diff --git a/src/components/dashboard/ProfilePage.tsx b/src/components/dashboard/ProfilePage.tsx
index eff635a..a9b7f55 100644
--- a/src/components/dashboard/ProfilePage.tsx
+++ b/src/components/dashboard/ProfilePage.tsx
@@ -859,7 +859,7 @@ export default function ProfilePage(props: Props) {
     setSubmitting(true);
     setSubmitMsg("");
     try {
-      const { data, status } = await request("/api/profile/submit-for-verification", {
+      const { status } = await request("/api/profile/submit-for-verification", {
         method: "POST",
         body: { roleKey: props.roleKey, profile_data: { ...form(), ...docUrls() } },
       });
@@ -867,13 +867,13 @@ export default function ProfilePage(props: Props) {
         setVerificationStatus("PENDING");
         props.onVerificationStatusChange?.("PENDING");
         setSubmitMsg("Submitted! We will review your profile and notify you.");
-      } else if (status === 409) {
-        setSubmitMsg(data?.error ?? "A verification is already in progress.");
-      } else {
-        setSubmitMsg(data?.error ?? "Submission failed. Please try again.");
       }
-    } catch {
-      setSubmitMsg("Network error. Please try again.");
+    } catch (err: any) {
+      // request() throws on any non-2xx response with the backend's actual error
+      // message (e.g. "A verification is already in progress...") — surface that
+      // instead of a generic message, otherwise every failure looks identical and
+      // unactionable regardless of cause.
+      setSubmitMsg(err?.message || "Submission failed. Please try again.");
     } finally {
       setSubmitting(false);
     }
@@ -1241,7 +1241,7 @@ export default function ProfilePage(props: Props) {
                             "border-radius": "6px",
                           }}
                         >
-                          ✓ {docUrls()[doc.key]}
+                          ✓ Uploaded
                         </span>
                         <Show when={!isLocked()}>
                           <button
diff --git a/src/components/dashboard/VerificationStatusPage.tsx b/src/components/dashboard/VerificationStatusPage.tsx
index c739c47..c639a85 100644
--- a/src/components/dashboard/VerificationStatusPage.tsx
+++ b/src/components/dashboard/VerificationStatusPage.tsx
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import { For, Show, createMemo, createSignal, onMount } from 'solid-js';
 import { ShieldCheck, FileText, Activity } from 'lucide-solid';
 import { CARD, BTN_ORANGE, BTN_GHOST } from '~/components/DashboardShell';
 import { getDocFields } from '~/lib/profile-fields-config';
+import { presignDocumentUrl } from '~/lib/api';
 
 const NAVY = '#0D0D2A';
 const ORANGE = '#FF5E13';
@@ -478,14 +479,20 @@ export default function VerificationStatusPage(props: Props) {
                                 <p style={{ margin: '4px 0 0', 'font-size': '12px', color: '#9CA3AF' }}>No file uploaded</p>
                               }
                             >
-                              <a
-                                href={url()!}
-                                target="_blank"
-                                rel="noopener noreferrer"
-                                style={{ margin: '4px 0 0', 'font-size': '12px', color: '#FF5E13', 'text-decoration': 'underline', display: 'inline-block' }}
+                              <button
+                                type="button"
+                                onClick={async () => {
+                                  const signed = await presignDocumentUrl(url()!);
+                                  window.open(signed, '_blank', 'noopener,noreferrer');
+                                }}
+                                style={{
+                                  margin: '4px 0 0', 'font-size': '12px', color: '#FF5E13',
+                                  'text-decoration': 'underline', display: 'inline-block',
+                                  background: 'none', border: 'none', padding: '0', cursor: 'pointer',
+                                }}
                               >
                                 View document
-                              </a>
+                              </button>
                             </Show>
                           </div>
                           <p style={{
diff --git a/src/lib/api.ts b/src/lib/api.ts
index c945407..3eb6da5 100644
--- a/src/lib/api.ts
+++ b/src/lib/api.ts
@@ -90,6 +90,19 @@ export async function fetchDocuments(rolePrefix: string): Promise<any[]> {
   return res?.data ?? [];
 }
 
+/**
+ * Resolve a stored document reference into a short-lived, signed view URL.
+ * Never render a stored document URL directly (e.g. as an <a href> or <img src>)
+ * — always exchange it for a fresh one through this endpoint first.
+ */
+export async function presignDocumentUrl(url: string): Promise<string> {
+  const res = await apiFetch('/api/profile/documents/presign', {
+    method: 'POST',
+    body: JSON.stringify({ url }),
+  });
+  return res?.url ?? url;
+}
+
 export async function submitProfileForVerification(rolePrefix: string): Promise<any> {
   return apiFetch(`/api/${rolePrefix}/profile/submit`, {
     method: 'POST',