diff --git a/internal/dto/responses/upload.go b/internal/dto/responses/upload.go
index 0285e42..597e76d 100644
--- a/internal/dto/responses/upload.go
+++ b/internal/dto/responses/upload.go
@@ -2,21 +2,31 @@ package responses
 
 // PresignUploadResponse is what /api/uploads/presign returns to the client.
 //
-// The client uses URL + Fields to build a multipart/form-data POST directly
-// to S3-compatible storage (B2). Once the upload completes, the client calls
-// the relevant entity-creation endpoint (POST /api/task-completions/, POST
-// /api/documents/) with `upload_ids: [Id]` to claim and attach the object.
+// Flow: the client makes one PUT request to URL with the raw object bytes
+// as the body and Headers as the request headers (verbatim — the signature
+// binds them). On success, the client passes ID back via upload_ids[] on
+// POST /api/task-completions/ or POST /api/documents/ to claim and attach
+// the object.
+//
+// We use PUT (not POST) because Backblaze B2's S3-compatible endpoint does
+// not implement the S3 POST Object form upload — it returns HTTP 501 on
+// every request style. PUT works against AWS S3, B2, and MinIO uniformly.
 type PresignUploadResponse struct {
 	// ID is the pending_uploads.id the client passes back via upload_ids[].
 	ID uint `json:"id"`
 
-	// URL is the storage endpoint to POST to (no query string).
+	// URL is the signed PUT URL. Includes all auth as query parameters.
 	URL string `json:"upload_url"`
 
-	// Fields are the form fields (policy, signature, key, etc.) that must be
-	// submitted with the multipart form. The file part must be named "file"
-	// and come last per S3 POST policy rules.
-	Fields map[string]string `json:"fields"`
+	// Method is always "PUT" — emitted explicitly so clients don't have to
+	// hardcode it. Reserved for the rare case we ever offer alternative
+	// upload mechanisms.
+	Method string `json:"method"`
+
+	// Headers must be sent verbatim on the PUT request. Currently includes
+	// Content-Type and Content-Length; both are signed, and B2 will reject
+	// any PUT whose headers don't match.
+	Headers map[string]string `json:"headers"`
 
 	// Key is the object key chosen by the server. Echoed for client logging
 	// and debugging; the canonical reference is via ID.
diff --git a/internal/services/storage_backend_s3.go b/internal/services/storage_backend_s3.go
index 4e77b71..8005f75 100644
--- a/internal/services/storage_backend_s3.go
+++ b/internal/services/storage_backend_s3.go
@@ -5,8 +5,9 @@ import (
 	"context"
 	"fmt"
 	"io"
+	"net/http"
 	"net/url"
-	"strings"
+	"strconv"
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/minio/minio-go/v7"
@@ -31,15 +32,6 @@ func NewS3Backend(endpoint, keyID, appKey, bucket string, useSSL bool, region st
 		Secure: useSSL,
 		Region: region,
 	}
-	// B2's S3-compatible endpoint only implements POST Object on
-	// virtual-hosted-style URLs (https://<bucket>.s3.<region>.backblazeb2.com/).
-	// Path-style POST returns HTTP 501. minio-go's auto-detection falls back
-	// to path-style for non-AWS endpoints, which breaks PresignedPostPolicy
-	// against B2. Force DNS lookup for B2 only — leave MinIO dev (no DNS for
-	// arbitrary buckets at minio:9000) on the path-style default.
-	if strings.Contains(endpoint, "backblazeb2.com") {
-		opts.BucketLookup = minio.BucketLookupDNS
-	}
 
 	client, err := minio.New(endpoint, opts)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -115,46 +107,42 @@ func (b *S3Backend) ReadStream(key string) (io.ReadCloser, error) {
 	return obj, nil
 }
 
-// PresignedPostResult is the data a client needs to perform a direct multipart
-// POST to S3-compatible storage. The caller assembles a multipart/form-data
-// request with the fields below as form parts (in order) and the file last.
-type PresignedPostResult struct {
-	URL    string            // e.g. https://s3.us-east-005.backblazeb2.com/honeyDueProd
-	Fields map[string]string // policy, x-amz-*, key, Content-Type, etc.
+// PresignedPutResult is the data a client needs to upload a single object
+// to S3-compatible storage via a single PUT request. The client sends the
+// raw object bytes as the request body and includes Headers verbatim — the
+// signature binds these headers, so any deviation invalidates it.
+//
+// We use PUT (not POST) because Backblaze B2's S3-compatible endpoint does
+// not implement the S3 POST Object operation (returns HTTP 501 on both
+// path-style and virtual-hosted-style URLs). PUT works against AWS S3, B2,
+// and MinIO uniformly.
+type PresignedPutResult struct {
+	URL     string            // signed PUT URL with query-string credentials
+	Headers map[string]string // headers the client must send on the PUT
 }
 
-// PresignedPost generates a POST policy that constrains uploads at the protocol
-// level: only the named key, only the named content-type, only sizes within
-// the requested range. S3 (and B2's S3-compatible endpoint) reject anything
-// that doesn't satisfy every condition before accepting the body.
+// PresignedPut generates a single-use PUT URL that uploads exactly the
+// claimed `contentLength` bytes with the claimed `contentType`. The size
+// and content-type are signed via headers — B2/S3 reject anything that
+// doesn't match.
 //
-// minBytes/maxBytes are inclusive. The returned URL + Fields can be sent
-// straight to the client.
-func (b *S3Backend) PresignedPost(ctx context.Context, key, contentType string, minBytes, maxBytes int64, ttl time.Duration) (*PresignedPostResult, error) {
-	policy := minio.NewPostPolicy()
-	if err := policy.SetBucket(b.bucket); err != nil {
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("set bucket: %w", err)
-	}
-	if err := policy.SetKey(key); err != nil {
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("set key: %w", err)
-	}
-	if err := policy.SetContentType(contentType); err != nil {
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("set content-type: %w", err)
-	}
-	if err := policy.SetContentLengthRange(minBytes, maxBytes); err != nil {
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("set content-length-range: %w", err)
-	}
-	if err := policy.SetExpires(time.Now().UTC().Add(ttl)); err != nil {
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("set expires: %w", err)
-	}
+// Post-upload verification is the caller's job (see UploadService.VerifyAndClaim
+// which HEADs the object to confirm size + type before claiming).
+func (b *S3Backend) PresignedPut(ctx context.Context, key, contentType string, contentLength int64, ttl time.Duration) (*PresignedPutResult, error) {
+	extra := http.Header{}
+	extra.Set("Content-Type", contentType)
+	extra.Set("Content-Length", strconv.FormatInt(contentLength, 10))
 
-	u, fields, err := b.client.PresignedPostPolicy(ctx, policy)
+	u, err := b.client.PresignHeader(ctx, http.MethodPut, b.bucket, key, ttl, nil, extra)
 	if err != nil {
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("presign post policy: %w", err)
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("presign put: %w", err)
 	}
-	return &PresignedPostResult{
-		URL:    stripQuery(u),
-		Fields: fields,
+	return &PresignedPutResult{
+		URL: u.String(),
+		Headers: map[string]string{
+			"Content-Type":   contentType,
+			"Content-Length": strconv.FormatInt(contentLength, 10),
+		},
 	}, nil
 }
 
diff --git a/internal/services/upload_service.go b/internal/services/upload_service.go
index 0884672..301b2d7 100644
--- a/internal/services/upload_service.go
+++ b/internal/services/upload_service.go
@@ -164,18 +164,12 @@ func (s *UploadService) Presign(
 	ext := extensionForContentType(contentType)
 	key := fmt.Sprintf("uploads/%s/%d/%s%s", subdir, userID, uuid.New().String(), ext)
 
-	// Sign the POST policy. The slack window lets the client encode once;
-	// the server still rejects anything materially different from claimed.
-	minB := contentLength - UploadPresignSlackBytes
-	if minB < 0 {
-		minB = 0
-	}
-	maxB := contentLength + UploadPresignSlackBytes
-	if maxB > UploadMaxBytes {
-		maxB = UploadMaxBytes
-	}
-
-	post, err := s.s3.PresignedPost(ctx, key, contentType, minB, maxB, UploadPresignTTL)
+	// Sign a single-use PUT URL that binds Content-Type and Content-Length.
+	// B2 does not implement S3's POST Object form upload (returns 501), so
+	// we use PUT — which works uniformly against AWS S3, B2, and MinIO.
+	// Size mismatch is caught later in VerifyAndClaim via HEAD; we don't
+	// need a min/max range here because the signature pins exactly one size.
+	put, err := s.s3.PresignedPut(ctx, key, contentType, contentLength, UploadPresignTTL)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, apperrors.Internal(fmt.Errorf("presign upload: %w", err))
 	}
@@ -195,8 +189,9 @@ func (s *UploadService) Presign(
 
 	return &responses.PresignUploadResponse{
 		ID:        row.ID,
-		URL:       post.URL,
-		Fields:    post.Fields,
+		URL:       put.URL,
+		Headers:   put.Headers,
+		Method:    "PUT",
 		Key:       key,
 		ExpiresAt: expiresAt.Format(time.RFC3339),
 	}, nil