diff --git a/apps/api/commands/ocr_validate.ts b/apps/api/commands/ocr_validate.ts
index 9ee7479..1b4d1ee 100644
--- a/apps/api/commands/ocr_validate.ts
+++ b/apps/api/commands/ocr_validate.ts
@@ -171,17 +171,32 @@ export default class OcrValidate extends BaseCommand {
       await driveDisk.put(storageKey, buffer)
 
       const t0 = Date.now()
-      let ocrResult: OcrResult
-      try {
-        ocrResult = await provider.extract({ storageKey, filename: pdf })
-      } catch (err) {
-        this.logger.error(`✗ ${pdf} — extraction throw : ${(err as Error).message}`)
-        // Cleanup temp file
-        await driveDisk.delete(storageKey).catch(() => {})
-        continue
+      let ocrResult: OcrResult | null = null
+      // Retry sur 429 (rate limit) avec backoff exponentiel — utile en
+      // free tier Mistral où la limite n'est pas linéaire. Max 3 retries
+      // (30s + 60s + 90s = 3 min max d'attente avant abandon).
+      const maxRetries = 3
+      for (let attempt = 0; attempt <= maxRetries; attempt++) {
+        try {
+          ocrResult = await provider.extract({ storageKey, filename: pdf })
+          break
+        } catch (err) {
+          const msg = (err as Error).message
+          const isRateLimit = msg.includes('429') || msg.includes('Rate limit')
+          if (!isRateLimit || attempt === maxRetries) {
+            this.logger.error(`✗ ${pdf} — extraction throw : ${msg}`)
+            break
+          }
+          const waitSec = 30 + attempt * 30
+          this.logger.warning(
+            `⏸ ${pdf} — 429 rate limit, retry dans ${waitSec}s (attempt ${attempt + 1}/${maxRetries})`
+          )
+          await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, waitSec * 1000))
+        }
       }
       const durationMs = Date.now() - t0
       await driveDisk.delete(storageKey).catch(() => {})
+      if (!ocrResult) continue
 
       const comparisons = compareFields(expected, ocrResult)
       const allMatch = comparisons.every((c) => c.match)