diff --git a/src/app/api/auth/verify-sms/route.js b/src/app/api/auth/verify-sms/route.js
index 3cb90c61..abe732b1 100644
--- a/src/app/api/auth/verify-sms/route.js
+++ b/src/app/api/auth/verify-sms/route.js
@@ -19,6 +19,19 @@ function isValidPhoneNumber(phoneNumber) {
 	return phoneRegex.test(phoneNumber);
 }
 
+/**
+ * @param {string | null} authHeader
+ * @returns {string | null}
+ */
+function getBearerToken(authHeader) {
+	if (typeof authHeader !== 'string') return null;
+
+	const match = authHeader.match(/^Bearer\s+(.+)$/i);
+	const token = match?.[1]?.trim();
+
+	return token || null;
+}
+
 /**
  * POST /api/auth/verify-sms
  * Verify SMS code and create/login user
@@ -59,7 +72,16 @@ export async function POST(request, { params } = {}) {
 		});
 
 		// Validate input based on request type
-		if (useSession && authHeader) {
+		const token = getBearerToken(authHeader);
+		if (useSession) {
+			if (!token) {
+				logger.error('Missing session authorization header');
+				return NextResponse.json(
+					{ error: 'Missing or invalid authorization header', code: 'SESSION_AUTH_REQUIRED' },
+					{ status: 401 }
+				);
+			}
+
 			// Session-based request - username required
 			if (!phoneNumber || !username) {
 				logger.error( 'Missing required fields for session-based request', { phoneNumber: !!phoneNumber, username: !!username });
@@ -97,11 +119,9 @@ export async function POST(request, { params } = {}) {
 		let verifyData;
 		let verifyError;
 
-		if (useSession && authHeader) {
+		if (useSession) {
 			logger.info('Processing session-based profile completion');
-			
-			const token = authHeader.replace('Bearer ', '');
-			
+
 			try {
 				// Validate the JWT token by getting user info
 				const { data: { user }, error: userError } = await supabase.auth.getUser(token);
@@ -462,4 +482,4 @@ export async function POST(request, { params } = {}) {
 			{ status: 500 }
 		);
 	}
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}
diff --git a/src/app/api/auth/verify-sms/route.test.js b/src/app/api/auth/verify-sms/route.test.js
index 4e52fe21..50c3cd2e 100644
--- a/src/app/api/auth/verify-sms/route.test.js
+++ b/src/app/api/auth/verify-sms/route.test.js
@@ -16,11 +16,11 @@ vi.mock('@supabase/supabase-js', () => ({
 	createClient: mocks.createClient
 }));
 
-function sessionRequest(body) {
+function sessionRequest(body, authorization = 'Bearer test-session-token') {
 	return new Request('https://example.com/api/auth/verify-sms', {
 		method: 'POST',
 		headers: {
-			authorization: 'Bearer test-session-token',
+			authorization,
 			'content-type': 'application/json'
 		},
 		body: JSON.stringify(body)
@@ -59,6 +59,37 @@ describe('verify-sms session phone binding', () => {
 		expect(mocks.getUser).toHaveBeenCalledWith('test-session-token');
 	});
 
+	it('normalizes bearer scheme casing and extra spaces for session signup', async () => {
+		mocks.getUser.mockResolvedValue({
+			data: { user: { id: 'user-1', phone: '+15559999999' } },
+			error: null
+		});
+
+		const { POST } = await import('./route.js');
+		const res = await POST(sessionRequest({
+			useSession: true,
+			phoneNumber: '+15559999999',
+			username: 'alice'
+		}, 'bearer   test-session-token  '));
+
+		expect(mocks.getUser).toHaveBeenCalledWith('test-session-token');
+		expect(res.status).not.toBe(401);
+	});
+
+	it('rejects an empty session bearer header before session validation', async () => {
+		const { POST } = await import('./route.js');
+		const res = await POST(sessionRequest({
+			useSession: true,
+			phoneNumber: '+15559999999',
+			username: 'alice'
+		}, 'Bearer   '));
+		const body = await res.json();
+
+		expect(res.status).toBe(401);
+		expect(body.code).toBe('SESSION_AUTH_REQUIRED');
+		expect(mocks.getUser).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+	});
+
 	it('rejects anonymous / phoneless sessions', async () => {
 		mocks.getUser.mockResolvedValue({
 			data: { user: { id: 'anon', phone: null } },