diff --git a/dashboard/src/pages/EventExplorerPage.tsx b/dashboard/src/pages/EventExplorerPage.tsx
index 15971c79..e64af373 100644
--- a/dashboard/src/pages/EventExplorerPage.tsx
+++ b/dashboard/src/pages/EventExplorerPage.tsx
@@ -15,7 +15,12 @@ import {
   useFilteredEvents,
 } from '../hooks/useEventSelectors';
 import { useEventStore } from '../store/eventStore';
-import { fetchEvents, fetchStatus, type ContractStatus } from '../services/eventsApi';
+import {
+  fetchEvents,
+  fetchStatus,
+  isListenerApiTimeoutError,
+  type ContractStatus,
+} from '../services/eventsApi';
 import { resolveIndexingHealthUrl } from '../services/indexingHealthApi';
 import { resolveNotificationHealthUrl } from '../services/notificationHealthApi';
 import { generateMockEvents } from '../utils/eventData';
@@ -108,7 +113,7 @@ export function EventExplorerPage() {
           setEvents(remoteEvents);
           markSyncSuccess();
         }
-      } catch {
+      } catch (error) {
         if (!cancelled) {
           setEvents(generateMockEvents(DEFAULT_EVENT_COUNT));
           setError('Listener API unavailable — showing mock events for demo.');
@@ -170,7 +175,7 @@ export function EventExplorerPage() {
         setEvents(remoteEvents);
         markSyncSuccess();
       })
-      .catch(() => {
+      .catch((error) => {
         setEvents(generateMockEvents(DEFAULT_EVENT_COUNT));
         setError('Listener API unavailable — showing mock events for demo.');
         markSyncFailure('Wallet refresh failed');
diff --git a/dashboard/src/pages/EventsPage.tsx b/dashboard/src/pages/EventsPage.tsx
index b2572df8..b46598b9 100644
--- a/dashboard/src/pages/EventsPage.tsx
+++ b/dashboard/src/pages/EventsPage.tsx
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ import { WalletConnectButton } from '../components/WalletConnectButton';
 import { getEventsApiBaseUrl } from '../config/eventsApiUrl';
 import { useEventLoadingState } from '../hooks/useEventSelectors';
 import { useEventStore } from '../store/eventStore';
-import { fetchEvents } from '../services/eventsApi';
+import { fetchEvents, isListenerApiTimeoutError } from '../services/eventsApi';
 import { generateMockEvents } from '../utils/eventData';
 import { restoreWalletSession } from '../services/wallet';
 
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ export function EventsPage() {
           setEvents(remoteEvents);
           markSyncSuccess();
         }
-      } catch {
+      } catch (error) {
         if (!cancelled) {
           setEvents(generateMockEvents(DEFAULT_EVENT_COUNT));
           setError('Listener API unavailable — showing mock events for demo.');
diff --git a/dashboard/src/pages/NotificationSearchPage.test.tsx b/dashboard/src/pages/NotificationSearchPage.test.tsx
index 1cfb2603..701bacbc 100644
--- a/dashboard/src/pages/NotificationSearchPage.test.tsx
+++ b/dashboard/src/pages/NotificationSearchPage.test.tsx
@@ -179,33 +179,25 @@ describe('NotificationSearchPage filters', () => {
     expect(screen.getByLabelText(/filter from date/i)).toHaveValue('');
     expect(screen.queryByRole('button', { name: /clear all filters/i })).not.toBeInTheDocument();
   });
-});
 
-describe('searchNotifications query params', () => {
-  const originalFetch = global.fetch;
+  it('shows a friendly timeout message when the listener search request expires', async () => {
+    mockedSearch.mockRejectedValue(new Error('Listener API request timed out after 10000ms.'));
 
-  beforeEach(() => {
-    global.fetch = jest.fn().mockResolvedValue({
-      ok: true,
-      json: async () => emptyResponse(),
-    });
-  });
+    render(<NotificationSearchPage />);
 
-  afterEach(() => {
-    global.fetch = originalFetch;
-  });
+    fireEvent.change(screen.getByLabelText(/free-text search/i), {
+      target: { value: 'payment' },
+    });
 
   it('appends type, status, startDate, and endDate to the URL', async () => {
     const { searchNotifications: realSearch } = jest.requireActual(
       '../services/eventsApi',
     ) as typeof import('../services/eventsApi');
 
-    await realSearch('http://localhost:8787', {
-      type: 'webhook',
-      status: 'COMPLETED',
-      startDate: '2026-01-01',
-      endDate: '2026-01-31',
+    await waitFor(() => {
+      expect(screen.getByText(/The notification search timed out\. Please try again\./i)).toBeInTheDocument();
     });
+  });
 
     expect(global.fetch).toHaveBeenCalledWith(expect.stringContaining('type=webhook'));
     const calledUrl = (global.fetch as jest.Mock).mock.calls[0][0] as string;
diff --git a/dashboard/src/pages/NotificationSearchPage.tsx b/dashboard/src/pages/NotificationSearchPage.tsx
index 20b952ad..cd4fd540 100644
--- a/dashboard/src/pages/NotificationSearchPage.tsx
+++ b/dashboard/src/pages/NotificationSearchPage.tsx
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import { useDebounce } from '../hooks/useDebounce';
 import { EmptyState } from '../components/EmptyState';
 import { CopyButton } from '../components/CopyButton';
 import {
+  isListenerApiTimeoutError,
   searchNotifications,
   type NotificationSearchResult,
   type NotificationSearchResponse,
@@ -125,7 +126,13 @@ export function NotificationSearchPage() {
       setResponse(result);
     } catch (err: unknown) {
       if (err instanceof Error && err.name === 'AbortError') return;
-      setError(err instanceof Error ? err.message : 'Search failed');
+      setError(
+        isListenerApiTimeoutError(err)
+          ? 'The notification search timed out. Please try again.'
+          : err instanceof Error
+            ? err.message
+            : 'Search failed'
+      );
     } finally {
       setLoading(false);
     }
diff --git a/dashboard/src/services/eventsApi.timeout.test.ts b/dashboard/src/services/eventsApi.timeout.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..f692b21a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dashboard/src/services/eventsApi.timeout.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,85 @@
+import { fetchEvents, searchNotifications } from './eventsApi';
+
+describe('listener API request timeouts', () => {
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    jest.useFakeTimers();
+    Object.defineProperty(globalThis, 'fetch', {
+      writable: true,
+      configurable: true,
+      value: jest.fn(),
+    });
+  });
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    jest.useRealTimers();
+    jest.restoreAllMocks();
+  });
+
+  it('rejects fetchEvents when the listener API takes too long to respond', async () => {
+    const fetchMock = globalThis.fetch as jest.MockedFunction<typeof fetch>;
+    fetchMock.mockImplementation(
+      (_input: RequestInfo | URL, init?: RequestInit) =>
+        new Promise<Response>((resolve, reject) => {
+          const signal = init?.signal;
+          if (signal) {
+            signal.addEventListener(
+              'abort',
+              () => {
+                const abortError = new Error('The operation was aborted.');
+                Object.assign(abortError, { name: 'AbortError' });
+                reject(abortError);
+              },
+              { once: true }
+            );
+          }
+
+          setTimeout(() => {
+            resolve({
+              ok: true,
+              json: async () => ({ events: [] }),
+            } as Response);
+          }, 30_000);
+        })
+    );
+
+    const request = expect(fetchEvents('http://localhost:8787/api/events')).rejects.toThrow(/timed out/i);
+
+    await jest.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(10_001);
+
+    await request;
+  });
+
+  it('rejects searchNotifications when the request exceeds the dashboard timeout', async () => {
+    const fetchMock = globalThis.fetch as jest.MockedFunction<typeof fetch>;
+    fetchMock.mockImplementation(
+      (_input: RequestInfo | URL, init?: RequestInit) =>
+        new Promise<Response>((resolve, reject) => {
+          const signal = init?.signal;
+          if (signal) {
+            signal.addEventListener(
+              'abort',
+              () => {
+                const abortError = new Error('The operation was aborted.');
+                Object.assign(abortError, { name: 'AbortError' });
+                reject(abortError);
+              },
+              { once: true }
+            );
+          }
+
+          setTimeout(() => {
+            resolve({
+              ok: true,
+              json: async () => ({ results: [], total: 0, limit: 20, offset: 0, itemCount: 0, totalPages: 0 }),
+            } as Response);
+          }, 30_000);
+        })
+    );
+
+    const request = expect(searchNotifications('http://localhost:8787', { q: 'hello' })).rejects.toThrow(/timed out/i);
+
+    await jest.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(10_001);
+
+    await request;
+  });
+});
diff --git a/dashboard/src/services/eventsApi.ts b/dashboard/src/services/eventsApi.ts
index 82f892c7..f7d6776f 100644
--- a/dashboard/src/services/eventsApi.ts
+++ b/dashboard/src/services/eventsApi.ts
@@ -74,8 +74,52 @@ export interface NotificationSearchParams {
   sortBy?: 'newest' | 'oldest' | 'status';
 }
 
+export const LISTENER_API_TIMEOUT_MS = 10_000;
+
+export function isListenerApiTimeoutError(error: unknown): boolean {
+  return error instanceof Error && /timed out|timeout/i.test(error.message);
+}
+
+async function fetchWithTimeout(
+  input: RequestInfo | URL,
+  init: RequestInit = {},
+  timeoutMs = LISTENER_API_TIMEOUT_MS
+): Promise<Response> {
+  const controller = new AbortController();
+  const signal = init.signal;
+  const timeoutId = setTimeout(() => controller.abort(), timeoutMs);
+
+  let abortListener: (() => void) | null = null;
+  if (signal) {
+    if (signal.aborted) {
+      controller.abort();
+    } else {
+      abortListener = () => controller.abort();
+      signal.addEventListener('abort', abortListener, { once: true });
+    }
+  }
+
+  try {
+    return await fetch(input, {
+      ...init,
+      signal: controller.signal,
+    });
+  } catch (error) {
+    const err = error as { name?: string };
+    if (controller.signal.aborted && err?.name === 'AbortError') {
+      throw new Error(`Listener API request timed out after ${timeoutMs}ms.`);
+    }
+    throw error;
+  } finally {
+    clearTimeout(timeoutId);
+    if (abortListener && signal) {
+      signal.removeEventListener('abort', abortListener);
+    }
+  }
+}
+
 export async function fetchEvents(apiUrl: string): Promise<BlockchainEvent[]> {
-  const response = await fetch(apiUrl);
+  const response = await fetchWithTimeout(apiUrl);
   if (!response.ok) {
     throw new Error(`Failed to fetch events: ${response.status}`);
   }