diff --git a/src/components/CaptchaCanvas.tsx b/src/components/CaptchaCanvas.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c7bf700
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/components/CaptchaCanvas.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,93 @@
+import { createEffect, onMount } from 'solid-js';
+
+type CaptchaCanvasProps = {
+  /** Human-readable challenge text from the server, e.g. "7 + 12 = ?" */
+  challenge: string;
+  class?: string;
+};
+
+export default function CaptchaCanvas(props: CaptchaCanvasProps) {
+  let canvasRef: HTMLCanvasElement | undefined;
+
+  const drawCaptcha = () => {
+    const canvas = canvasRef;
+    if (!canvas) return;
+    const ctx = canvas.getContext('2d');
+    if (!ctx) return;
+
+    const width = 176;
+    const height = 52;
+
+    // Set canvas resolution (fixed at 1x to prevent zoom issues)
+    canvas.width = width;
+    canvas.height = height;
+    canvas.style.width = `${width}px`;
+    canvas.style.height = `${height}px`;
+    ctx.setTransform(1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0);
+
+    // Clear and fill background
+    ctx.clearRect(0, 0, width, height);
+    ctx.fillStyle = '#ffffff';
+    ctx.fillRect(0, 0, width, height);
+
+    // Draw decorative lines (within bounds)
+    for (let i = 0; i < 2; i += 1) {
+      ctx.strokeStyle = i % 2 === 0 ? 'rgba(253,98,22,0.16)' : 'rgba(27,36,64,0.14)';
+      ctx.lineWidth = 1;
+      ctx.beginPath();
+      ctx.moveTo(Math.random() * width, Math.random() * height);
+      ctx.lineTo(Math.random() * width, Math.random() * height);
+      ctx.stroke();
+    }
+
+    // Draw decorative circles (within bounds)
+    for (let i = 0; i < 3; i += 1) {
+      ctx.fillStyle = i % 2 === 0 ? 'rgba(253,98,22,0.10)' : 'rgba(27,36,64,0.09)';
+      ctx.beginPath();
+      ctx.arc(Math.random() * width, Math.random() * height, Math.random() * 1.8 + 0.6, 0, Math.PI * 2);
+      ctx.fill();
+    }
+
+    const text = String(props.challenge || '').trim();
+    if (!text) return;
+
+    ctx.textBaseline = 'middle';
+    ctx.textAlign = 'center';
+
+    // Shrink the font until the (variable-length) challenge text fits.
+    const paddingX = 10;
+    const maxWidth = width - paddingX * 2;
+    let fontSize = 20;
+    const minFontSize = 10;
+    ctx.font = `800 ${fontSize}px "Courier New", monospace`;
+    while (fontSize > minFontSize && ctx.measureText(text).width > maxWidth) {
+      fontSize -= 1;
+      ctx.font = `800 ${fontSize}px "Courier New", monospace`;
+    }
+
+    ctx.fillStyle = '#0f172a';
+    ctx.fillText(text, width / 2, height / 2, maxWidth);
+  };
+
+  onMount(() => {
+    drawCaptcha();
+  });
+
+  createEffect(() => {
+    // Access props.challenge to track it and redraw when it changes
+    const _ = props.challenge;
+    drawCaptcha();
+  });
+
+  return (
+    <canvas
+      ref={canvasRef}
+      width={176}
+      height={52}
+      aria-label="Captcha challenge"
+      draggable={false}
+      onContextMenu={(event) => event.preventDefault()}
+      class={props.class}
+    />
+  );
+}
diff --git a/src/routes/login.tsx b/src/routes/login.tsx
index e72042c..116924c 100644
--- a/src/routes/login.tsx
+++ b/src/routes/login.tsx
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import { useNavigate } from '@solidjs/router';
-import { Show, createMemo, createSignal } from 'solid-js';
+import { Show, createMemo, createSignal, onMount } from 'solid-js';
 import { isExternalIdentity, pickManagementLoginError } from '~/lib/admin-auth';
+import CaptchaCanvas from '~/components/CaptchaCanvas';
 
 type AuthMode = 'login' | 'reset';
 type ResetStep = 'request' | 'verify';
@@ -26,6 +27,9 @@ export default function LoginPage() {
   const [isSubmitting, setIsSubmitting] = createSignal(false);
   const [error, setError] = createSignal('');
   const [info, setInfo] = createSignal('');
+  const [captchaId, setCaptchaId] = createSignal('');
+  const [captchaChallenge, setCaptchaChallenge] = createSignal('');
+  const [captchaInput, setCaptchaInput] = createSignal('');
 
   const canSubmitLogin = createMemo(() => email().trim().length > 0 && password().trim().length > 0);
   const canSubmitResetRequest = createMemo(() => email().trim().length > 0 && newPassword().trim().length > 0 && confirmPassword().trim().length > 0);
@@ -33,6 +37,26 @@ export default function LoginPage() {
 
   const clearMessages = () => { setError(''); setInfo(''); };
 
+  // The employees service (which backs /api/admin/auth/login) requires the
+  // same server-side captcha challenge the public site uses — generated by
+  // the users service at /api/auth/captcha and verified against shared Redis.
+  const loadCaptcha = async () => {
+    setCaptchaInput('');
+    try {
+      const r = await fetch('/api/auth/captcha', { method: 'POST', headers: { Accept: 'application/json' }, credentials: 'include' });
+      const payload = await r.json().catch(() => ({}));
+      setCaptchaId(String(payload?.captcha_id || ''));
+      setCaptchaChallenge(String(payload?.challenge || ''));
+    } catch {
+      setCaptchaId('');
+      setCaptchaChallenge('');
+    }
+  };
+
+  onMount(() => {
+    void loadCaptcha();
+  });
+
   const switchMode = (next: AuthMode) => {
     clearMessages();
     setMode(next);
@@ -65,15 +89,26 @@ export default function LoginPage() {
   const directSignIn = async () => {
     clearMessages();
     if (!canSubmitLogin()) { setError('Email and password are required.'); return; }
+    if (!captchaInput().trim()) { setError('Enter the captcha answer to continue.'); return; }
     setIsSubmitting(true);
     try {
-      const body = JSON.stringify({ email: email().trim().toLowerCase(), password: password(), loginTarget: 'admin' });
+      const body = JSON.stringify({
+        email: email().trim().toLowerCase(),
+        password: password(),
+        loginTarget: 'admin',
+        captcha_id: captchaId(),
+        captcha_answer: captchaInput().trim(),
+      });
       const headers = { 'Content-Type': 'application/json', Accept: 'application/json', 'x-portal-target': 'admin' };
       let payload: any = {}; let status = 500; let success = false;
        const r = await fetch('/api/admin/auth/login', { method: 'POST', headers, credentials: 'include', body });
       status = r.status; payload = await r.json().catch(() => ({}));
       if (r.ok) { success = true; }
       if (!success) {
+        if (String(payload?.code || '').toUpperCase() === 'CAPTCHA_FAILED') {
+          void loadCaptcha();
+          throw new Error(String(payload?.error || 'Invalid or expired captcha. Please try again.'));
+        }
         const fallback = status === 502 ? 'Auth service unavailable (502). Please retry in 1–2 minutes.' : 'Sign in failed.';
         throw new Error(pickManagementLoginError(payload) || fallback);
       }
@@ -252,6 +287,28 @@ export default function LoginPage() {
                   </button>
                 </div>
               </div>
+
+              <div>
+                <label class={labelCls}>Captcha</label>
+                <div class="flex items-center gap-2">
+                  <button
+                    type="button"
+                    aria-label="Refresh captcha"
+                    onClick={() => void loadCaptcha()}
+                    class="flex h-11 w-11 shrink-0 items-center justify-center rounded-xl border border-[#E5E7EB] bg-white text-[#5b6480] transition hover:text-[#1b2440]"
+                  >
+                    ↻
+                  </button>
+                  <CaptchaCanvas challenge={captchaChallenge()} class="h-11 shrink-0 rounded-xl border border-[#E5E7EB]" />
+                  <input
+                    type="text"
+                    value={captchaInput()}
+                    onInput={(e) => { setCaptchaInput(e.currentTarget.value); clearMessages(); }}
+                    placeholder="Enter answer"
+                    class={inputCls}
+                  />
+                </div>
+              </div>
             </Show>
 
             {/* Reset mode */}