diff --git a/docs/content/docs/guides/team-roles.mdx b/docs/content/docs/guides/team-roles.mdx
index ed1cabc89..fee8e392d 100644
--- a/docs/content/docs/guides/team-roles.mdx
+++ b/docs/content/docs/guides/team-roles.mdx
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ What a restricted member sees:
 - **Inbox**: the conversations of their mailboxes, with counts and filters to match.
 - **Live updates** for those resources only. They do not appear in the team's presence and do not see who else is online.
 
-Everything that cannot yet be narrowed to a scope is unavailable to them: contacts, CRM, templates, forms, automations, deliverability, placement tests, settings other than their own profile and security, the AI assistant, and the Slack app. They are not sent workspace notifications. An API key a restricted member already holds, and an app they authorized, are held to the same scope and the same read-only routes; they cannot create new keys.
+Everything that cannot yet be narrowed to a scope is unavailable to them, and shows as locked in their sidebar with the reason: contacts, CRM, templates, forms, automations, deliverability, placement tests, settings other than their own profile and security, the AI assistant, and the Slack app. They are not sent workspace notifications. An API key a restricted member already holds, and an app they authorized, are held to the same scope and the same read-only routes; they cannot create new keys.
 
 Changing a member's access needs **Manage team** and a recent sign-in, takes effect on their next request, and applies to their open dashboard and live updates without a reload. You must hold every permission the member's roles grant, the owner always reaches the entire workspace, and you cannot change your own access. Grants on a deleted folder, campaign or mailbox disappear with it.
 
diff --git a/qa/flows/member-access.flow.ts b/qa/flows/member-access.flow.ts
index ec1bcb673..43836c8d9 100644
--- a/qa/flows/member-access.flow.ts
+++ b/qa/flows/member-access.flow.ts
@@ -56,7 +56,12 @@ test.describe("member access scope", () => {
       await expect(page.getByRole("link", { name: /Q1 Outreach/ })).toHaveCount(0);
       await expect(page.getByRole("link", { name: "Contacts" })).toHaveCount(0);
       await proof.chapter("Restricted teammate", "Only the granted campaigns and mailboxes, and only the pages that can be narrowed to them");
-      await proof.shot("restricted-campaigns", { caption: "The sidebar keeps Inbox, Campaigns and Analytics; the list holds only the granted campaigns" });
+      await proof.shot("restricted-campaigns", { caption: "Inbox, Campaigns and Analytics stay open, every other page is locked; the list holds only the granted campaigns" });
+
+      await page.getByRole("complementary").getByRole("button", { name: "Contacts", exact: true }).click();
+      await expect(page.getByText("Your access to this workspace is limited to selected campaigns and mailboxes")).toBeVisible();
+      await proof.shot("restricted-locked", { caption: "A locked page says the access scope is why, and who can change it" });
+      await page.getByRole("button", { name: "Got it" }).click();
 
       await page.getByRole("link", { name: /RevOps outreach - July/ }).first().click();
       const main = page.getByRole("main");
diff --git a/web/src/components/layout/AccessLockedDialog.tsx b/web/src/components/layout/AccessLockedDialog.tsx
index 5fea8a105..aac4de7a7 100644
--- a/web/src/components/layout/AccessLockedDialog.tsx
+++ b/web/src/components/layout/AccessLockedDialog.tsx
@@ -12,12 +12,15 @@ export default function AccessLockedDialog({
     onClose,
     feature,
     permissionLabel = "the required",
+    reason = "permission",
 }: {
     open: boolean;
     onClose: () => void;
     feature: string;
     /** The friendly permission name they're missing. */
     permissionLabel?: string;
+    /** "scope" when the member is restricted to selected resources rather than missing a permission. */
+    reason?: "permission" | "scope";
 }) {
     // Portal to <body>: this dialog renders inside the sidebar <aside>, which has
     // a transform (slide-in) + overflow, so a `fixed` overlay would clip to the
@@ -56,11 +59,19 @@ export default function AccessLockedDialog({
                         <h3 className="text-[14px] font-semibold text-slate-900">
                             You don't have access to {feature}
                         </h3>
-                        <p className="text-[12.5px] text-slate-500 leading-relaxed mt-1.5">
-                            Your role in this workspace doesn't include the{" "}
-                            <span className="font-medium text-slate-700">{permissionLabel}</span> permission. Ask a
-                            workspace admin or the owner to grant it from Settings → Roles &amp; access.
-                        </p>
+                        {reason === "scope" ? (
+                            <p className="text-[12.5px] text-slate-500 leading-relaxed mt-1.5">
+                                Your access to this workspace is limited to selected campaigns and mailboxes, and{" "}
+                                {feature} is not part of it. Ask a workspace admin or the owner to change your access
+                                from Settings → Members.
+                            </p>
+                        ) : (
+                            <p className="text-[12.5px] text-slate-500 leading-relaxed mt-1.5">
+                                Your role in this workspace doesn't include the{" "}
+                                <span className="font-medium text-slate-700">{permissionLabel}</span> permission. Ask a
+                                workspace admin or the owner to grant it from Settings → Roles &amp; access.
+                            </p>
+                        )}
                         <button
                             type="button"
                             onClick={onClose}
diff --git a/web/src/components/layout/AppNav.tsx b/web/src/components/layout/AppNav.tsx
index 2f76f33ff..95048e9de 100644
--- a/web/src/components/layout/AppNav.tsx
+++ b/web/src/components/layout/AppNav.tsx
@@ -91,7 +91,7 @@ interface NavItem {
     requires?: "inbox" | "advanced" | "subscription";
     /** Role gate — when set, sidebar hides the row entirely for non-matching roles. */
     rolesAllowed?: "manage";
-    /** Shown to a member restricted to selected resources; every other row is hidden from them. */
+    /** Open to a member restricted to selected resources; every other row is locked for them. */
     scoped?: boolean;
     /** Permission gate — when the member lacks it, the row shows a lock and a
      *  click pops an access dialog instead of navigating to an empty page. */
@@ -258,8 +258,6 @@ function NavRow({ item, collapsed = false }: { item: NavItem; collapsed?: boolea
     const active = isNavItemActive(pathname, item);
     const badge = item.badgeStoreKey === "unseenCount" ? unseen : undefined;
 
-    if (restricted && !item.scoped) return null;
-
     // Role-gated items disappear from the sidebar for users that
     // can't access them, instead of showing a lock — these are
     // administrative tools, not premium features to tease.
@@ -268,7 +266,9 @@ function NavRow({ item, collapsed = false }: { item: NavItem; collapsed?: boolea
     // Permission-gated items the member lacks: render a locked row that pops
     // an access dialog on click, so the feature is visibly unavailable (a
     // lock) rather than a blank/empty page that reads as "no data".
-    const accessDenied = !!item.permission && !hasItemPermission;
+    // A restricted member reaches only the scoped rows, whatever their role holds.
+    const outOfScope = restricted && !item.scoped;
+    const accessDenied = outOfScope || (!!item.permission && !hasItemPermission);
     if (accessDenied) {
         return (
             <>
@@ -295,6 +295,7 @@ function NavRow({ item, collapsed = false }: { item: NavItem; collapsed?: boolea
                     onClose={() => setDeniedOpen(false)}
                     feature={item.title}
                     permissionLabel={item.permissionLabel ?? "the required"}
+                    reason={outOfScope ? "scope" : "permission"}
                 />
             </>
         );
@@ -771,14 +772,11 @@ function Section({
     const toggleNavSection = useAppStore((s) => s.toggleNavSection);
     const org = useAppStore((s) => s.currentOrganization);
     const access = useFeatureAccess();
-    const restricted = useAccessRestricted();
     const reduceMotion = useReducedMotion();
 
     // Folded, a section keeps only the row you are on, in the rail and the
     // full sidebar alike, so where you are never folds away with the rest.
-    const permitted = section.items.filter(
-        (item) => (item.rolesAllowed !== "manage" || access.canManage) && (!restricted || item.scoped),
-    );
+    const permitted = section.items.filter((item) => item.rolesAllowed !== "manage" || access.canManage);
     const shown = folded ? permitted.filter((item) => isNavItemActive(pathname, item)) : permitted;
     const hiddenSurfaces = folded
         ? permitted.flatMap((item) =>
@@ -791,9 +789,6 @@ function Section({
         )
         : [];
 
-    // A section holding nothing this member may open is not drawn at all.
-    if (permitted.length === 0) return null;
-
     // In the rail a folded section with nothing left to show goes, divider and all.
     const gone = collapsed && shown.length === 0;
     const transition = reduceMotion ? { duration: 0 } : { duration: 0.22, ease: FOLD_EASE };