diff --git a/app/api/remittance/build/route.ts b/app/api/remittance/build/route.ts
index d33fb8c5..069cfbdd 100644
--- a/app/api/remittance/build/route.ts
+++ b/app/api/remittance/build/route.ts
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@
 import { NextRequest } from 'next/server';
 import { requireAuth } from '@/lib/session';
 import { jsonSuccess, jsonError } from '@/lib/api/types';
+import { validateMessage } from '@/utils/validation';
 import {
   TransactionBuilder,
   Operation,
@@ -40,6 +41,7 @@ interface BuildRemittanceRequest {
   currency?: string;
   recipientAddress: string;
   memo?: string;
+  message?: string;
 }
 
 interface BuildRemittanceResponse {
@@ -53,7 +55,7 @@ interface BuildRemittanceResponse {
 
 // ── Validation ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
-function validateBuildRequest(body: unknown): BuildRemittanceRequest {
+export function validateBuildRequest(body: unknown): BuildRemittanceRequest {
   if (!body || typeof body !== 'object') {
     throw new Error('Request body must be a JSON object');
   }
@@ -90,11 +92,21 @@ function validateBuildRequest(body: unknown): BuildRemittanceRequest {
     }
   }
 
+  // Validate message (optional) — cap at 2000 characters
+  const message = typeof o.message === 'string' ? o.message.trim() : undefined;
+  if (message) {
+    const msgError = validateMessage(message);
+    if (msgError) {
+      throw new Error(msgError.message);
+    }
+  }
+
   return {
     amount: o.amount,
     currency,
     recipientAddress,
     memo,
+    message,
   };
 }
 
diff --git a/app/api/v1/remittance/emergency/build/route.ts b/app/api/v1/remittance/emergency/build/route.ts
index 1a58a4e5..38ccaf83 100644
--- a/app/api/v1/remittance/emergency/build/route.ts
+++ b/app/api/v1/remittance/emergency/build/route.ts
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ import { StellarTransactionBuilder } from '../../../../../../services/transactio
 import { getSession } from '../../../../../../lib/session';
 import { PolicyService } from '../../../../../../services/policy-service';
 import { EventStorageService } from '../../../../../../services/event-storage-service';
+import { validateMessage } from '../../../../../../utils/validation';
 
 export const dynamic = 'force-dynamic';
 
@@ -17,7 +18,7 @@ export async function POST(req: NextRequest) {
     }
 
     const body = await req.json();
-    const { destinationAccount, amount, assetCode, assetIssuer, memo } = body;
+    const { destinationAccount, amount, assetCode, assetIssuer, memo, message } = body;
 
     if (!destinationAccount || !amount) {
       return NextResponse.json(
@@ -42,6 +43,17 @@ export async function POST(req: NextRequest) {
       );
     }
 
+    // Validate message (optional) — cap at 2000 characters
+    if (message) {
+      const msgError = validateMessage(message);
+      if (msgError) {
+        return NextResponse.json(
+          { error: 'Bad Request', message: msgError.message },
+          { status: 400 }
+        );
+      }
+    }
+
     const builder = new StellarTransactionBuilder();
     const xdr = await builder.buildEmergencyTransfer({
       sourceAccount: session.address,
diff --git a/tests/unit/remittance/build-validation.test.ts b/tests/unit/remittance/build-validation.test.ts
index 27f19cfb..cedb317a 100644
--- a/tests/unit/remittance/build-validation.test.ts
+++ b/tests/unit/remittance/build-validation.test.ts
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@
  */
 
 import { describe, it, expect, vi } from 'vitest';
+import { validateMessage } from '@/utils/validation';
 
 vi.mock('next/server', () => ({
   NextRequest: class NextRequest {
@@ -118,3 +119,42 @@ describe('validateBuildRequest – memo byte-length validation', () => {
     expect(result.memo).toBe(memo);
   });
 });
+
+describe('validateMessage', () => {
+  it('returns null for undefined message', () => {
+    expect(validateMessage(undefined)).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  it('returns null for empty string message', () => {
+    expect(validateMessage('')).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  it('accepts message within 2000 characters', () => {
+    const msg = 'A'.repeat(2000);
+    expect(validateMessage(msg)).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  it('rejects message exceeding 2000 characters', () => {
+    const msg = 'A'.repeat(2001);
+    const error = validateMessage(msg);
+    expect(error).not.toBeNull();
+    expect(error!.code).toBe('INVALID_MESSAGE');
+    expect(error!.message).toBe('Message must not exceed 2000 characters');
+    expect(error!.field).toBe('message');
+  });
+
+  it('accepts message exactly 2000 characters', () => {
+    const msg = 'B'.repeat(2000);
+    expect(validateMessage(msg)).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  it('handles multi-byte characters within 2000 chars', () => {
+    const msg = 'é'.repeat(1000);
+    expect(validateMessage(msg)).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  it('handles emoji within 2000 chars', () => {
+    const msg = '😀'.repeat(500);
+    expect(validateMessage(msg)).toBeNull();
+  });
+});
diff --git a/types/emergency-transfer.ts b/types/emergency-transfer.ts
index e524dfc2..4ddf61f7 100644
--- a/types/emergency-transfer.ts
+++ b/types/emergency-transfer.ts
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ export interface EmergencyTransferRequest {
   amount: string;              // Amount in base units (e.g., stroops for XLM)
   recipientAddress: string;    // Stellar public key (G...)
   memo?: string;               // Optional custom memo (max 28 bytes)
+  message?: string;            // Optional user-facing message (max 2000 chars)
   assetCode?: string;          // Optional asset code (default: XLM)
   assetIssuer?: string;        // Required if assetCode is not XLM
 }
@@ -95,6 +96,7 @@ export enum EmergencyTransferErrorCode {
   INVALID_RECIPIENT = 'INVALID_RECIPIENT',
   INVALID_ASSET = 'INVALID_ASSET',
   INVALID_MEMO = 'INVALID_MEMO',
+  INVALID_MESSAGE = 'INVALID_MESSAGE',
   
   // Limit errors
   AMOUNT_EXCEEDS_LIMIT = 'AMOUNT_EXCEEDS_LIMIT',
diff --git a/utils/validation.ts b/utils/validation.ts
index 8327401f..d99eee9d 100644
--- a/utils/validation.ts
+++ b/utils/validation.ts
@@ -187,6 +187,26 @@ export function validateAssetIssuer(
   return validateRecipientAddress(assetIssuer);
 }
 
+/**
+ * Validates a user-facing message is within 2000 characters
+ */
+export function validateMessage(message?: string): ValidationError | null {
+  // Message is optional
+  if (!message) {
+    return null;
+  }
+
+  if (message.length > 2000) {
+    return {
+      code: EmergencyTransferErrorCode.INVALID_MESSAGE,
+      message: 'Message must not exceed 2000 characters',
+      field: 'message',
+    };
+  }
+
+  return null;
+}
+
 /**
  * Validates entire emergency transfer request
  */
@@ -219,5 +239,9 @@ export function validateEmergencyTransferRequest(request: {
   const memoError = validateMemo(request.memo);
   if (memoError) errors.push(memoError);
 
+  // Validate message
+  const messageError = validateMessage(request.message);
+  if (messageError) errors.push(messageError);
+
   return errors;
 }