diff --git a/packages/app/src/routes/__tests__/identity-routes.test.ts b/packages/app/src/routes/__tests__/identity-routes.test.ts
index 30c05cf..80c008a 100644
--- a/packages/app/src/routes/__tests__/identity-routes.test.ts
+++ b/packages/app/src/routes/__tests__/identity-routes.test.ts
@@ -7,7 +7,12 @@ import * as s3 from '../../services/s3-storage.js';
 import * as faceMatch from '../../identity/face-match-client.js';
 import { makeToken, setTestJwtSecret } from './test-helpers.js';
 
-beforeAll(() => setTestJwtSecret());
+beforeAll(() => {
+  setTestJwtSecret();
+  // The routes gate on this env var before touching storage, so it has to be
+  // present for the normal paths even though S3StorageService is mocked.
+  process.env.DOCUMENTS_S3_BUCKET = 'test-bucket';
+});
 afterEach(() => vi.restoreAllMocks());
 
 const agencyId = '00000000-0000-4000-8000-00000000c001';
@@ -290,6 +295,47 @@ describe('request body limits', () => {
   });
 });
 
+describe('storage not configured', () => {
+  afterEach(() => { process.env.DOCUMENTS_S3_BUCKET = 'test-bucket'; });
+
+  it('refuses enrolment with a reason instead of a bare 500', async () => {
+    // Constructing the storage client without a bucket throws, which would
+    // otherwise surface as a 500 at the exact moment somebody photographs
+    // their own face.
+    delete process.env.DOCUMENTS_S3_BUCKET;
+    mockRepo();
+
+    const res = await request(createApp())
+      .post('/identity/enroll')
+      .set('Authorization', auth())
+      .send({ imageBase64: IMAGE_B64 });
+
+    expect(res.status).toBe(503);
+    expect(res.body.code).toBe('STORAGE_NOT_CONFIGURED');
+  });
+
+  it('refuses verification the same way', async () => {
+    delete process.env.DOCUMENTS_S3_BUCKET;
+    mockRepo();
+
+    const res = await request(createApp())
+      .post('/identity/verify')
+      .set('Authorization', auth())
+      .send({ imageBase64: IMAGE_B64 });
+
+    expect(res.status).toBe(503);
+  });
+
+  it('reports storage separately from the matching provider', async () => {
+    delete process.env.DOCUMENTS_S3_BUCKET;
+    mockRepo();
+
+    const res = await request(createApp()).get('/identity/status').set('Authorization', auth());
+
+    expect(res.body.storageConfigured).toBe(false);
+  });
+});
+
 describe('GET /identity/status', () => {
   it('states plainly that liveness is not supported', async () => {
     mockRepo();
diff --git a/packages/app/src/routes/identity-routes.ts b/packages/app/src/routes/identity-routes.ts
index 5a7c8b4..3f49970 100644
--- a/packages/app/src/routes/identity-routes.ts
+++ b/packages/app/src/routes/identity-routes.ts
@@ -75,6 +75,18 @@ function decodeImage(base64: string): Buffer | null {
   }
 }
 
+/**
+ * Whether photo storage is wired up.
+ *
+ * Separate from the matching provider: an agency can have Rekognition selected
+ * and still have no bucket, or the reverse. Both have to be true before a
+ * caregiver should be invited to point a camera at their face, otherwise the
+ * first thing they meet is a 500 at the moment they take the photo.
+ */
+function isPhotoStorageConfigured(): boolean {
+  return Boolean(process.env.DOCUMENTS_S3_BUCKET?.trim());
+}
+
 /** Object keys are namespaced per agency so a retention sweep can scope by prefix. */
 function referenceKey(agencyId: string, caregiverId: string): string {
   return `identity/${agencyId}/${caregiverId}/reference.jpg`;
@@ -96,7 +108,10 @@ router.get('/status', requireCapability('evv.read'), async (req: Request, res: R
       repo.findEnrollment(req.auth.caregiverId, req.auth.agencyId),
     ]);
     res.json({
+      // Matching provider and photo storage are reported separately so the app
+      // can say which half is missing instead of a vague "not available".
       configured: isIdentityVerificationConfigured(),
+      storageConfigured: isPhotoStorageConfigured(),
       consented: consent !== null,
       consentVersion: consent?.consentVersion ?? null,
       enrolled: enrollment !== null,
@@ -188,6 +203,15 @@ router.post('/enroll', requireCapability('evv.write'), async (req: Request, res:
   if (!image) {
     return res.status(400).json({ message: 'That photo could not be read. Please retake it.' });
   }
+  // Fail before the photo goes anywhere, with a reason. Constructing the
+  // storage client without a bucket throws, which would otherwise surface as
+  // a bare 500 at the exact moment somebody photographs their own face.
+  if (!isPhotoStorageConfigured()) {
+    return res.status(503).json({
+      message: 'Identity photo storage is not set up for this agency yet.',
+      code: 'STORAGE_NOT_CONFIGURED',
+    });
+  }
 
   try {
     const db = req.app.get('db') as Knex;
@@ -236,6 +260,12 @@ router.post('/verify', requireCapability('evv.write'), async (req: Request, res:
   if (!image) {
     return res.status(400).json({ message: 'That photo could not be read. Please retake it.' });
   }
+  if (!isPhotoStorageConfigured()) {
+    return res.status(503).json({
+      message: 'Identity photo storage is not set up for this agency yet.',
+      code: 'STORAGE_NOT_CONFIGURED',
+    });
+  }
 
   const db = req.app.get('db') as Knex;
   const repo = new IdentityRepository(db);
diff --git a/packages/mobile/src/features/identity/IdentityScreen.tsx b/packages/mobile/src/features/identity/IdentityScreen.tsx
index 6ab7f27..e3c520d 100644
--- a/packages/mobile/src/features/identity/IdentityScreen.tsx
+++ b/packages/mobile/src/features/identity/IdentityScreen.tsx
@@ -280,6 +280,17 @@ export default function IdentityScreen() {
               </View>
             ) : null}
 
+            {step === 'unavailable' ? (
+              <View style={styles.card}>
+                <Text style={styles.cardTitle}>Not available yet</Text>
+                <Text style={styles.cardHint}>
+                  Your agency has not finished setting up identity checks, so there is nowhere to
+                  keep your photo yet. Nothing is needed from you. This screen will let you set
+                  yours up once they are done.
+                </Text>
+              </View>
+            ) : null}
+
             {step === 'consent' ? (
               <View style={styles.card}>
                 <Text style={styles.cardTitle}>Before we start</Text>
diff --git a/packages/mobile/src/lib/identity.test.ts b/packages/mobile/src/lib/identity.test.ts
index 95dd2af..e0fc6fc 100644
--- a/packages/mobile/src/lib/identity.test.ts
+++ b/packages/mobile/src/lib/identity.test.ts
@@ -114,3 +114,29 @@ describe('isUploadableCapture', () => {
     expect(MAX_UPLOAD_BASE64_CHARS).toBeLessThan(3 * 1024 * 1024);
   });
 });
+
+describe('storage gate', () => {
+  it('hides the camera when the server has nowhere to keep the photo', () => {
+    // Inviting somebody to photograph their face and then failing to store it
+    // is the worst order to discover missing configuration in.
+    expect(stepFor(status({ storageConfigured: false }))).toBe('unavailable');
+    expect(stepFor(status({ storageConfigured: false, consented: true }))).toBe('unavailable');
+  });
+
+  it('still shows an already-enrolled caregiver their setup', () => {
+    // Their photo exists; a transient config gap should not imply it is gone.
+    expect(
+      stepFor(status({ storageConfigured: false, consented: true, enrolled: true })),
+    ).toBe('ready');
+  });
+
+  it('proceeds normally once storage is configured', () => {
+    expect(stepFor(status({ storageConfigured: true }))).toBe('consent');
+    expect(stepFor(status({ storageConfigured: true, consented: true }))).toBe('enroll');
+  });
+
+  it('keeps working against an API that predates the field', () => {
+    // Absent is not the same as false; an older server should behave as before.
+    expect(stepFor(status())).toBe('consent');
+  });
+});
diff --git a/packages/mobile/src/lib/identity.ts b/packages/mobile/src/lib/identity.ts
index c79a72d..c113b98 100644
--- a/packages/mobile/src/lib/identity.ts
+++ b/packages/mobile/src/lib/identity.ts
@@ -15,6 +15,12 @@ export type IdentityOutcome =
 export interface IdentityStatus {
   /** Whether a real matching provider is wired up server-side. */
   configured: boolean;
+  /**
+   * Whether photo storage is wired up. Separate from `configured`: without a
+   * bucket there is nowhere to put a photo, so the camera must not be offered
+   * at all, whatever the matching provider is doing.
+   */
+  storageConfigured?: boolean;
   consented: boolean;
   enrolled: boolean;
   enrolledAt: string | null;
@@ -25,10 +31,15 @@ export interface IdentityStatus {
 }
 
 /** Which panel the screen should show, derived from server state alone. */
-export type IdentityStep = 'loading' | 'consent' | 'enroll' | 'ready';
+export type IdentityStep = 'loading' | 'unavailable' | 'consent' | 'enroll' | 'ready';
 
 export function stepFor(status: IdentityStatus | null): IdentityStep {
   if (!status) return 'loading';
+  // No storage means no camera. Inviting somebody to photograph their own face
+  // and then failing to keep it is the worst order to discover this in.
+  // Treated as absent only when the server explicitly says so, so an older API
+  // that omits the field keeps its previous behaviour.
+  if (status.storageConfigured === false && !status.enrolled) return 'unavailable';
   // Consent first, always. Nothing biometric is captured before it, and the
   // server enforces the same order, so a client that skipped ahead would only
   // earn a 403.