diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index abd4cd1..c24ac44 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ FastAPI caching proxy that downloads and stores files from remote sources in S3-
 - Stale-on-upstream-error: refreshes TTL when backend is unreachable rather than evicting
 - URL rewriting for PyPI simple index, npm metadata, and Helm `index.yaml`
 - Access control via regex patterns — unmatched paths return 403
+- Docker tag banning — block named tags (e.g. `latest`) while allowing digest pulls
 
 ## Architecture
 
@@ -243,6 +244,26 @@ remotes:
 
 Tag manifests and `/tags/list` are built-in mutable patterns. Digest-addressed blobs are immutable.
 
+#### Banning tags
+
+Set `ban_tags_enabled: true` and list named tags in `ban_tags` to block specific tag references. Requests for a banned tag return `403`. Digest-addressed pulls (`sha256:…`) are never blocked, so images already in use can still be referenced by digest.
+
+```yaml
+remotes:
+  dockerhub:
+    base_url: "https://registry-1.docker.io"
+    package: "docker"
+    ban_tags_enabled: true
+    ban_tags:
+      - latest   # force pinned tags in CI/CD
+      - edge
+    cache:
+      immutable_ttl: 0
+      mutable_ttl: 300
+```
+
+`ban_tags_enabled` defaults to `false`. Setting it to `true` with an empty `ban_tags` list has no effect.
+
 For RKE2/containerd, configure `/etc/rancher/rke2/registries.yaml`:
 
 ```yaml
diff --git a/src/artifactapi/artifact/docker.py b/src/artifactapi/artifact/docker.py
index ba40612..3c404df 100644
--- a/src/artifactapi/artifact/docker.py
+++ b/src/artifactapi/artifact/docker.py
@@ -33,6 +33,16 @@ async def proxy(request: Request, remote_name: str, path: str, storage, cache, c
             logger.info(f"PATTERN BLOCKED: {remote_name}/{path}")
             raise HTTPException(status_code=403, detail="Image not allowed by configuration patterns")
 
+    if remote_config.get("ban_tags_enabled", False):
+        ban_tags = remote_config.get("ban_tags", [])
+        if ban_tags:
+            tag_match = re.search(r"/manifests/([^/]+)$", path)
+            if tag_match:
+                tag = tag_match.group(1)
+                if not tag.startswith("sha256:") and tag in ban_tags:
+                    logger.info(f"TAG BANNED: {remote_name}/{path} (tag: {tag})")
+                    raise HTTPException(status_code=403, detail=f"Tag '{tag}' is not permitted on this remote")
+
     base_url = remote_config.get("base_url", "").rstrip("/")
     remote_url = f"{base_url}/v2/{path}"
 
diff --git a/tests/conftest.py b/tests/conftest.py
index 4c931c2..b7f87ae 100644
--- a/tests/conftest.py
+++ b/tests/conftest.py
@@ -41,6 +41,13 @@ TEST_REMOTES = {
             "immutable_patterns": ["^library/nginx"],
             "cache": {"immutable_ttl": 0, "mutable_ttl": 300},
         },
+        "docker-bantags-test": {
+            "base_url": "https://registry.example.com",
+            "package": "docker",
+            "ban_tags_enabled": True,
+            "ban_tags": ["latest", "edge"],
+            "cache": {"immutable_ttl": 0, "mutable_ttl": 300},
+        },
         "generic-test": {
             "base_url": "https://releases.example.com",
             "package": "generic",
diff --git a/tests/test_routes.py b/tests/test_routes.py
index 1bea394..2f3808e 100644
--- a/tests/test_routes.py
+++ b/tests/test_routes.py
@@ -261,6 +261,84 @@ class TestDockerProxy:
         assert response.status_code == 200
 
 
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Docker ban_tags feature
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+class TestDockerBanTags:
+    def test_banned_tag_returns_403(self, client, patched_deps):
+        response = client.get("/v2/docker-bantags-test/library/nginx/manifests/latest")
+        assert response.status_code == 403
+        assert "latest" in response.json()["detail"]
+
+    def test_second_banned_tag_returns_403(self, client, patched_deps):
+        response = client.get("/v2/docker-bantags-test/library/nginx/manifests/edge")
+        assert response.status_code == 403
+        assert "edge" in response.json()["detail"]
+
+    def test_allowed_tag_proceeds(self, client, patched_deps):
+        deps = patched_deps
+        manifest = json.dumps({"mediaType": "application/vnd.oci.image.manifest.v1+json", "layers": []}).encode()
+        deps["storage"].exists.return_value = True
+        deps["storage"].download_object.return_value = manifest
+        deps["cache"].is_mutable_file.return_value = True
+        deps["cache"].is_index_valid.return_value = True
+
+        response = client.get("/v2/docker-bantags-test/library/nginx/manifests/1.25.3")
+        assert response.status_code == 200
+
+    def test_digest_pull_bypasses_ban(self, client, patched_deps):
+        # sha256-addressed pulls must never be blocked by the tag ban list
+        deps = patched_deps
+        manifest = json.dumps({"mediaType": "application/vnd.oci.image.manifest.v1+json", "layers": []}).encode()
+        deps["storage"].exists.return_value = True
+        deps["storage"].download_object.return_value = manifest
+        deps["cache"].is_mutable_file.return_value = False
+
+        digest = "sha256:" + "a" * 64
+        with patch("artifactapi.artifact.proxy._fetch_last_modified", new_callable=AsyncMock, return_value=None):
+            response = client.get(f"/v2/docker-bantags-test/library/nginx/manifests/{digest}")
+        assert response.status_code == 200
+
+    def test_ban_tags_disabled_by_default(self, client, patched_deps):
+        # docker-test has no ban_tags_enabled — "latest" must pass through
+        deps = patched_deps
+        manifest = json.dumps({"mediaType": "application/vnd.oci.image.manifest.v1+json", "layers": []}).encode()
+        deps["storage"].exists.return_value = True
+        deps["storage"].download_object.return_value = manifest
+        deps["cache"].is_mutable_file.return_value = True
+        deps["cache"].is_index_valid.return_value = True
+
+        response = client.get("/v2/docker-test/library/nginx/manifests/latest")
+        assert response.status_code == 200
+
+    def test_ban_tags_enabled_but_empty_list_allows_all(self, client, patched_deps):
+        # If ban_tags_enabled is true but ban_tags is empty nothing should be blocked.
+        # docker-test doesn't have ban_tags_enabled, but we can verify via the
+        # docker-bantags-test remote with an unlisted tag.
+        deps = patched_deps
+        manifest = json.dumps({"mediaType": "application/vnd.oci.image.manifest.v1+json", "layers": []}).encode()
+        deps["storage"].exists.return_value = True
+        deps["storage"].download_object.return_value = manifest
+        deps["cache"].is_mutable_file.return_value = True
+        deps["cache"].is_index_valid.return_value = True
+
+        response = client.get("/v2/docker-bantags-test/library/nginx/manifests/stable")
+        assert response.status_code == 200
+
+    def test_ban_check_does_not_apply_to_blobs(self, client, patched_deps):
+        # Blob paths don't contain /manifests/ — the ban check must not interfere
+        deps = patched_deps
+        deps["storage"].exists.return_value = True
+        deps["storage"].download_object.return_value = b"\x00" * 100
+        deps["cache"].is_mutable_file.return_value = False
+
+        with patch("artifactapi.artifact.proxy._fetch_last_modified", new_callable=AsyncMock, return_value=None):
+            response = client.get("/v2/docker-bantags-test/library/nginx/blobs/sha256:" + "b" * 64)
+        assert response.status_code == 200
+
+
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # Generic artifact route  /api/v1/remote/{remote}/{path}
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------