diff --git a/docs/handlers/elicitation.md b/docs/handlers/elicitation.md
index 3f3f5a6c0..05fa5c263 100644
--- a/docs/handlers/elicitation.md
+++ b/docs/handlers/elicitation.md
@@ -124,6 +124,24 @@ Some things must not go through the model or the client: credentials, card numbe
 
 Look at the second tool. When your server learns the out-of-band flow finished (a webhook, a poll; here it's modelled as a second tool), `ctx.session.send_elicit_complete(...)` sends `notifications/elicitation/complete` with the same `elicitation_id`. That is how the client knows it can stop showing *"waiting for payment..."*. Without it, the client can only guess.
 
+## Ask only in a mode the client supports
+
+A client can declare one mode without the other - a terminal that renders a form but has no browser to open a URL, or a kiosk that can only open a URL. `ctx.session.check_client_capability` reads the `form` / `url` sub-capabilities, so a tool can pick a mode the client actually supports before it asks:
+
+```python
+from mcp_types import ClientCapabilities, ElicitationCapability, FormElicitationCapability
+
+
+async def book_table(ctx: Context) -> str:
+    wants_form = ClientCapabilities(elicitation=ElicitationCapability(form=FormElicitationCapability()))
+    if not ctx.session.check_client_capability(wants_form):
+        return "This client can't render a form; send a URL or return a default instead."
+    result = await ctx.elicit("Which date?", schema=AlternativeDate)
+    return "booked" if result.action == "accept" else "no change"
+```
+
+A bare `ElicitationCapability()` (no mode set) matches any client that supports elicitation at all, so name a mode only when you need that specific one. This is the same *"what if I can't ask?"* design the client-side check below calls out - now decided per mode.
+
 ## The client side
 
 Servers ask. Clients answer by passing an **`elicitation_callback`** to `Client(...)`:
diff --git a/src/mcp/server/connection.py b/src/mcp/server/connection.py
index 8cb7dc421..68215d78b 100644
--- a/src/mcp/server/connection.py
+++ b/src/mcp/server/connection.py
@@ -388,8 +388,13 @@ def check_capability(self, capability: ClientCapabilities) -> bool:
                 return False
             if capability.sampling.tools is not None and have.sampling.tools is None:
                 return False
-        if capability.elicitation is not None and have.elicitation is None:
-            return False
+        if capability.elicitation is not None:
+            if have.elicitation is None:
+                return False
+            if capability.elicitation.form is not None and have.elicitation.form is None:
+                return False
+            if capability.elicitation.url is not None and have.elicitation.url is None:
+                return False
         if capability.experimental is not None:
             if have.experimental is None:
                 return False
diff --git a/tests/server/test_connection.py b/tests/server/test_connection.py
index d448905a9..2ca5467a9 100644
--- a/tests/server/test_connection.py
+++ b/tests/server/test_connection.py
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@
     CreateMessageRequestParams,
     ElicitationCapability,
     EmptyResult,
+    FormElicitationCapability,
     Implementation,
     ListRootsRequest,
     ListRootsResult,
@@ -31,6 +32,7 @@
     SamplingCapability,
     SamplingContextCapability,
     SamplingToolsCapability,
+    UrlElicitationCapability,
 )
 from mcp_types.version import LATEST_HANDSHAKE_VERSION, LATEST_MODERN_VERSION
 from pydantic import BaseModel, ValidationError
@@ -364,6 +366,35 @@ def test_connection_check_capability_false_when_no_client_params_recorded():
         (ClientCapabilities(experimental={"a": {}}), ClientCapabilities(experimental={"b": {}}), False),
         (ClientCapabilities(experimental={"a": {"x": 1}}), ClientCapabilities(experimental={"a": {"x": 2}}), False),
         (ClientCapabilities(experimental={"a": {}}), ClientCapabilities(experimental={"a": {}}), True),
+        (ClientCapabilities(elicitation=None), ClientCapabilities(elicitation=ElicitationCapability()), False),
+        # The client offers only URL-mode elicitation, but form mode is requested.
+        (
+            ClientCapabilities(elicitation=ElicitationCapability(url=UrlElicitationCapability())),
+            ClientCapabilities(elicitation=ElicitationCapability(form=FormElicitationCapability())),
+            False,
+        ),
+        # The client offers only form-mode elicitation, but URL mode is requested.
+        (
+            ClientCapabilities(elicitation=ElicitationCapability(form=FormElicitationCapability())),
+            ClientCapabilities(elicitation=ElicitationCapability(url=UrlElicitationCapability())),
+            False,
+        ),
+        (
+            ClientCapabilities(elicitation=ElicitationCapability(form=FormElicitationCapability())),
+            ClientCapabilities(elicitation=ElicitationCapability(form=FormElicitationCapability())),
+            True,
+        ),
+        (
+            ClientCapabilities(elicitation=ElicitationCapability(url=UrlElicitationCapability())),
+            ClientCapabilities(elicitation=ElicitationCapability(url=UrlElicitationCapability())),
+            True,
+        ),
+        # A bare elicitation request (no sub-capability) is satisfied by any elicitation support.
+        (
+            ClientCapabilities(elicitation=ElicitationCapability(url=UrlElicitationCapability())),
+            ClientCapabilities(elicitation=ElicitationCapability()),
+            True,
+        ),
     ],
 )
 def test_check_capability_per_field_branches(have: ClientCapabilities, want: ClientCapabilities, expected: bool):