diff --git a/docs/user_guide/how_to_guides/mcp.md b/docs/user_guide/how_to_guides/mcp.md
index 416a59db..aeb86853 100644
--- a/docs/user_guide/how_to_guides/mcp.md
+++ b/docs/user_guide/how_to_guides/mcp.md
@@ -27,6 +27,8 @@ Install the MCP extra:
 pip install redisvl[mcp]
 ```
 
+The extra installs FastMCP 2.13.0 or later, below 4. If you pin FastMCP yourself, stay within that range, because the server does not work with older releases.
+
 If your vectorizer needs a provider extra, install that too:
 
 ```bash
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index cd19faa8..4e6a7ce5 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -43,7 +43,11 @@ mcp = [
     # stateless redesign of the protocol core, so a major bump could change both
     # the negotiated version and how tools advertise their input schemas.
     # Supporting that revision is its own piece of work.
-    "fastmcp>=2.0.0,<4",
+    # The floor is the oldest release RedisVL works with, not a security floor:
+    # earlier 2.x releases lack fastmcp.server.auth, fail to import with
+    # pydantic 2.13, reject the base_url the JWT verifier is built with, or
+    # (2.12.1 to 2.12.5) leave SSE clients hanging while they list tools.
+    "fastmcp>=2.13.0,<4",
     "pydantic-settings>=2.0,<3",
 ]
 mistralai = ["mistralai>=1.0.0,<2"]
diff --git a/tests/integration/test_mcp/test_profiles.py b/tests/integration/test_mcp/test_profiles.py
index bf01b4cf..f2572662 100644
--- a/tests/integration/test_mcp/test_profiles.py
+++ b/tests/integration/test_mcp/test_profiles.py
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+from importlib.metadata import version
 from pathlib import Path
 
 import pytest
@@ -258,10 +259,13 @@ async def test_profile_advertises_only_its_exposed_arguments(started_server):
     # a fake, since the schema is derived by the library from the signature.
     assert set(schema["properties"]) == {"query", "limit", "filter"}
     # A set, not a list: `required` ordering is a pydantic implementation detail,
-    # and only its membership is behavior. `fastmcp` is pinned `>=2.0.0` with no
-    # upper bound, so a minor bump must not break this on presentation alone.
+    # and only its membership is behavior. `fastmcp` is allowed anywhere in
+    # `>=2.13.0,<4`, so a minor bump must not break this on presentation alone.
     assert set(schema["required"]) == {"query"}
-    assert schema["additionalProperties"] is False
+    # FastMCP 2.x leaves `additionalProperties` out of the schema but still
+    # refuses extra arguments at call time; only 3.x publishes the refusal.
+    if int(version("fastmcp").split(".")[0]) >= 3:
+        assert schema["additionalProperties"] is False
 
     # A raw string filter has no safe composition with a locked filter, so the
     # object form is the only shape offered. Optional[dict] is encoded as an
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_mcp/test_profiles_unit.py b/tests/unit/test_mcp/test_profiles_unit.py
index bf941747..00a798f2 100644
--- a/tests/unit/test_mcp/test_profiles_unit.py
+++ b/tests/unit/test_mcp/test_profiles_unit.py
@@ -1043,7 +1043,9 @@ async def record_search(server, **kwargs):
     async with fastmcp.Client(mcp) as client:
         (tool,) = await client.list_tools()
         assert "category" not in tool.inputSchema["properties"]
-        assert tool.inputSchema["additionalProperties"] is False
+        # FastMCP 2.x omits the key; the refused call below holds either way.
+        if int(fastmcp.__version__.split(".")[0]) >= 3:
+            assert tool.inputSchema["additionalProperties"] is False
 
         refused = await client.call_tool(
             tool.name, {"query": "jam", "category": "victim"}, raise_on_error=False
diff --git a/uv.lock b/uv.lock
index 3e2cecd6..788bc820 100644
--- a/uv.lock
+++ b/uv.lock
@@ -4956,7 +4956,7 @@ requires-dist = [
     { name = "boto3", marker = "extra == 'bedrock'", specifier = ">=1.36.0,<2" },
     { name = "cohere", marker = "extra == 'all'", specifier = ">=4.44" },
     { name = "cohere", marker = "extra == 'cohere'", specifier = ">=4.44" },
-    { name = "fastmcp", marker = "extra == 'mcp'", specifier = ">=2.0.0,<4" },
+    { name = "fastmcp", marker = "extra == 'mcp'", specifier = ">=2.13.0,<4" },
     { name = "google-cloud-aiplatform", marker = "extra == 'all'", specifier = ">=1.26,<2.0.0" },
     { name = "google-cloud-aiplatform", marker = "extra == 'vertexai'", specifier = ">=1.26,<2.0.0" },
     { name = "google-genai", marker = "extra == 'all'", specifier = ">=1.0.0" },