diff --git a/src/frontend/apiserver/backend/clib.go b/src/frontend/apiserver/backend/clib.go
index 40bcd52b..3a70a218 100644
--- a/src/frontend/apiserver/backend/clib.go
+++ b/src/frontend/apiserver/backend/clib.go
@@ -606,6 +606,15 @@ const backendDegradedTTL = 10 * time.Second
 // (reconnect.go) and currentClientConfigNMasters() (above).
 var notReadyRC = -int(C.E_XCE_NOT_READY)
 
+// submit_errors.go's error numbers must match errnox.h (compile-time check:
+// a mismatch makes an array index out of range).
+var (
+	_ = [1]int{}[C.E_XCE_QUEUE_CLOSED-xceErrQueueClosed]
+	_ = [1]int{}[xceErrQueueClosed-C.E_XCE_QUEUE_CLOSED]
+	_ = [1]int{}[C.E_XCE_BAD_QUEUE-xceErrBadQueue]
+	_ = [1]int{}[xceErrBadQueue-C.E_XCE_BAD_QUEUE]
+)
+
 // callBackend is the single shared pre-call/post-call helper every
 // gCtx.ctx-based backend-call wrapper below (SubmitJob, ControlJob,
 // ControlQueue, ControlHost, FetchFile) calls around its own single
@@ -665,9 +674,12 @@ func SubmitJob(job *models.JobInfo, arraySize int) error {
 	js.array_size = C.uint64_t(arraySize)
 
 	var outJobID C.uint64_t
-	_, err := callBackend("xcecli_jobsubmit", func() int {
+	rc, err := callBackend("xcecli_jobsubmit", func() int {
 		return int(C.xcecli_jobsubmit(gCtx.ctx, js, &outJobID))
 	})
+	if qerr := submitRCError(rc); qerr != nil {
+		return qerr
+	}
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
diff --git a/src/frontend/apiserver/backend/submit_errors.go b/src/frontend/apiserver/backend/submit_errors.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..d20c04c1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/frontend/apiserver/backend/submit_errors.go
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+package backend
+
+import "errors"
+
+// Queue rejections of a job submission by the controller (bug-1960), so the
+// handlers can answer a client error naming the queue instead of a generic
+// backend failure. The queue may have been closed after the apiserver's own
+// check, or the submission came with a queue the controller does not know.
+var (
+	ErrQueueClosed  = errors.New("queue is closed")
+	ErrQueueInvalid = errors.New("invalid queue")
+)
+
+// E_XCE_QUEUE_CLOSED and E_XCE_BAD_QUEUE (include/xce/errnox.h); clib.go
+// checks at compile time that they match the C definitions.
+const (
+	xceErrQueueClosed = 10016
+	xceErrBadQueue    = 10008
+)
+
+// submitRCError maps a negative xcecli_jobsubmit result to its typed error,
+// or nil when it is not a queue rejection.
+func submitRCError(rc int) error {
+	switch rc {
+	case -xceErrQueueClosed:
+		return ErrQueueClosed
+	case -xceErrBadQueue:
+		return ErrQueueInvalid
+	}
+	return nil
+}
diff --git a/src/frontend/apiserver/backend/submit_errors_test.go b/src/frontend/apiserver/backend/submit_errors_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..94baed6e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/frontend/apiserver/backend/submit_errors_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+package backend
+
+import (
+	"errors"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+// bug-1960: the controller's queue rejections become typed errors the
+// handlers can turn into client errors.
+func TestSubmitRCError(t *testing.T) {
+	if err := submitRCError(-10016); !errors.Is(err, ErrQueueClosed) {
+		t.Errorf("-10016: got %v, want ErrQueueClosed", err)
+	}
+	if err := submitRCError(-10008); !errors.Is(err, ErrQueueInvalid) {
+		t.Errorf("-10008: got %v, want ErrQueueInvalid", err)
+	}
+	if err := submitRCError(-5); err != nil {
+		t.Errorf("-5: got %v, want nil (generic failure)", err)
+	}
+}
diff --git a/src/frontend/apiserver/controllers/jobs.go b/src/frontend/apiserver/controllers/jobs.go
index ac4205cc..36150786 100644
--- a/src/frontend/apiserver/controllers/jobs.go
+++ b/src/frontend/apiserver/controllers/jobs.go
@@ -1066,6 +1066,10 @@ func (j JobController) RestartJobByID(ctx *gin.Context) {
 	err = submitJob(&newJob, 1)
 	if err != nil {
 		logger.Error("Failed to submit job for restart process.", zap.Error(err))
+		if qerr := queueRejection(err, newJob.QueueName); qerr != nil {
+			ReturnError(ctx, common.INVALID_PARAMS_CODE, common.INVALID_PARAMS_MSG+": "+qerr.Error(), nil)
+			return
+		}
 		ReturnError(ctx, common.ERROR_CODE, common.ERROR_WRITE_DATA_MSG+": "+err.Error(), nil)
 		return
 	}
@@ -1244,6 +1248,10 @@ func (j JobController) CreateJob(ctx *gin.Context) {
 	err = submitJob(&job, arraySize)
 	if err != nil {
 		logger.Error("Failed to submit job.", zap.Error(err))
+		if qerr := queueRejection(err, job.QueueName); qerr != nil {
+			ReturnError(ctx, common.INVALID_PARAMS_CODE, common.INVALID_PARAMS_MSG+": "+qerr.Error(), nil)
+			return
+		}
 		ReturnError(ctx, common.ERROR_CODE, common.ERROR_WRITE_DATA_MSG+": "+err.Error(), nil)
 		return
 	}
@@ -3190,3 +3198,16 @@ func GetHostList(hosts []string) ([]string, error) {
 	}
 	return execHosts, nil
 }
+
+// queueRejection turns the controller's queue rejection of a submission
+// (bug-1960) into the client error the apiserver's own check would give,
+// or returns nil for any other failure.
+func queueRejection(err error, queue string) error {
+	switch {
+	case errors.Is(err, backend.ErrQueueClosed):
+		return fmt.Errorf("cannot submit job to queue %s: queue is closed", queue)
+	case errors.Is(err, backend.ErrQueueInvalid):
+		return fmt.Errorf("invalid queue name: %s", queue)
+	}
+	return nil
+}
diff --git a/src/frontend/apiserver/controllers/jobs_handler_test.go b/src/frontend/apiserver/controllers/jobs_handler_test.go
index a378f963..44339cb8 100644
--- a/src/frontend/apiserver/controllers/jobs_handler_test.go
+++ b/src/frontend/apiserver/controllers/jobs_handler_test.go
@@ -1577,3 +1577,29 @@ func TestJobHandler_SubmitRejectsNonObjectExtendData(t *testing.T) {
 		}
 	}
 }
+
+// bug-1960: a submission the controller rejects for its queue (closed after
+// the apiserver's own check, or unknown) is a client error naming the queue,
+// not a 500 with a raw error number.
+func TestJobHandler_SubmitQueueRejectedByController(t *testing.T) {
+	for _, tc := range []struct {
+		err  error
+		want string
+	}{
+		{backend.ErrQueueClosed, "queue is closed"},
+		{backend.ErrQueueInvalid, "invalid queue"},
+	} {
+		f := newHandlerFixture(t)
+		f.seedQueue("normal")
+		f.submitErr = tc.err
+		w := f.submit(map[string]interface{}{"command": "sleep 1", "queue_name": "normal"})
+		if w.Code != http.StatusBadRequest {
+			t.Errorf("%v: status = %d, want 400; body: %s", tc.err, w.Code, w.Body.String())
+			continue
+		}
+		msg, _ := decodeHandlerResponse(t, w).Msg.(string)
+		if !strings.Contains(msg, tc.want) || !strings.Contains(msg, "normal") {
+			t.Errorf("%v: msg = %q, want it to name the queue and say %q", tc.err, msg, tc.want)
+		}
+	}
+}