diff --git a/src/routes/admin.ts b/src/routes/admin.ts
index aad2653..cfc1f8c 100644
--- a/src/routes/admin.ts
+++ b/src/routes/admin.ts
@@ -28,8 +28,17 @@ adminRoutes.get('/admin/tailscale/routes', async (c) => {
 })
 
 adminRoutes.get('/admin/tailscale/acl', async (c) => {
-  return c.json({
-    policy: await headscaleAdapter.getPolicyStatus(),
-    fetchedAt: new Date().toISOString(),
-  })
+  const emptyPolicy = { groups: {}, tagOwners: {}, acls: [], raw: null }
+  try {
+    return c.json({
+      policy: await headscaleAdapter.getPolicyStatus(),
+      fetchedAt: new Date().toISOString(),
+    })
+  } catch (error) {
+    return c.json({
+      policy: emptyPolicy,
+      error: error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error),
+      fetchedAt: new Date().toISOString(),
+    })
+  }
 })