f9167 100644
--- a/src/routes/admin/department.tsx
+++ b/src/routes/admin/department.tsx
@@ -16,16 +16,6 @@ type DepartmentRecord = CrudRecord & {
   visibility?: 'INTERNAL' | 'EXTERNAL';
 };
 
-const FALLBACK_DEPARTMENTS: DepartmentRecord[] = [
-  { id: 'd1', name: 'Engineering', code: 'ENG-001', description: 'Software development and technical architecture', totalEmployees: 45, departmentHead: 'Arun Kumar', status: 'ACTIVE', updatedAt: '2026-03-01', createdDate: '2026-01-15' },
-  { id: 'd2', name: 'Marketing', code: 'MKT-002', description: 'Brand management and digital marketing', totalEmployees: 23, departmentHead: 'Priya Sharma', status: 'ACTIVE', updatedAt: '2026-03-01', createdDate: '2026-01-15' },
-  { id: 'd3', name: 'Human Resources', code: 'HR-003', description: 'Employee relations and talent acquisition', totalEmployees: 12, departmentHead: 'Rekha Nair', status: 'ACTIVE', updatedAt: '2026-03-01', createdDate: '2026-01-20' },
-  { id: 'd4', name: 'Finance', code: 'FIN-004', description: 'Financial planning and accounting', totalEmployees: 18, departmentHead: 'Suresh Menon', status: 'ACTIVE', updatedAt: '2026-03-01', createdDate: '2026-01-20' },
-  { id: 'd5', name: 'Operations', code: 'OPS-005', description: 'Business operations and process management', totalEmployees: 31, departmentHead: 'Deepak Verma', status: 'ACTIVE', updatedAt: '2026-03-01', createdDate: '2026-02-01' },
-  { id: 'd6', name: 'Customer Success', code: 'CS-006', description: 'Client support and relationship management', totalEmployees: 27, departmentHead: 'Anita Pillai', status: 'ACTIVE', updatedAt: '2026-03-01', createdDate: '2026-02-01' },
-  { id: 'd7', name: 'Product', code: 'PRD-007', description: 'Product strategy and development', totalEmployees: 19, departmentHead: 'Kiran Rao', status: 'INACTIVE', updatedAt: '2026-03-01', createdDate: '2026-02-10' },
-  { id: 'd8', name: 'Sales', code: 'SAL-008', description: 'Revenue generation and client acquisition', totalEmployees: 34, departmentHead: 'Manoj Iyer', status: 'ACTIVE', updatedAt: '2026-03-01', createdDate: '2026-02-10' },
-];
 
 const permissionGroups = [
   { title: 'Employee Management', items: ['View Employees', 'Create Employees', 'Edit Employees', 'Delete Employees'] },
@@ -50,16 +40,16 @@ function normalizeDepartment(item: any, idx: number): DepartmentRecord {
   return {
     id: String(item.id ?? `dep-${idx + 1}`),
     name: String(item.name ?? ''),
-    code: String(item.code ?? ''),
-    description: String(item.description ?? ''),
-    totalEmployees: Number(item.totalEmployees ?? item.total_employees ?? 0),
-    departmentHead: String(item.departmentHead ?? item.department_head ?? ''),
-    departmentEmail: String(item.departmentEmail ?? item.department_email ?? ''),
-    transfersEnabled: Boolean(item.transfersEnabled ?? item.transfers_enabled ?? false),
+    code: item.code ? String(item.code) : undefined,
+    description: item.description ? String(item.description) : undefined,
+    totalEmployees: Number(item.total_employees ?? 0),
+    departmentHead: item.department_head ? String(item.department_head) : undefined,
+    departmentEmail: item.department_email ? String(item.department_email) : undefined,
+    transfersEnabled: Boolean(item.transfers_enabled ?? false),
     visibility: String(item.visibility ?? 'INTERNAL').toUpperCase() === 'EXTERNAL' ? 'EXTERNAL' : 'INTERNAL',
     status: isActive ? 'ACTIVE' : 'INACTIVE',
-    updatedAt: String(item.updatedAt ?? item.updated_at ?? ''),
-    createdDate: String(item.createdDate ?? item.created_at ?? ''),
+    updatedAt: String(item.updated_at ?? ''),
+    createdDate: String(item.created_at ?? ''),
   };
 }
 
@@ -123,38 +113,30 @@ export default function DepartmentManagementPage() {
     setIsLoading(true);
     setError('');
     try {
-      try {
-        const params = new URLSearchParams({
-          page: '1',
-          per_page: '100',
-          q: search().trim(),
-        });
-        if (statusFilter() !== 'all') {
-          params.set('status', statusFilter());
-        }
-        const res = await fetch(`${API}/api/admin/departments?${params.toString()}`);
-        if (!res.ok) {
-          throw new Error(`Request failed (${res.status})`);
-        }
-        const payload = (await res.json().catch(() => null)) as DepartmentListResponse | null;
-        const list = Array.isArray(payload)
-          ? payload
-          : Array.isArray(payload?.departments)
-            ? payload.departments
-            : Array.isArray(payload?.data)
-              ? payload.data
-              : Array.isArray(payload?.items)
-                ? payload.items
-                : [];
-        if (list.length === 0) {
-          setRows(FALLBACK_DEPARTMENTS);
-        } else {
-          setRows(list.map(normalizeDepartment));
-        }
-      } catch {
-        setRows(FALLBACK_DEPARTMENTS);
-        setError('Could not reach departments API, showing fallback data.');
+      const params = new URLSearchParams({
+        page: '1',
+        per_page: '100',
+        q: search().trim(),
+      });
+      if (statusFilter() !== 'all') {
+        params.set('status', statusFilter());
       }
+      const res = await fetch(`${API}/api/admin/departments?${params.toString()}`);
+      if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`Request failed (${res.status})`);
+      const payload = (await res.json().catch(() => null)) as DepartmentListResponse | null;
+      const list = Array.isArray(payload)
+        ? payload
+        : Array.isArray(payload?.departments)
+          ? payload.departments
+          : Array.isArray(payload?.data)
+            ? payload.data
+            : Array.isArray(payload?.items)
+              ? payload.items
+              : [];
+      setRows(list.map(normalizeDepartment));
+    } catch (err: any) {
+      setError(err?.message || 'Could not reach departments API.');
+      setRows([]);
     } finally {
       setIsLoading(false);
     }