diff --git a/app/src/components/Archive.js b/app/src/components/Archive.js
index 9416c1b4..6824fff4 100644
--- a/app/src/components/Archive.js
+++ b/app/src/components/Archive.js
@@ -630,6 +630,15 @@ export function DomainEditPage() {
     };
 
     if (!form.ready) {
+        if (form.error) {
+            return <>
+                <BackButton/>
+                <Message error>
+                    <Message.Header>Domain not found</Message.Header>
+                    <p>{form.error}</p>
+                </Message>
+            </>;
+        }
         return <Loader active>Loading domain...</Loader>;
     }
 
diff --git a/app/src/components/DomainEditPage.test.js b/app/src/components/DomainEditPage.test.js
index c767d78b..0a8ac9ae 100644
--- a/app/src/components/DomainEditPage.test.js
+++ b/app/src/components/DomainEditPage.test.js
@@ -154,10 +154,13 @@ describe('DomainEditPage', () => {
     });
 
     describe('Error States', () => {
-        it('shows loader when form is not ready (fetch fails)', () => {
-            // When form.ready is false (e.g., fetch failed), show loader
+        it('shows error message when domain fetch fails', () => {
             const form = createTestForm({}, {
-                overrides: {ready: false, loading: false, error: new Error('Domain not found')}
+                overrides: {
+                    ready: false,
+                    loading: false,
+                    error: 'Domain collection with ID 999 not found',
+                }
             });
 
             mockUseDomain.mockReturnValue({
@@ -168,10 +171,26 @@ describe('DomainEditPage', () => {
 
             render(<DomainEditPage/>);
 
-            // Should show loading screen when not ready
-            expect(screen.getByText(/loading domain/i)).toBeInTheDocument();
+            expect(screen.getByText(/domain not found/i)).toBeInTheDocument();
+            expect(screen.getByText(/Domain collection with ID 999 not found/i)).toBeInTheDocument();
+            expect(screen.queryByText(/loading domain/i)).not.toBeInTheDocument();
+            expect(screen.queryByTestId('collection-edit-form')).not.toBeInTheDocument();
+        });
 
-            // Form should not be rendered
+        it('shows loader when form is not ready and there is no error', () => {
+            const form = createTestForm({}, {
+                overrides: {ready: false, loading: false, error: null}
+            });
+
+            mockUseDomain.mockReturnValue({
+                domain: null,
+                form,
+                fetchDomain: jest.fn(),
+            });
+
+            render(<DomainEditPage/>);
+
+            expect(screen.getByText(/loading domain/i)).toBeInTheDocument();
             expect(screen.queryByTestId('collection-edit-form')).not.toBeInTheDocument();
         });
 
@@ -182,7 +201,7 @@ describe('DomainEditPage', () => {
             });
 
             const form = createTestForm(mockDomain, {
-                overrides: {ready: true, loading: false, error: new Error('Update failed')}
+                overrides: {ready: true, loading: false, error: 'Update failed'}
             });
 
             mockUseDomain.mockReturnValue({
diff --git a/app/src/hooks/useForm.js b/app/src/hooks/useForm.js
index ff76fa7b..0d205a84 100644
--- a/app/src/hooks/useForm.js
+++ b/app/src/hooks/useForm.js
@@ -24,6 +24,8 @@ export function useForm({
     const [loading, setLoading] = React.useState(false);
     const [ready, setReady] = React.useState(false);
     const [dirty, setDirty] = React.useState(false);
+    // Form-level error (e.g. initial fetch failed). Distinct from field-level `errors`.
+    const [error, setError] = React.useState(null);
 
     const [errors, setErrors] = React.useState({});
     const [validators, setValidators] = React.useState({});
@@ -47,6 +49,12 @@ export function useForm({
         // Form is dirty if it has deviated from the default.
         setDirty(!_.isEqual(defaultFormData, memoizedFormData));
 
+        // Fetch/load failures keep the form not ready so pages can show error UI.
+        if (error) {
+            console.debug('Form invalid because of form-level error');
+            setReady(false);
+            return
+        }
         const errorValues = Object.values(errors).filter(i => !!i);
         if (errorValues.length > 0) {
             console.debug('Form invalid because it has errors');
@@ -66,12 +74,21 @@ export function useForm({
             return
         }
         setReady(true);
-    }, [loading, memoizedFormData, memoizedErrors, memoizedValidValues, memoizedRequires]);
+    }, [loading, memoizedFormData, memoizedErrors, memoizedValidValues, memoizedRequires, error]);
 
     const localFetch = async () => {
         if (fetcher) {
-            const result = await fetcher();
-            setFormData(result);
+            try {
+                const result = await fetcher();
+                setFormData(result);
+                setError(null);
+                return result;
+            } catch (e) {
+                // Catch so callers (useEffect, page refresh) do not get an unhandled rejection
+                // (which would show the webpack-dev-server error overlay and break Cypress).
+                console.error('Failed to fetch form data:', e);
+                setError(e?.message || String(e) || 'Failed to load');
+            }
         }
     }
 
@@ -278,6 +295,7 @@ export function useForm({
     return {
         dirty,
         disabled,
+        error,
         fetcher: localFetch,
         formData,
         getCustomProps,
diff --git a/app/src/hooks/useForm.test.js b/app/src/hooks/useForm.test.js
index 5ea0e167..8433ed1a 100644
--- a/app/src/hooks/useForm.test.js
+++ b/app/src/hooks/useForm.test.js
@@ -60,6 +60,7 @@ describe('useForm', () => {
             expect(result.current.dirty).toBe(false);
             expect(result.current.loading).toBe(false);
             expect(result.current.disabled).toBe(false);
+            expect(result.current.error).toBe(null);
             // Ready starts true when there are no validators or required fields
             expect(result.current.ready).toBe(true);
         });
@@ -91,6 +92,52 @@ describe('useForm', () => {
             await waitFor(() => {
                 expect(result.current.formData).toEqual(fetchedData);
             });
+            expect(result.current.error).toBe(null);
+        });
+
+        it('sets form error and stays not ready when fetcher rejects', async () => {
+            const fetcher = jest.fn().mockRejectedValue(new Error('Domain not found'));
+
+            const {result} = renderHook(() => useForm({
+                fetcher,
+                defaultFormData: {},
+                submitter: jest.fn(),
+            }));
+
+            await waitFor(() => {
+                expect(result.current.error).toBe('Domain not found');
+            });
+            expect(result.current.ready).toBe(false);
+            expect(consoleErrorSpy).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+                'Failed to fetch form data:',
+                expect.any(Error),
+            );
+        });
+
+        it('clears form error when a subsequent fetch succeeds', async () => {
+            const fetcher = jest.fn()
+                .mockRejectedValueOnce(new Error('Domain not found'))
+                .mockResolvedValueOnce({name: 'recovered'});
+
+            const {result} = renderHook(() => useForm({
+                fetcher,
+                defaultFormData: {},
+                submitter: jest.fn(),
+            }));
+
+            await waitFor(() => {
+                expect(result.current.error).toBe('Domain not found');
+            });
+
+            await act(async () => {
+                await result.current.fetcher();
+            });
+
+            await waitFor(() => {
+                expect(result.current.error).toBe(null);
+                expect(result.current.formData).toEqual({name: 'recovered'});
+            });
+            expect(result.current.ready).toBe(true);
         });
 
         it('initializes with empty object when no defaultFormData provided', () => {
diff --git a/app/src/test-utils.js b/app/src/test-utils.js
index 9966ad41..151f96eb 100644
--- a/app/src/test-utils.js
+++ b/app/src/test-utils.js
@@ -245,6 +245,7 @@ export function createTestForm(initialData = {}, config = {}) {
         loading: false,
         disabled: false,
         dirty: false,
+        error: null,
         errors: {},
         // Methods that update formData directly
         patchFormData: jest.fn((updates) => {